Designing Java GUIs

Use the IDE's Form Editor to visually design GUIs (graphical user interfaces). As you visually create and modify your GUI, the Java code to implement it is automatically generated and updated.

Tip The Form Editor might not be available in your version of the IDE. You can enable the Form Editor module by choosing Tools and choose Update Center.

To use the Form Editor, you must work with files that were created with the IDE's GUI form templates. You cannot edit GUI forms that were created outside of the IDE in the Form Editor.

When you open a GUI form in the IDE, the Source Editor displays two tabs for the file:

For more information about creating Java GUIs, see the "Creating a GUI with JFC/Swing" tutorial at http://java.sun.com/docs/books/tutorial/uiswing.

Follow these links for help on designing, creating, and updating Java GUIs:

See Also
Form Editor
Inspector Window
Palette Window
Adding a Component to a Form
Creating a New Form
Setting the Layout Manager
Managing Component Events
Modifying GUI Source Code

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