Getting native Open, Save, Page Setup & Print easily

[Kaydell Leavitt]

I've been told that if you use the "older" AWT methods to open and save a file, that you actually get the "newer" version which are available from Mac OS X. For example, when you open or save, the commands work like Mac users expect which is great. And you get the side-bar and the spotlight feature.

Also, with Page Setup and the Print command, I understand that if you use AWT instead of Swing that you get the Mac versions, such as being able to print to PDF file.

Does anyone see any problems with using these "older" AWT commands to get a more modern "Mac-Like" experience while retaining all of the advantages of Java?

By the way, I need to develop desktop apps that work both with Tiger and Leopard (and possibly with XP & Vista).
[ April 10, 2008: Message edited by: Kaydell Leavitt ]

[Ulf Dittmer]

While generally AWT and Swing components shouldn't be mixed, the ones you mention are an exception (they don't really interact with the other GUI elements). I've been using the AWT file dialog in Swing apps for a long time, and it works just fine.

If you're interested in making Swing apps look more like native apps, have a look at the http://faq.javaranch.com/java/MacOsxFaq : OSXAdapter, AppleJavaExtensions , Tailoring Java Applications for Mac OS X and Make Your Swing App Go Native should be of interest.

[Kaydell Leavitt]

Thanks Ulf!
[ April 11, 2008: Message edited by: Kaydell Leavitt ]