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NetBeans Architecture Answers for Window System API module

WARNING: answering questions version 1.23 rather than the current 1.29.

Interfaces table

Group of layer interfaces
Interface NameIn/OutStabilitySpecified in What Document?
NewConfigurationDataExportedUnder Development ...//core.netbeans.org/windowsystem/changes.html

new configuration data

OldConfigurationDataExportedDeprecated ...//core.netbeans.org/windowsystem/changes.html

old configuration data

ModuleDataStructureExportedPrivate ...//core.netbeans.org/windowsystem/changes.html

Module folder structure under Windows2 directory

LocalDataStructureExportedPrivate ...//core.netbeans.org/windowsystem/changes.html

Local folder structure under Windows2Local directory

Group of java interfaces
Interface NameIn/OutStabilitySpecified in What Document?
org.openide.awtImportedOfficial

The module is needed for compilation. The module is used during runtime. Specification version 6.2 is required.

FilesystemsAPIImportedOfficial

The module is needed for compilation. The module is used during runtime. Specification version 9.0 is required.

NodesAPIImportedOfficial

The module is needed for compilation. The module is used during runtime. Specification version 6.2 is required.

UtilitiesAPIImportedOfficial

The module is needed for compilation. The module is used during runtime. Specification version 9.3 is required.

WeakListener.setAccessibleImportedUnder Development

The module is needed for compilation. The module is used during runtime. Specification version 9.3 is required.

LookupAPIImportedOfficial

The module is needed for compilation. The module is used during runtime. Specification version 8.0 is required.

WindowSystemAPIExportedOfficial .../org/openide/windows/doc-files/api.html

WindowSystemImplementationAPIExportedFriend
DataFlavorDnDTopComponentExportedPrivate

DataFlavor.javaJVMLocalObjectMimeType + "; class=org.openide.windows.TopComponent"

DataFlavorDnDTopComponent.CloneableExportedPrivate

DataFlavor.javaJVMLocalObjectMimeType + "; class=org.openide.windows.TopComponent$Cloneable"

DataFlavorDnDTopComponentArrayExportedPrivate

DataFlavor.javaJVMLocalObjectMimeType + "; class=org.netbeans.core.windows.dnd.TopComponentDragSupport$TopComponentArray"

NbTopManager.WindowSystemImportedFriend

org.netbeans.core.NbTopManager$WindowSystem interface

Group of property interfaces
Interface NameIn/OutStabilitySpecified in What Document?
KeepNonPersistentTCInModelWhenClosedExportedPrivate

Client property "KeepNonPersistentTCInModelWhenClosed" of TopComponent controls behavior of winsys when TopComponent with persistence type "Never" or "OnlyOpened" is closed. As some TopComponent wants to keep their position in winsys ie. be able to reopen at the same place and some TopComponent wants to be removed from winsys model. If property is not set nonpersistent TopComponent is removed from model when closed - it is original behavior before fix of issue #101700. If property is set (to Boolean.TRUE) then TopComponent is kept in model. It means that client must explicitly set this client property to get behavior requested by issue #101700.

netbeans.winsys.tc.activate_at_startupExportedPrivate

Name of TopComponent's Boolean client property which instructs the window system to activate the given TopComponent at startup time regardless which TopComponent was active at shutdown time. So it's usuable for welcome screen-like behavior. If more than one TopComponent has this property set to Boolean.TRUE then an arbitrary one will be selected and activated.

TopComponentAllowDockAnywhereExportedPrivate

Name of client property (of Boolean type) which says whether the TopComponent is allowed to be docked anywhere (even crossing view-editor border).

netbeans.winsys.tc.keep_preferred_size_when_slided_inExportedStable

Name of TopComponent's Boolean client property which forces the window system to respect TopComponent's preferred size when it is slided-in from left/right/bottom sliding bar when set to Boolean.TRUE. Otherwise the slided-in TopComponent will fill the entire width/length of the IDE window (the default behavior). This switch is intended for tools/palette windows like e.g. color chooser, tool picker etc.

