Quick Start

Concepts

Read the JGoodies Forms documentation included in each Forms.jar. Note: the default form layout presented by eJGForms implements the layout described in the Tutorial :: Quickstart section of the JGoodies documentation.

Use

  1. Add the Forms library to a new or existing Swing-based project.
  2. In a VE visual class, change the layout manager of a JPanel to FormLayout
    • on the property page for the JPanel, or
    • on the JPanel, do right-click -> Set Layout -> FormLayout.
  3. Open the Customize Layout window
    • on the JPanel, do right-click -> Customize Layout...
  4. On the Form Design Surface, add rows and columns to the layout design
    • select a cell (single left-click), then right-click on the cell to call up the table menu
    • drag-select multiple cells to insert/append multiple rows or columns
  5. On the Form Design Surface, add slots to the layout design
    • select a cell (single left-click), then right-click on the cell to call up the table menu
    • drag-select multiple cells to define slots with spans of more than one
  6. On the Form Design Surface, set row and column attributes
    • select a cell (single left-click), then use the Alignment/Size/Weight comboboxes
    • the size combobox presents an editable text field
  7. Press Apply.
  8. Close the Customize Layout window
  9. On the VE component surface, drop components from the VE palette
  10. On the VE component surface, drag an existing component to any open slot
  11. Repeat steps 3 through 10, as desired, in most any order and combination.
    • the Customize Layout window can be left open while working with components on the VE component surface

Controls

On the Form Design Surface:

click or click-drag to select one or more cells of the design table.

right-click on the design table for a command popup.

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Apply to generate code representing the current Form layout design

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Default to load a default design layout into the designer (see Preferences)

Load to load a previously saved Form layout design from the filesystem

Save to save the current Form layout design to the filesystem

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Scrub to dump any unapplied changes and reload the Form layout design from VE

Refresh force merge of manual changes made to the source code into the current Form layout design

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