Question

Using Java is there anyway to display a custom form/image that behaves similar to TrayIcon.displayMessage() function in that it displays just above the system tray for a while then disappears?

I am also looking for a way to display multiple notifications at the same time by having them display above each other.

If not, how do I find the pixel location for the lower left corner just above the system tray?

Answer 1

I don’t think there’s a shortcut for drawing frames that act just like the standard TrayIcons (with the x button in the corner) that support stacking akin to the Mac Growl notifications.
you will probably have to implement it yourself.
I’ve found that stacking messages like that is a complete waste of time as the user will not pay attention to them – the better location for these is in the status area of the application in a simple popup menu.
You can use java.awt.GraphicsEnvironment. getLocalGraphicsEnvironment() to get information about the desktop, which contains ‘getMaximumWindowBounds()’ which takes care of things like the taskbar position.
You can use a subclass of a javax.swing.JWindow to create a window without a border which can be positioned on the desktop relative to the bottom right corner. This will not always work as the default tray icon, as the location of the icon generator can be somewhere else other than that.
You can add a button that acts like the ‘x’ button of a standard desktop window – but it’s going to be platform dependent.
I use square windows that stack up from the top right corner if I’m using LTR, and it seems to work well.