javax.swing
Class UIManager

java.lang.Object
  javax.swing.UIManager

All Implemented Interfaces:

Serializable

public class UIManager
extends Object
implements Serializable

UIManager manages the current look and feel, the set of available look and feels, PropertyChangeListeners that are notified when the look and feel changes, look and feel defaults, and convenience methods for obtaining various default values.

Specifying the look and feel

 
 UIManager.setLookAndFeel(UIManager.getSystemLookAndFeelClassName());
 

 
 UIManager.setLookAndFeel("javax.swing.plaf.metal.MetalLookAndFeel");
 

Default look and feel

1. If the system property swing.defaultlaf is non-null, use its value it as the default look and feel class name.
2. If the Properties file swing.properties exists and contains the key swing.defaultlaf, use its value as the default look and feel class name. The location that is checked for of swing.properties may vary depending upon the implementation of the Java platform. In Sun's implementation the location is ${java.home}/lib/swing.properties. this will reside in &java.home>/lib/swing.properties. Refer to the release notes of the implementation being used you are using for further details.
3. Otherwise use the cross platform Java look and feel.

Defaults

1. Developer defaults. With few exceptions Swing does not alter the developer defaults; these are intended to be modified and used by the developer.
2. Look and feel defaults. The look and feel defaults are supplied by the look and feel at the time it is installed as the current look and feel (setLookAndFeel() is invoked). The look and feel defaults can be obtained using the getLookAndFeelDefaults() method.
3. Sytem defaults. The system defaults are provided by Swing.

It's important to note that getDefaults returns a custom instance of UIDefaults with this resolution logic built into it. For example, UIManager.getDefaults().getString("Table.foreground") is equivalent to UIManager.getString("Table.foreground"). Both resolve using the algorithm just described. In many places the documentation uses the word defaults to refer to the custom instance of UIDefaults with the resolution logic as previously described. We manage three levels of defaults: user defaults, look and feel defaults, system defaults. A call to UIManager.get checks all three levels in order and returns the first non-null value for a key, if any. A call to UIManager.put just affects the user defaults. Note that a call to setLookAndFeel doesn't affect the user defaults, it just replaces the middle defaults "level".

When the look and feel is changed, UIManager alters only the look and feel defaults; the developer and system defaults are not altered by the UIManager in any way.

The set of defaults a particular look and feel supports is defined and documented by that look and feel. In addition, each look and feel, or ComponentUI provided by a look and feel, may access the defaults at different times in their life cycle. Some look and feels may agressively look up defaults, so that changing a default may not have an effect after installing the look and feel. Other look and feels may lazily access defaults so that a change to the defaults may effect an existing look and feel. Finally, other look and feels might not configure themselves from the defaults table in any way. None-the-less it is usually the case that a look and feel expects certain defaults, so that in general a ComponentUI provided by one look and feel will not work with another look and feel.

Warning: Serialized objects of this class will not be compatible with future Swing releases. The current serialization support is appropriate for short term storage or RMI between applications running the same version of Swing. As of 1.4, support for long term storage of all JavaBeans ^TM has been added to the java.beans package. Please see XMLEncoder .

See Also:

