Swing Hacks

Minimize to a Mini-Frame #40

Chapter 5, Windows, Dialogs, and Frames

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207

HACK

When the user clicks the triangle at the bottom left, the More Info text area

appears, as seen in Figure 5-10.

H A C K

#40

Minimize to a Mini-Frame Hack #40

When you want your program to have a smaller window but still be on the

screen, try building a mini-mode.

Since the advent of iTunes, it seems that all consumer-oriented applications

must have meticulous interfaces that can dynamically adjust themselves.

Gone are the days of simply minimizing an application. Now your program

must have a small version rather than (or in addition to) hiding when mini-

mized. The smaller version contains limited controls but can fit nicely at the

bottom of the screen. This hack shows how to create a dynamic frame that

can switch properly between sizes for a more modern-looking interface.

JScrollPane scroller =

new JScrollPane (area,

ScrollPaneConstants.VERTICAL_SCROLLBAR_ALWAYS,

ScrollPaneConstants.HORIZONTAL_SCROLLBAR_NEVER);

MoreInfoPanel mip = new MoreInfoPanel (grabbedContent, scroller);

dialog.setContentPane (mip);

dialog.pack( );

dialog.setVisible(true);

// dialog blocks on setVisible (JOptionPane makes it modal)

System.exit(0);

}

}

Figure 5-10. The Warning dialog after opening the MoreInfoPanel

Example 5-8. A spin-open dialog using a MoreInfoPanel (continued)