Form Object Nodes in the Explorer

See Also 

The Explorer displays all Java source files that contain GUI forms as form object nodes (Form object node icon). The Form Editor recognizes only form objects that were created using the IDE's form templates, such as JFC/Swing templates and AWT templates. You cannot manipulate other form objects using the Form Editor.

Note The Form Editor might not be available in your version of the IDE. If it is available, you see a GUI Editing workspace. You can enable the Form Editor module by choosing Tools and choosing Update Center.

Each form object node expands to reveal subnodes for each of its classes (Class node icon) and interfaces (Interface node icon). When you open a file in the Form Editor, a Top Form Component node (icon for Top Form Component Node) appears under the form object node. The Top Form Component node contains nodes for all of the file's components. Right-click any component's node to manipulate its appearance and behavior.

Contextual Menu Commands

You can right-click any form object node to access a contextual menu containing the following commands:

Badge Icons

The IDE affixes badge icons to Explorer icons to indicate a particular state of the object. The following table lists the badge icons used by the IDE.

Icon Description
Needs compilation badge The file needs to be compiled. It has not been compiled or the source has changed since the last compilation.
Runnable object badge The file is a runnable object.
File cannot be parsed badge The file cannot be parsed. The file might contain an unrecoverable syntactic error or there might have been a problem reading the file.

Form Object Node Properties

The Properties tab of the property sheets for form object nodes contain the following properties:

The Execution tab in the property sheets for form object nodes let you specify how files are compiled and executed in the IDE. Any settings you set here override project-wide defaults.You can set the following properties on the Expert tab:

The Text tab of the property sheet for form object nodes has the following property:

See Also
Class Nodes in the Explorer
Interface Nodes in the Explorer
Field Nodes in the Explorer
Constructor Nodes in the Explorer
Method Nodes in the Explorer
Bean Pattern Nodes in the Explorer

The Explorer
Overriding Methods
Using the Import Management Tool
Synchronizing Source Code
Configuring Java Settings

Legal Notices