javax.swing.plaf.metal

Method Summary
static void	addAuxiliaryLookAndFeel ( LookAndFeel  laf)           Adds a LookAndFeel to the list of auxiliary look and feels.
static void	addPropertyChangeListener ( PropertyChangeListener  listener)           Adds a PropertyChangeListener to the listener list.
static  Object	get ( Object           Returns an object from the defaults. defaults table.
static  Object	get ( Object  key, Locale           Returns an object from the defaults table that is appropriate for the given locale.
static  LookAndFeel []	getAuxiliaryLookAndFeels ()           Returns the list of auxiliary look and feels (can be null).
static boolean	getBoolean ( Object           Returns a boolean from the defaults table which is associated with the key value.
static boolean	getBoolean ( Object  key, Locale           Returns a boolean from the defaults table which is associated with the key value and the given Locale.
static  Border	getBorder ( Object           Returns a border from the defaults. defaults table.
static  Border	getBorder ( Object  key, Locale           Returns a border from the defaults table that is appropriate for the given locale.
static  Color	getColor ( Object           Returns a drawing color from the defaults. defaults table.
static  Color	getColor ( Object  key, Locale           Returns a drawing color from the defaults table that is appropriate for the given locale.
static  String	getCrossPlatformLookAndFeelClassName ()           Returns the name of the LookAndFeel class that implements the default cross platform look and feel -- the Java Look and Feel (JLF).
static  UIDefaults	getDefaults ()           Returns the defaults. default values for this look and feel.
static  Dimension	getDimension ( Object           Returns a dimension from the defaults. defaults table.
static  Dimension	getDimension ( Object  key, Locale           Returns a dimension from the defaults table that is appropriate for the given locale.
static  Font	getFont ( Object           Returns a drawing font from the defaults. defaults table.
static  Font	getFont ( Object  key, Locale           Returns a drawing font from the defaults table that is appropriate for the given locale.
static  Icon	getIcon ( Object           Returns an Icon from the defaults. defaults table.
static  Icon	getIcon ( Object  key, Locale           Returns an Icon from the defaults table that is appropriate for the given locale.
static  Insets	getInsets ( Object           Returns an Insets object from the defaults. defaults table.
static  Insets	getInsets ( Object  key, Locale           Returns an Insets object from the defaults table that is appropriate for the given locale.
static  UIManager.LookAndFeelInfo	getInstalledLookAndFeels ()           Returns an array of LookAndFeelInfos representing objects that provide some information about the LookAndFeel implementations currently available. that have been installed with this software development kit.
static int	getInt ( Object           Returns an integer from the defaults. defaults table.
static int	getInt ( Object  key, Locale           Returns an integer from the defaults table that is appropriate for the given locale.
static  LookAndFeel	getLookAndFeel ()           Returns the current default look and feel or null.
static  UIDefaults	getLookAndFeelDefaults ()           Returns the UIDefaults from the current default values for this look and feel, that were obtained at the time the look and feel was installed. feel.
static  PropertyChangeListener []	getPropertyChangeListeners ()           Returns an array of all the PropertyChangeListeners added to this UIManager with addPropertyChangeListener().
static  String	getString ( Object           Returns a string from the defaults. defaults table.
static  String	getString ( Object  key, Locale           Returns a string from the defaults table that is appropriate for the given locale.
static  String	getSystemLookAndFeelClassName ()           Returns the name of the LookAndFeel class that implements the native system systems look and feel if there is one, otherwise the name of the default cross platform LookAndFeel class.
static  ComponentUI	getUI ( JComponent           Returns the appropriate ComponentUI implementation for target. L&F object that renders the target component.
static void	installLookAndFeel ( String  name, String           Adds the specified           Creates a new look and feel and adds it to the set of available look and feels. current array.
static void	installLookAndFeel ( UIManager.LookAndFeelInfo           Adds the specified look and feel to the set of available look current array and feels. then calls setInstalledLookAndFeels(javax.swing.UIManager.LookAndFeelInfo[])
static  Object	put ( Object  key, Object           Stores an object in the developer defaults. defaults table.
static boolean	removeAuxiliaryLookAndFeel ( LookAndFeel  laf)           Removes a LookAndFeel from the list of auxiliary look and feels.
static void	removePropertyChangeListener ( PropertyChangeListener  listener)           Removes a PropertyChangeListener from the listener list.
static void	setInstalledLookAndFeels ( UIManager.LookAndFeelInfo           Sets           Replaces the set current array of available look and feels. installed LookAndFeelInfos.
static void	setLookAndFeel ( LookAndFeel           Sets the current default look and feel to newLookAndFeel. using a LookAndFeel object.
static void	setLookAndFeel ( String           Loads           Sets the LookAndFeel specified by the given class name, current default look and feel using the current thread's context a class loader, and passes it to setLookAndFeel(LookAndFeel). name.

UIManager

public UIManager()

getInstalledLookAndFeels

public static UIManager.LookAndFeelInfo[] getInstalledLookAndFeels()

Returns an array of LookAndFeelInfos representing objects that provide some information about the LookAndFeel implementations currently available. that have been installed with this software development kit. The LookAndFeelInfo LookAndFeel info objects can be used by an application to construct a menu of look and feel options for the user, user or to determine which set the look and feel to set at startup start up time. To avoid Note that we do not return the penalty of creating numerous LookAndFeel objects, LookAndFeelInfo maintains classes themselves here to avoid the class name cost of the LookAndFeel class, not the actual LookAndFeel instance. unnecessarily loading them.