netbeans.winsys.tc.closing_disabledExportedStable

Name of TopComponent's Boolean client property which removes close button from TopComponent's header and disables its 'Close Window' action when set to Boolean.TRUE.

netbeans.winsys.tc.sliding_disabledExportedStable

Name of TopComponent's Boolean client property which removes 'minimized' button from TopComponent's header and disables its 'Minimize Window' action when set to Boolean.TRUE. TopComponents which are already slided-out and have this property set to Boolean.TRUE will have 'pin' button removed from their header and their 'Minimize Window' action will be disabled.

netbeans.winsys.tc.undocking_disabledExportedStable

Name of TopComponent's Boolean client property which disables TopComponent's 'Undock Window' action when set to Boolean.TRUE. TopComponents which are already floating and have this property set to Boolean.TRUE will have their 'Dock Window' action disabled.

netbeans.winsys.tc.dragging_disabledExportedStable

Name of TopComponent's Boolean client property which disables drag and drop when set to Boolean.TRUE.

netbeans.winsys.tc.maximization_disabledExportedStable

Name of TopComponent's Boolean client property which disables TopComponent maximization by double-clicking its header when set to Boolean.TRUE. TopComponent's 'Maximize Window' action will be also disabled.

netbeans.winsys.tc.draganddrop_copy_disabledExportedStable

Name of TopComponent's Boolean client property which disables 'copy' drag and drop action of a TopComponent when set to Boolean.TRUE.

OpenIDE-Transmodal-ActionExportedFriend

An Action with the property OpenIDE-Transmodal-Action set to Boolean.TRUE should function on all focused components. This includes the Main Window, dialogs, popup menus, etc. Otherwise only the Main Window and TopComponents will receive the keystroke.

NbMainWindow.showCustomBackgroundExportedStable

Name of boolean property in javax.swing.UIManager. When the property value is TRUE then the window system will turn off opacity for most of the main window components - menu bar, toolbars, status bar, sliding bars and the main desktop area component. That means that the main window background will be showing through these components. The property value must be set before the window system loads.

netbeans.windowsExportedPrivate

This property was deleted and has no effect now, as sdi support was dropped and replaced by individual seperate windows. Please don't use, it's useless.

Group of branding interfaces
Interface NameIn/OutStabilitySpecified in What Document?
org.netbeans.core.windows.TopComponent.DragAndDrop.EnabledExportedStable

Name of resource bundle property which disables the drag and drop of window TopComponents when its value is set to false, the default value is true. The property value can be adjusted by branding of org.netbeans.core.windows module. Or use -J-DNB.WinSys.TopComponent.DragAndDrop.Enabled=false command-line switch to override.

org.netbeans.core.windows.TopComponent.Undocking.EnabledExportedStable

Name of resource bundle property which disables undocking of window TopComponents when its value is set to false, the default value is true. When this feature is disabled then there is no 'Undock' item in TopComponent popup menu and 'Undock Window' action the main menu is disabled. The property value can be adjusted by branding of org.netbeans.core.windows module. Or use -J-DNB.WinSys.TopComponent.Undocking.Enabled=false command-line switch to override.

org.netbeans.core.windows.TopComponent.Sliding.EnabledExportedStable

Name of resource bundle property which disables sliding of window TopComponents when its value is set to false, the default value is true. When this feature is disabled then there is no 'Minimize Window' item in TopComponent popup menu and also the Minimize button in TopComponent's header is hidden. The property value can be adjusted by branding of org.netbeans.core.windows module. Or use -J-DNB.WinSys.TopComponent.Sliding.Enabled=false command-line switch to override.

org.netbeans.core.windows.TopComponent.Resizing.EnabledExportedStable

Name of resource bundle property which disables resizing of window TopComponents when its value is set to false, the default value is true. When this feature is disabled then it is not possible to drag splitter bars to change the size of TopComponents. The property value can be adjusted by branding of org.netbeans.core.windows module. Or use -J-DNB.WinSys.TopComponent.Resizing.Enabled=false command-line switch to override.

