4 Java Monkey Example

Like a monkey, Java Monkey "swings" through the component trees in a particular Java Virtual Machine and presents the hierarchy in a tree view. In addition, if the user selects a node in the tree and chooses Accessibility API Panel from the Panels menu, Java Monkey presents the user with a window showing the accessibility information for the object.

Setup

Install and configure Java Access Bridge as described in "Installing Java Access Bridge".

Trying It Out

After installing and configuring Java Access Bridge, any time you launch a Java application or applet, Java Access Bridge is automatically launched as well.

To use Java Monkey, launch the Java Monkey Windows application after launching a Java application. For example, to launch Java Monkey with the SwingSet2 demo Swing program, follow these steps:

Run the Java application %JAVAHOME%\demo\jfc\SwingSet2\SwingSet2.jar, where %JAVAHOME% is where you installed the JDK or JRE.
Run one of the following Windows applications, depending on how you installed and configured Java Access Bridge, where %JABHOME% is the directory in which you extracted the files for Java Access Bridge:
- 64-bit Windows:
  - %JABHOME%\JavaMonkey-64.exe: Tests Java Access Bridge as if it were a 64-bit Assistive Technology application
  - %JABHOME%\JavaMonkey-32.exe: Tests Java Access Bridge as if it were a 32-bit Assistive Technology application
- 32-bit Windows (legacy):
  - %JABHOME%\JavaMonkey.exe

You now have two windows open: The SwingSet2 demo Java application window, and the Java Monkey window. There are two tasks you can do with Java Monkey. You can build a tree view of the Java applications' GUI hierarchy, and you can query the Java Accessibility API information of a particular element in the GUI hierarchy.

Building the GUI Hierarchy

From the File menu select Refresh Tree menu. Java Monkey builds a list of the top level windows belonging to Java applications and applets, and then recursively queries the elements in those windows, building a tree of all of the GUI components in all of the Java applications and applets in all the JVMs running in the system.

Examining a GUI Component

Once a GUI tree is built, you can view detailed accessibility information about an individual GUI component by selecting it in the tree, and then selecting Panels, then Display Accessibility Information.