The following example illustrates setting the current look and feel from an instance of LookAndFeelInfo: Given a LookAndFeelInfo object one can set the current look and feel like this:

   UIManager.setLookAndFeel(info.getClassName());
 

Returns:

an array of LookAndFeelInfo objects

See Also:

setLookAndFeel(javax.swing.LookAndFeel)

setInstalledLookAndFeels

public static void setInstalledLookAndFeels(UIManager.LookAndFeelInfo[] infos)
                                     throws SecurityException

Sets the set of available look and feels. While this method does not check to ensure all of the LookAndFeelInfos are non-null, it is strongly recommended that only non-null values are supplied in the infos array. Replaces the current array of installed LookAndFeelInfos.

Parameters:

infos - set new array of LookAndFeelInfo objects specifying the available look and feels

Throws:

NullPointerException - if infos is null

SecurityException

See Also:

getInstalledLookAndFeels()

installLookAndFeel

public static void installLookAndFeel(UIManager.LookAndFeelInfo info)

Adds the specified look and feel to the set of available look and feels. While this method allows a null info, it is strongly recommended that a non-null value be used. Adds the specified look and feel to the current array and then calls setInstalledLookAndFeels(javax.swing.UIManager.LookAndFeelInfo[]) .

Parameters:

info - a LookAndFeelInfo object that names the look and feel and identifies the that class that implements it

See Also:

setInstalledLookAndFeels(javax.swing.UIManager.LookAndFeelInfo[])

installLookAndFeel

public static void installLookAndFeel(String name,
                                      String className)

Adds the specified look and feel to the set of available look and feels. While this method does not check the arguments in any way, it is strongly recommended that non-null values be supplied. Creates a new look and feel and adds it to the current array. Then calls setInstalledLookAndFeels(javax.swing.UIManager.LookAndFeelInfo[]) .

Parameters:

name - descriptive a String specifying the name of the look and feel

className - name of a String specifying the class name that implements the look and feel

See Also:

setInstalledLookAndFeels(javax.swing.UIManager.LookAndFeelInfo[])

getLookAndFeel

public static LookAndFeel getLookAndFeel()

Returns the current default look and feel or null.

Returns:

the current default look and feel, or null

See Also:

setLookAndFeel(javax.swing.LookAndFeel)

setLookAndFeel

public static void setLookAndFeel(LookAndFeel newLookAndFeel)
                           throws UnsupportedLookAndFeelException

Sets the current look and feel to newLookAndFeel. If the current look and feel is non-null uninitialize is invoked on it. If newLookAndFeel is non-null, initialize is invoked on it followed by getDefaults. The defaults returned from newLookAndFeel.getDefaults() replace those of the defaults from the previous look and feel. If the newLookAndFeel is null, the look and feel defaults are set to null. Sets the current default look and feel using a LookAndFeel object.

A value of null can be used to set the look and feel to null. As the LookAndFeel is required for most of Swing to function, setting the LookAndFeel to null is strongly discouraged.

This is a JavaBeans bound property.

Parameters:

newLookAndFeel - the LookAndFeel to install object

Throws:

UnsupportedLookAndFeelException - if newLookAndFeel lnf.isSupportedLookAndFeel() is non-null and newLookAndFeel.isSupportedLookAndFeel() returns false

See Also:

getLookAndFeel()

setLookAndFeel

public static void setLookAndFeel(String className)
                           throws ClassNotFoundException,
                                  InstantiationException,
                                  IllegalAccessException,
                                  UnsupportedLookAndFeelException

Loads the LookAndFeel specified by the given class name, using the current thread's context class loader, and passes it to setLookAndFeel(LookAndFeel). Sets the current default look and feel using a class name.

Parameters:

className - a string specifying the name of the class that implements the look and feel

Throws:

ClassNotFoundException - if the LookAndFeel class could not be found

InstantiationException - if a new instance of the class couldn't be created

IllegalAccessException - if the class or initializer isn't accessible

UnsupportedLookAndFeelException - if lnf.isSupportedLookAndFeel() is false

ClassCastException - if className does not identify a class that extends LookAndFeel

getSystemLookAndFeelClassName

public static String getSystemLookAndFeelClassName()

Returns the name of the LookAndFeel class that implements the native system systems look and feel if there is one, otherwise the name of the default cross platform LookAndFeel class. This If the system property swing.systemlaf has been defined, its value can will be overriden by setting the swing.systemlaf system property. returned.