org.netbeans.core.windows.View.TopComponent.Closing.EnabledExportedStable

Name of resource bundle property which disables closing of view TopComponents (non-editor windows) when its value is set to false, the default value is true. When this feature is disabled then there is no 'Close Window' item in view's popup menu, there is no close button in TopComponent's header and also 'Close Window' action in the main menu is disabled when a view TopComponent is activated. The property value can be adjusted by branding of org.netbeans.core.windows module. Or use -J-DNB.WinSys.View.TopComponent.Closing.Enabled=false command-line switch to override.

org.netbeans.core.windows.Editor.TopComponent.Closing.EnabledExportedStable

Name of resource bundle property which disables closing of editor TopComponents (document windows) when its value is set to false, the default value is true. When this feature is disabled then there are no 'Close Window', 'Close All Documents' and 'Close Other Documents' items in editor's popup menu, there is no close button in editor's header and also Close actions in the main menu are disabled when an editor TopComponent is activated. The property value can be adjusted by branding of org.netbeans.core.windows module. Or use -J-DNB.WinSys.Editor.TopComponent.Closing.Enabled=false command-line switch to override.

org.netbeans.core.windows.TopComponent.Maximization.EnabledExportedStable

Name of resource bundle property which disables maximization of TopComponents when its value is set to false, the default value is true. When this feature is disabled then there is no 'Maximize Window' item in TopComponent's popup menu and also 'Maximize Window' action in the main menu is disabled. The property value can be adjusted by branding of org.netbeans.core.windows module. Or use -J-DNB.WinSys.TopComponent.Maximization.Enabled=false command-line switch to override.

org.netbeans.core.windows.Splitter.Respect.MinimumSize.EnabledExportedStable

Name of resource bundle property which forces splitter to ignore TopComponent minimum size when resizing when its value is set to false, the default value is true. When this feature is enabled then the splitter bars will not move beyond the minimum size of its TopComponents. The property value can be adjusted by branding of org.netbeans.core.windows module. Or use -J-DNB.WinSys.Splitter.Respect.MinimumSize.Enabled=true command-line switch to override.

org.netbeans.core.windows.Mode.View.DragAndDrop.EnabledExportedStable

Name of resource bundle property which allows to drag and drop the whole group of non-document windows when its value is set to true, which is also the default value. The property value can be adjusted by branding of org.netbeans.core.windows module. Or use -J-DNB.WinSys.Mode.View.DragAndDrop.Enabled=false command-line switch to override.

org.netbeans.core.windows.Mode.Editor.DragAndDrop.EnabledExportedStable

Name of resource bundle property which allows to drag and drop the whole group of document windows when its value is set to false, which is also the default value. The property value can be adjusted by branding of org.netbeans.core.windows module. Or use -J-DNB.WinSys.Mode.Editor.DragAndDrop.Enabled=true command-line switch to override.

org.netbeans.core.windows.Mode.View.Undocking.EnabledExportedStable

Name of resource bundle property which allows to float the whole group of non-document windows when its value is set to true, which is also the default value. The property value can be adjusted by branding of org.netbeans.core.windows module. Or use -J-DNB.WinSys.Mode.View.Undocking.Enabled=false command-line switch to override.

org.netbeans.core.windows.Mode.Editor.Undocking.EnabledExportedStable

Name of resource bundle property which allows to float the whole group of document windows when its value is set to false, which is also the default value. The property value can be adjusted by branding of org.netbeans.core.windows module. Or use -J-DNB.WinSys.Mode.Editor.Undocking.Enabled=true command-line switch to override.

org.netbeans.core.windows.Mode.Sliding.EnabledExportedStable

Name of resource bundle property which allows to minimize (slide-out) the whole group of non-document windows when its value is set to true, which is also the default value. The property value can be adjusted by branding of org.netbeans.core.windows module. Or use -J-DNB.WinSys.Mode.Sliding.Enabled=false command-line switch to override.

org.netbeans.core.windows.TopComponent.Auto.Slide.In.Minimized.Mode.EnabledExportedStable

