I remember having once seen a list of properties that could be set on Swing components to make them look more native on Mac OS X.
This included ways to mark “dirty” documents with the “dot” in the window close button, open dialogs as sheets (not sure about that, but sure would be nice) etc.
I know Apple has let Java down as a “primary” programming language, but as they recently updated Java and even offer Java 6, I wonder if there is a comprehensive and current list – ideally with examples – on what you can do to make Swing apps look better without much effort on the Mac.
After receiving some answers, I put this into community wiki mode and started the following list to be expanded if need be:
- Technical Notes: Java – User Experience: Overview page on Apple’s developer connection reference library (index page).
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New Control Styles available within J2SE 5.0 on Mac OS X 10.5: Examples for Button styles etc. specific to Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard.
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Java Runtime System Properties: Information on System properties that help you enable the Apple-style menubar at the top of the screen, give rendering hints for text anti-aliasing etc.
- Mac OS X Integration for Java: Information on Menubar and Application menu, context menus, keyboard shortcuts and AppleScript
- PDF “Java 1.3.1 Development for Mac OS X (Legacy)”: 80 pages of information on various topics such as packaging applications. This is somewhat outdated.
The Java Development Guide for Mac OS X has a Mac OS X Integration for Java section that is probably what you’re looking for.