Returns:

the String of the LookAndFeel class

See Also:

setLookAndFeel(javax.swing.LookAndFeel) , getCrossPlatformLookAndFeelClassName()

getCrossPlatformLookAndFeelClassName

public static String getCrossPlatformLookAndFeelClassName()

Returns the name of the LookAndFeel class that implements the default cross platform look and feel -- the Java Look and Feel (JLF). This value can be overriden by setting the swing.crossplatformlaf system property. If the system property swing.crossplatformlaf has been defined, its value will be returned.

Returns:

a string with the JLF implementation-class

See Also:

setLookAndFeel(javax.swing.LookAndFeel) , getSystemLookAndFeelClassName()

getDefaults

public static UIDefaults getDefaults()

Returns the defaults. The returned defaults resolve using the logic specified in the class documentation. Returns the default values for this look and feel.

Returns:

a UIDefaults object containing the default values

getFont

public static Font getFont(Object key)

Returns a font from the defaults. If the value for key is not a Font, null is returned. Returns a drawing font from the defaults table.

Parameters:

key - an Object specifying the font

Returns:

the Font object

Throws:

NullPointerException - if key is null

getFont

public static Font getFont(Object key,
                           Locale l)

Returns a drawing font from the defaults table that is appropriate for the given locale. If the value for key is not a Font, null is returned.

Parameters:

key - an Object specifying the font

l - the Locale for which the font is desired; refer to UIDefaults for details on how a null Locale is handled desired

Returns:

the Font object

Throws:

NullPointerException - if key is null

Since:

1.4

getColor

public static Color getColor(Object key)

Returns a color from the defaults. If the value for key is not a Color, null is returned. Returns a drawing color from the defaults table.

Parameters:

key - an Object specifying the color

Returns:

the Color object

Throws:

NullPointerException - if key is null

getColor

public static Color getColor(Object key,
                             Locale l)

Returns a drawing color from the defaults table that is appropriate for the given locale. If the value for key is not a Color, null is returned.

Parameters:

key - an Object specifying the color

l - the Locale for which the color is desired; refer to UIDefaults for details on how a null Locale is handled desired

Returns:

the Color object

Throws:

NullPointerException - if key is null

Since:

1.4

getIcon

public static Icon getIcon(Object key)

Returns an Icon from the defaults. If the value for key is not an Icon, null is returned. Returns an Icon from the defaults table.

Parameters:

key - an Object specifying the icon

Returns:

the Icon object

Throws:

NullPointerException - if key is null

getIcon

public static Icon getIcon(Object key,
                           Locale l)

Returns an Icon from the defaults table that is appropriate for the given locale. If the value for key is not an Icon, null is returned.

Parameters:

key - an Object specifying the icon

l - the Locale for which the icon is desired; refer to UIDefaults for details on how a null Locale is handled desired

Returns:

the Icon object

Throws:

NullPointerException - if key is null

Since:

1.4

getBorder

public static Border getBorder(Object key)

Returns a border from the defaults. If the value for key is not a Border, null is returned. Returns a border from the defaults table.

Parameters:

key - an Object specifying the border

Returns:

the Border object

Throws:

NullPointerException - if key is null

getBorder

public static Border getBorder(Object key,
                               Locale l)

Returns a border from the defaults table that is appropriate for the given locale. If the value for key is not a Border, null is returned.

Parameters:

key - an Object specifying the border

l - the Locale for which the border is desired; refer to UIDefaults for details on how a null Locale is handled desired

Returns:

the Border object

Throws:

NullPointerException - if key is null

Since:

1.4

getString

public static String getString(Object key)

Returns a string from the defaults. If the value for key is not a String, null is returned. Returns a string from the defaults table.

Parameters:

key - an Object specifying the string

Returns:

the String

Throws:

NullPointerException - if key is null

getString

public static String getString(Object key,
                               Locale l)

Returns a string from the defaults table that is appropriate for the given locale. If the value for key is not a String, null is returned.