Name of resource bundle property which controls the opening of windows in a minimized (slided-out) group of non-document windows. When set to true (the default value) then a window which should open in a minimized group (Mode) will open also minimized (slided-out). When set to false a window will open docked even though the whole group (Mode) has been minimized. The property value can be adjusted by branding of org.netbeans.core.windows module. Or use -J-DNB.WinSys.TopComponent.Auto.Slide.In.Minimized.Mode.Enabled=false command-line switch to override.

org.netbeans.core.windows.Mode.Closing.EnabledExportedStable

Name of resource bundle property which allows to close the whole group of non-document windows when its value is set to true, which is also the default value. The property value can be adjusted by branding of org.netbeans.core.windows module. Or use -J-DNB.WinSys.Mode.Closing.Enabled=false command-line switch to override.

WinSys.Show.Hide.MainWindow.While.Switching.RoleExportedStable

Name of resource bundle property which controls whether the main IDE window may hide temporarily (true) when switching window layout role or whether the main window should stay visible when switching roles (false). The default value is false. The property value can be adjusted by branding of org.netbeans.core.windows module. Or use -J-DNB.WinSys.WinSys.Show.Hide.MainWindow.While.Switching.Role=true command-line switch to override.

WinSys.Open.New.Editors.DockedExportedStable

Name of resource bundle property which when set to true will force opening of new editor windows docked into the main IDE window. When set to false new editor windows will open tabbed with the last active editor window (which may be floating). The default value is false. The property value can be adjusted by branding of org.netbeans.core.windows module. Or use -J-DNB.WinSys.WinSys.Open.New.Editors.Docked=true command-line switch to override.

WinSys.DragAndDrop.Sliding.EnabledExportedStable

Name of resource bundle property which enables/disables drag and drop of TopComponents into sliding Modes. When set to true then user can drag a TopComponent and drop it into a sliding bar to minimize it. The default value is false. The property value can be adjusted by branding of org.netbeans.core.windows module. Or use -J-DNB.WinSys.WinSys.DragAndDrop.Sliding.Enabled=true command-line switch to override.

WinSys.TabControl.SimpleTabs.EnabledExportedStable

Name of resource bundle property which allows replacing the custom TabbedContainer with plain Swing JTabbedPane implementation when the property value is true. The default value is false. The property value can be adjusted by branding of org.netbeans.core.windows module. Or use -J-DNB.WinSys.WinSys.TabControl.SimpleTabs.Enabled=true command-line switch to override.

WinSys.TabControl.SimpleTabs.PlacementExportedStable

Name of resource bundle property which defines the placement of window tabs. The possible values are top (default), bottom, left, right. Branding of this property has no effect when WinSys.TabControl.SimpleTabs.Enabled is set to false. The property value can be adjusted by branding of org.netbeans.core.windows module.

WinSys.TabControl.SimpleTabs.MultiRowExportedStable

Name of resource bundle property which defines the tab layout when JTabbedPane implementation of tab control is being used. When set to true window tabs will be organized into multiple rows, when set to false the tab displayer will have scroll buttons. Branding of this property has no effect when WinSys.TabControl.SimpleTabs.Enabled is set to false. The property value can be adjusted by branding of org.netbeans.core.windows module.

WinSys.CtrlTabSwitching.In.JTable.EnabledExportedStable

Name of resource bundle property which can disable window switching when the input focus is in JTable or JTabbedPane.
Ctrl+Tab and Ctrl+Shift+Tab key strokes are hard-coded to switch between opened TopComponents. However the same keys are also used in some Containers (e.g. JTable and JTabbedPane) to transfer input focus to next Component.
When this property is set to true (default value) and input focus is in JTable or JTabbedPane then the window system will consume Ctrl+Tab and Ctrl+Shift+Tab key strokes and show window switcher popup.
When this property is set to false then KeyboardFocusManager will consume Ctrl+Tab and Ctrl+Shift+Tab key strokes to transfer focus out of JTable or out of JTabbedPane.
The property value can be adjusted by branding of org.netbeans.core.windows module. Or use -J-DNB.WinSys.WinSys.CtrlTabSwitching.In.JTable.Enabled=true command-line switch to override.

