Changing colors on my swing app

[Ralph Cook]

I would like to change colors on my Swing app; I do not need to change anything else about the look and feel. I want to do this while the application is running.

I have found a method that, when put in a class that extends one of the basic look and feel classes, does some of what I want. It has the following method in it:

  protected void initSystemColorDefaults(UIDefaults table)
  {
    ColorUIResource pr1 = new ColorUIResource(new Color(127, 127, 255));
    ColorUIResource pr2 = new ColorUIResource(new Color(0, 0, 127));
    ColorUIResource pr3 = new ColorUIResource(new Color(63, 63, 191));
    ColorUIResource pr4 = new ColorUIResource(new Color(0, 0, 255));
    ColorUIResource blk = new ColorUIResource(Color.BLACK);
    ColorUIResource wht = new ColorUIResource(Color.WHITE);
    ColorUIResource gry = new ColorUIResource(Color.GRAY);
    ColorUIResource ylw = new ColorUIResource(Color.YELLOW);
    Object[] colors =
    {
    "desktop",              pr1, /* Color of the desktop background */
    "activeCaption",        pr3, /* Color for captions (title bars) when they are active.  */
    "activeCaptionText",    wht, /* Text color for text in captions (title bars). */
    "activeCaptionBorder",  blk, /* Border color for caption (title bar) window borders. */
    "inactiveCaption",      pr1, /* Color for captions (title bars) when not active. */
    "inactiveCaptionText",  gry, /* Text color for text in inactive captions (title bars). */
    "inactiveCaptionBorder", gry, /* Border color for inactive caption (title  bar) window borders. */
    "window",               wht, /* Default color for the interior of windows */
    "windowBorder",         blk, /* Color of the window border */
    "windowText",           blk, /* Color of the window text */
    "menu",                 pr1, /* Background color for menus */
    "menuText",             blk, /* Text color for menus */
    "text",                 pr1, /* Text background color */
    "textText",             blk, /* Text foreground color */
    "textHighlight",        pr4, /* Text background color when selected */
    "textHighlightText",    wht, /* Text color when selected */
    "textInactiveText",     gry, /* Text color when disabled */
    "control",              pr1, /* Default color for controls (buttons, sliders, etc) */
    "controlText",          blk, /* Default color for text in controls (buttons, sliders, etc) */
    "controlHighlight",     pr4, /* Highlight color for controls */
    "controlLtHighlight",   wht, /* Lighter highlight color for controls */
    "controlShadow",        pr2, /* Shadow color for controls */
    "controlDkShadow",      blk, /* Dark shadow color for controls */
    "scrollbar",            pr3, /* Scrollbar background (usually the "track") */
    "info",                 wht, /* Background color for informational text */
    "infoText",             blk  /* Color for informational text */
    };
    table.putDefaults(colors);
  }

When I change to this look and feel while the app is running, a number of colors on the UI change. So far so good.

Some of the colors on the UI, however, do not change. Is there a way to add to the above method so that I have control over all (or at least more of) the colors?

For instance, the background color for the menu and toolbar do not change, and I would like them to. I also think I could make things better looking if I had control over the slider bars and their backgrounds, etc.

One frustrating thing is that the comments in the above code (which were included with the code, they aren't mine) don't seem to match what happens. For instance, one of them claims to be the color for title bar captions when they are active, another claims to be the color for the color of the window border, but I can't get any change to the UI by setting either of those colors.

Anyway, if someone knows where I could find a complete list of colors, or anything else of note about this method, I'd appreciate it.

rc

[Darryl Burke]

a number of colors on the UI change. So far so good.

Some of the colors on the UI, however, do not change.

Have you gone through Changing the Look and Feel After Startup?

one of them claims to be the color for title bar captions when they are active, another claims to be the color for the color of the window border, but I can't get any change to the UI by setting either of those colors.

Sounds like you're not using the LaF decorations (setDefaultLookAndFeelDecorated(true))

[Ralph Cook]

Darryl Burke wrote:

a number of colors on the UI change. So far so good.

Some of the colors on the UI, however, do not change.

Have you gone through Changing the Look and Feel After Startup?

[/quote=Darryl Burke]

Yes, that is how I got some of the colors to change. And I am changing the outermost container, so the colors that aren't changing are still within the container.

Darryl Burke wrote:

one of them claims to be the color for title bar captions when they are active, another claims to be the color for the color of the window border, but I can't get any change to the UI by setting either of those colors.

Sounds like you're not using the LaF decorations (setDefaultLookAndFeelDecorated(true))

You were right -- setting that got a couple of other things to change (window decorations, e.g.), but still not all of them. I'm still missing changes to the background text for the menu and toolbar, for instance.

Does anyone know where definitions of these colors might be? I was surprised when I couldn't find them in the java documentation for this method, or a pointer to them or something.

rc

[Darryl Burke]

Check out Rob Camick's UIManager Defaults. Note that the settings are part of certain LaFs and are not documented API, so don't expect all combinations to work with all LaFs.

[Campbell Ritchie]

Also that array looks very peculiar. It looks like something which ought to be put in a Map.

[Darryl Burke]

That's probably what table.putDefaults does.

It would probably be more in line with Swing design to write a custom Theme extending DefaultMetalTheme or its subclass OceanTheme.

[Campbell Ritchie]

Darryl Burke wrote:That's probably what table.putDefaults does. . . . .

You're correct.