Parameters:

key - an Object specifying the string

l - the Locale for which the string is desired; refer to UIDefaults for details on how a null Locale is handled desired

Returns:

the String

Throws:

NullPointerException - if key is null

Since:

1.4

getInt

public static int getInt(Object key)

Returns an integer from the defaults. If the value for key is not an Integer, or does not exist, 0 is returned. Returns an integer from the defaults table.

Parameters:

key - an Object specifying the int

Returns:

the int

Throws:

NullPointerException - if key is null

getInt

public static int getInt(Object key,
                         Locale l)

Returns an integer from the defaults table that is appropriate for the given locale. If the value for key is not an Integer, or does not exist, 0 is returned.

Parameters:

key - an Object specifying the int

l - the Locale for which the int is desired; refer to UIDefaults for details on how a null Locale is handled desired

Returns:

the int

Throws:

NullPointerException - if key is null

Since:

1.4

getBoolean

public static boolean getBoolean(Object key)

Returns a boolean from the defaults table which is associated with the key value. If the key is not found or the key doesn't represent a boolean value then false is will be returned.

Parameters:

key - an Object specifying the key for the desired boolean value

Returns:

the boolean value corresponding to the key

Throws:

NullPointerException - if key is null

Since:

1.4

getBoolean

public static boolean getBoolean(Object key,
                                 Locale l)

Returns a boolean from the defaults table which is associated with the key value and the given Locale. If the key is not found or the key doesn't represent a boolean value then false will be returned.

Parameters:

key - an Object specifying the key for the desired boolean value

l - the Locale for which the boolean is desired; refer to UIDefaults for details on how a null Locale is handled desired

Returns:

the boolean value corresponding to the key

Throws:

NullPointerException - if key is null

Since:

1.4

getInsets

public static Insets getInsets(Object key)

Returns an Insets object from the defaults. If the value for key is not an Insets, null is returned. Returns an Insets object from the defaults table.

Parameters:

key - an Object specifying the Insets object

Returns:

the Insets object

Throws:

NullPointerException - if key is null

getInsets

public static Insets getInsets(Object key,
                               Locale l)

Returns an Insets object from the defaults table that is appropriate for the given locale. If the value for key is not an Insets, null is returned.

Parameters:

key - an Object specifying the Insets object

l - the Locale for which the object is desired; refer to UIDefaults for details on how a null Locale is handled desired

Returns:

the Insets object

Throws:

NullPointerException - if key is null

Since:

1.4

getDimension

public static Dimension getDimension(Object key)

Returns a dimension from the defaults. If the value for key is not a Dimension, null is returned. Returns a dimension from the defaults table.

Parameters:

key - an Object specifying the dimension object

Returns:

the Dimension object

Throws:

NullPointerException - if key is null

getDimension

public static Dimension getDimension(Object key,
                                     Locale l)

Returns a dimension from the defaults table that is appropriate for the given locale. If the value for key is not a Dimension, null is returned.

Parameters:

key - an Object specifying the dimension object

l - the Locale for which the object is desired; refer to UIDefaults for details on how a null Locale is handled desired

Returns:

the Dimension object

Throws:

NullPointerException - if key is null

Since:

1.4

get

public static Object get(Object key)

Returns an object from the defaults. defaults table.

Parameters:

key - an Object specifying the desired object

Returns:

the Object

Throws:

NullPointerException - if key is null

get

public static Object get(Object key,
                         Locale l)

Returns an object from the defaults table that is appropriate for the given locale.

Parameters:

key - an Object specifying the desired object

l - the Locale for which the object is desired; refer to UIDefaults for details on how a null Locale is handled desired

Returns:

the Object

Throws:

NullPointerException - if key is null

Since:

1.4

put

public static Object put(Object key,
                         Object value)

Stores an object in the developer defaults. This is a cover method for getDefaults().put(key, value). This only effects the developer defaults, not the system or look and feel defaults. Stores an object in the defaults table.