Group of systemproperty interfaces
Interface NameIn/OutStabilitySpecified in What Document?
netbeans.winsys.imageSourceExportedPrivate

Valid values are path to image in NB like "org/netbeans/core/resources/splash.gir". It puts the specified image into the the emptied documents area. it is experimental now. -J-Dnetbeans.winsys.imageSource=org/netbeans/core/resources/splash.gif

netbeans.winsys.dndfade.onExportedPrivate

Valid values are "true" and "false". Default is "false". If it is "true" it paint faded feedback during DnD of windows. Keep in mind it makes some performance impact on DnD. It is experimental now. -J-Dnetbeans.winsys.fade.on=true

netbeans.winsys.disable_dndExportedPrivate

Valid values are "true" and "false". Default is "false". If it is "true" it disables DnD of windows. -J-Dnetbeans.winsys.disable_dnd=true

netbeans.winsys.allow.dock.anywhereExportedPrivate

Valid values are "true" and "false". Default is "false". It allows user to move (e.g. using DnD) TopComponentS between editor(document) and view which is restricte otherwise. It is experimental now. -J-Dnetbeans.winsys.allow.dock.anywhere=true

netbeans.winsys.hideEmptyDocAreaExportedPrivate

Valid values are "true" and "false". Default is "false". If it is "true" it doesn't show empty documents area. -J-Dnetbeans.winsys.hideEmptyDocArea=true

netbeans.winsys.statusLine.in.menuBarExportedPrivate

Valid values are "true" and "false". Default is "false". If it is "true" it shows status line at the and of menu bar instead of the bottom of documents are (or main window). -J-Dnetbeans.winsys.statusLine.in.menuBar=true

netbeans.winsys.no_toolbarsExportedPrivate

Valid values are "true" and "false". Default is "false". If it is "true" it hides all toolbars. -J-Dnetbeans.winsys.no_toolbars=true

netbeans.winsys.menu_bar.pathExportedPrivate

If this property is set its value must point to a file on the system file system that provides instance of type org.openide.awt.MenuBar. This alternative menu bar will be used instead of the default one. -J-Dnetbeans.winsys.menu_bar.path=foo/bar.instance

netbeans.winsys.status_line.pathExportedPrivate

If this property is set its value must point to a file on the system file system that provides instance of type javax.swing.JComponent. This alternative status line will be used instead of the default one. -J-Dnetbeans.winsys.status_line.path=foo/bar.instance

netbeans.winsys.no_help_in_dialogsExportedPrivate

Valid values are "true" and "false". Default is "false". If set to "true" the modal dialogs will be shown without the help button. -J-Dnetbeans.winsys.no_help_in_dialogs=true

org.openide.windows.DummyWindowManager.VISIBLEExportedPrivate

If set to false, windows opened (e.g. TopComponent.open) using the dummy fallback window manager will not really be set to be visible. Useful for unit tests which must incidentally use the Window System API but for which actual display of windows is undesirable.

Group of javax.swing.UIManager interfaces
Interface NameIn/OutStabilitySpecified in What Document?
tab_focus_fill_darkExportedPrivate

One of colors used in own tabs UI implementation. Usage example: To get color, call javax.swing.UIManager.get("tab_focus_fill_dark")

tab_focus_fill_brightExportedPrivate

One of colors used in own tabs UI implementation. Usage example: To get color, call javax.swing.UIManager.get("tab_focus_fill_bright")

tab_unsel_fill_darkExportedPrivate

One of colors used in own tabs UI implementation. Usage example: To get color, call javax.swing.UIManager.get("tab_unsel_fill_dark")

tab_unsel_fill_brightExportedPrivate

One of colors used in own tabs UI implementation. Usage example: To get color, call javax.swing.UIManager.get("tab_unsel_fill_bright")

tab_sel_fillExportedPrivate

One of colors used in own tabs UI implementation. Usage example: To get color, call javax.swing.UIManager.get("tab_sel_fill")

