:: Frequently Asked Questions ::
1. General
1.1 - What are the main benefits of the Looks?
1.2 - Can I use the Looks in a commercial product?
1.3 - Where do I get the latest version?
1.4 - Where can I find a version for Java 1.3?
1.5 - Where do I get support?
1.6 - How to report a problem?
1.7 - Why not put the Looks JAR into the extension directory?
2. Working With the Look&Feels
2.1 - How to use a JGoodies Look&Feel?
2.2 - How to set a Plastic color theme?
2.3 - How to remove the JTabbedPane content border?
3. Trouble Shooting
3.1 - ClassNotFoundExceptions when launched with Java Web Start.
3.2 - The Plastic color theme I set is ignored.
3.3 - Plastic doesn't display Chinese, Japanese and Korean.
:: 1. General ::
The Looks improve the readability, legibility and usability.
They simplify the support for multiple platforms.
And many people have reviewed them as elegant.
You can use and redistribute the Looks in source and binary form
- even for commercial use - if you comply with the terms of the
BSD open source license.
The latest version is available in the project's
download section
section, where you can download the libraries,
sources, tutorial, documentation and the Looks Demo.
The Looks version 1.1.3 is available in the
Archive
of the Documents & files section of the java.net project pages.
Please check this FAQ and do not send personal mail!
You may subscribe to the
users mailing list
and
browse
or
search
the list's archive.
And you can direct new questions to
users@looks.dev.java.net.
Please
register
with this list before you post; otherwise I need to manually accept your messages.
Also, you can use the
issue tracker
to find issues regarding the Looks. As a project observer you can log defects,
request features and suggest enhancements.
Priority support is available for commercial licensees of the
JGoodies Swing Suite.
These can contact us by phone or direct questions to support@JGoodies.com.
In case of a general problem, first
browse
or
search
the user mailing list archive.
If you can't find anything useful, direct questions to
users@looks.dev.java.net.
Do not send personal mail!
In your mail please provide the following information:
Java vendor, Java version, Java build, OS, OS version,
Looks version, the L&F used. For example:
Sun J2SE 1.4.2_03, Windows 2000, Looks 1.2.1, PlasticXP.
For defects, features and enhancements use the
issue tracker.
Before you enter a defect, please make sure that the problem
appears with the Looks only, not the underlying Java core look&feels.
Try to reproduce Plastic defects with the Metal L&f
and defects in the JGoodies Windows L&f
with the default Windows L&f.
First off, this issue is not specific to the JGoodies Looks,
it affects all Java libraries.
If you have full control over the applications running
in a Java environment, you can put a single library version
per library into the extension path.
If you have no control over the applications running
in your Java environment, use the user classpath only!
Many runtime environments out there are shared by
multiple applications, and so one has no control over
the classes loaded or required by these applications.
In this case, do not put a library version into
the extension classpath.
Here's the problem:
let's say you have a library class C with method C#m1.
In a second version of the same class (C') you add #m2.
If you put C into the extension path,
and have an application that includes C' in its JAR,
the app will load C, not C'. And the application may fail
with a NoSuchMethodException or other exception.
If the implementation of #m1 differs in C and C',
the application will load C and execute C#m1 and
won't benefit from changes to #m1.
Even if you can use the extension directory,
you may consider extending the user classpath,
for example by referencing all required libraries
in a main JAR's manifest. Using the user classpath
makes it simpler to move an application to other
Java environments that you don't control, for example
to provide a Web start version.
:: 2. Working With Look&Feels ::
try {
UIManager.setLookAndFeel(new PlasticXPLookAndFeel());
} catch (Exception e) {}
More...
PlasticLookAndFeel.setMyCurrentTheme(new DesertBlue());
try {
UIManager.setLookAndFeel(new Plastic3DLookAndFeel());
} catch (Exception e) {}
More...
JTabbedPane tabbedPane = new JTabbedPane();
tabbedPane.putClientProperty(Options.NO_CONTENT_BORDER_KEY, Boolean.TRUE);
:: 3. Trouble Shooting ::
If you use a third party l&f in a network launchable environment
such as Java Web Start, you must indicate where to find the l&f classes:
UIManager.put("ClassLoader", LookUtils.class.getClassLoader());
To make use of a Plastic color theme, you must set the theme
before you set the Plastic look&feel in the UIManager.
More...
The Plastic l&f family can display Chinese and other non-western fonts.
However, many of the Plastic themes that ship with versions 1.2.x and 1.3.x
can't display Chinese, Japanese and other non-western fonts.
These themes use a hard coded Tahoma font, not a logical font.
And Tahoma cannot display Chinese and other non-western fonts.
If you want to display Chinese, Japanese or other non-western fonts,
create or use a Plastic theme that uses a logical font, for example SkyBluer.
Issue #10
has attached two other themes that use logical fonts.
Anyway, this issue has the highest priority for the Looks version 1.4
(Click here
to see the progress on this issue).
I plan to replace the hard coded font request by a font delegate
that honors the platform and platform system fonts.
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