Parameters:

key - an Object specifying the retrieval key

value - the Object to store; refer to UIDefaults for details on how null is handled value - the Object to store

Returns:

the Object returned by UIDefaults.put(java.lang.Object, java.lang.Object)

Throws:

NullPointerException - if key is null

See Also:

UIDefaults.put(java.lang.Object, java.lang.Object)

getUI

public static ComponentUI getUI(JComponent target)

Returns the appropriate ComponentUI implementation for target. Typically, this is a cover for getDefaults().getUI(target). However, if an auxiliary look and feel has been installed, this first invokes getUI(target) on the multiplexing look and feel's defaults, and returns that value if it is non-null. Returns the L&F object that renders the target component.

Parameters:

target - the JComponent to return the ComponentUI for render

Returns:

the ComponentUI object for target

Throws:

NullPointerException - if target is null

See Also:

UIDefaults.getUI(javax.swing.JComponent) the ComponentUI object that renders the target component

getLookAndFeelDefaults

public static UIDefaults getLookAndFeelDefaults()

Returns the UIDefaults from the current look and feel, that were obtained at the time the look and feel was installed. Returns the default values for this look and feel.

In general, developers should use the UIDefaults returned from getDefaults(). As the current look and feel may expect certain values to exist, altering the UIDefaults returned from this method could have unexpected results.

Returns:

UIDefaults from the current look and feel

See Also:

getDefaults() , setLookAndFeel(LookAndFeel) , LookAndFeel.getDefaults() an UIDefaults object containing the default values

addAuxiliaryLookAndFeel

public static void addAuxiliaryLookAndFeel(LookAndFeel laf)

Adds a LookAndFeel to the list of auxiliary look and feels. The auxiliary look and feels tell the multiplexing look and feel what other LookAndFeel classes for a component instance are to be used in addition to the default LookAndFeel class when creating a multiplexing UI. The change will only take effect when a new UI class is created or when the default look and feel is changed on a component instance.

Note these are not the same as the installed look and feels.

Parameters:

laf - the LookAndFeel object

See Also:

removeAuxiliaryLookAndFeel(javax.swing.LookAndFeel) , setLookAndFeel(javax.swing.LookAndFeel) , getAuxiliaryLookAndFeels() , getInstalledLookAndFeels()

removeAuxiliaryLookAndFeel

public static boolean removeAuxiliaryLookAndFeel(LookAndFeel laf)

Removes a LookAndFeel from the list of auxiliary look and feels. The auxiliary look and feels tell the multiplexing look and feel what other LookAndFeel classes for a component instance are to be used in addition to the default LookAndFeel class when creating a multiplexing UI. The change will only take effect when a new UI class is created or when the default look and feel is changed on a component instance.

Note these are not the same as the installed look and feels.

Returns:

true if the LookAndFeel was removed from the list

See Also:

removeAuxiliaryLookAndFeel(javax.swing.LookAndFeel) , getAuxiliaryLookAndFeels() , setLookAndFeel(javax.swing.LookAndFeel) , getInstalledLookAndFeels()

getAuxiliaryLookAndFeels

public static LookAndFeel[] getAuxiliaryLookAndFeels()

Returns the list of auxiliary look and feels (can be null). The auxiliary look and feels tell the multiplexing look and feel what other LookAndFeel classes for a component instance are to be used in addition to the default LookAndFeel class when creating a multiplexing UI.

Note these are not the same as the installed look and feels.

Returns:

list of auxiliary LookAndFeels or null

See Also:

addAuxiliaryLookAndFeel(javax.swing.LookAndFeel) , removeAuxiliaryLookAndFeel(javax.swing.LookAndFeel) , setLookAndFeel(javax.swing.LookAndFeel) , getInstalledLookAndFeels()

addPropertyChangeListener

public static void addPropertyChangeListener(PropertyChangeListener listener)

Adds a PropertyChangeListener to the listener list. The listener is registered for all properties.

Parameters:

listener - the PropertyChangeListener to be added

See Also:

PropertyChangeSupport

removePropertyChangeListener

public static void removePropertyChangeListener(PropertyChangeListener listener)

Removes a PropertyChangeListener from the listener list. This removes a PropertyChangeListener that was registered for all properties.

Parameters:

listener - the PropertyChangeListener to be removed

See Also:

PropertyChangeSupport

getPropertyChangeListeners

public static PropertyChangeListener[] getPropertyChangeListeners()

Returns an array of all the PropertyChangeListeners added to this UIManager with addPropertyChangeListener().

Returns:

all of the PropertyChangeListeners added or an empty array if no listeners have been added

Since:

1.4