posted 20 years ago
Try working with the InputMap for the frame's content pane. The condition "WHEN_IN_FOCUSED_WINDOW" will intercept any strokes to any of the components in that panel.
You can also try calling registerKeyboardAction on the content pane under the above condition. I've done that in the past on a JTabbedPane to implement an IntelliJ style alt+left and alt+right switching between tabs, no matter what component currently has focus. Just keep in min JDK 1.4 says this method is "obsolete", though it has not officially deprecated it.
JCP, JCD, WCD... and all around nice guy.