tab_sel_fill_brightExportedPrivate

One of colors used in own tabs UI implementation. Usage example: To get color, call javax.swing.UIManager.get("tab_sel_fill_bright")

tab_sel_fill_darkExportedPrivate

One of colors used in own tabs UI implementation. Usage example: To get color, call javax.swing.UIManager.get("tab_sel_fill_dark")

tab_borderExportedPrivate

One of colors used in own tabs UI implementation. Usage example: To get color, call javax.swing.UIManager.get("tab_border")

tab_bottom_borderExportedPrivate

One of colors used in own tabs UI implementation. Usage example: To get color, call javax.swing.UIManager.get("tab_bottom_border")

tab_sel_borderExportedPrivate

One of colors used in own tabs UI implementation. Usage example: To get color, call javax.swing.UIManager.get("tab_sel_border")

workplace_fillExportedPrivate

One of colors used in own tabs UI implementation. Usage example: To get color, call javax.swing.UIManager.get("workplace_fill")

tab_highlight_headerExportedPrivate

One of colors used in own tabs UI implementation. Usage example: To get color, call javax.swing.UIManager.get("tab_highlight_header")

tab_highlight_header_fillExportedPrivate

One of colors used in own tabs UI implementation. Usage example: To get color, call javax.swing.UIManager.get("tab_highlight_header_fill")

standard_borderExportedPrivate

One of colors used in own tabs UI implementation. Usage example: To get color, call javax.swing.UIManager.get("standard_border")

org.netbeans.core.windows.view.ui.tabcontrol.BorderProviderExportedPrivate

Custom border management for tabbed containers can be achieved by implementing interface org.netbeans.core.windows.view.ui.tabcontrol.BorderProvider and putting instance into Swing's UIManager table under key with the same name as interface has. Usage example: Provide BorderProviderImpl implementation and put it in table javax.swing.UIManager.put("org.netbeans.core.windows.view.ui.tabcontrol.BorderProvider", borderProviderImpl) during startup, before main window is shown.

Group of logger interfaces
Interface NameIn/OutStabilitySpecified in What Document?
org.netbeans.ui.actions.UI_ACTION_KEY_PRESSExportedFriend

There is a special support for notifying when an action is invoked by the TopComponent's key event handling code. The support is using Logger.getLogger("org.netbeans.ui.actions") and sents a LogRecord with message UI_ACTION_KEY_PRESS, FINER level and paramerters:
  • {0} instance of the KeyStroke
  • {1} toString of the KeyStroke
  • {2} instance of the action
  • {3} class of the action
  • {4} display name of the action
whenever such action is invoked. This message can then be consumed by enhanced UI logger that track what the user is going.

Group of dtd interfaces
Interface NameIn/OutStabilitySpecified in What Document?
windowmanager-properties2_0.dtdExportedUnder Development .../dtds/windowmanager-properties2_0.dtd

-//NetBeans//DTD Window Manager Properties 2.01//EN

mode-properties2_0.dtdExportedUnder Development .../dtds/mode-properties2_0.dtd

-//NetBeans//DTD Mode Properties 2.0//EN

tc_ref2_0.dtdExportedUnder Development ...//www.netbeans.org/dtds/tc_ref2_0.dtd

-//NetBeans//DTD Top Component in Mode Properties 2.0//EN

group-properties2_0.dtdExportedUnder Development .../dtds/group-properties2_0.dtd

-//NetBeans//DTD Group Properties 2.0//EN

tc_group2_0.dtdExportedUnder Development ...//www.netbeans.org/dtds/tc_group2_0.dtd

-//NetBeans//DTD Top Component in Group Properties 2.0//EN

sessionsettings-1_0.dtdExportedUnder Development .../dtds/sessionsettings-1_0.dtd

-//NetBeans//DTD Session settings 1.0//EN


General Information


Project and platform dependencies


Deployment


Compatibility with environment


Access to resources


Lookup of components


Execution Environment


Format of files and protocols


Performance and Scalability