With the JInternalFrame class you can display a JFrame-like window within another window. Usually, you add internal frames to a desktop pane. The desktop pane, in turn, might be used as the content pane of a JFrame. The desktop pane is an instance of JDesktopPane, which is a subclass of JLayeredPane that has added API for managing multiple overlapping internal frames.
You should consider carefully whether to base your program's GUI around frames or internal frames. Switching from internal frames to frames or vice versa is not necessarily a simple task. By experimenting with both frames and internal frames, you can get an idea of the tradeoffs involved in choosing one over the other.
Here is a picture of an application that has two internal frames (one of which is iconified) inside a regular frame:
Try this:MyInternalFrame class, which is the custom subclass of JInternalFrame.The following code, taken from InternalFrameDemo.java, creates the desktop and internal frames in the previous example.
...//In the constructor of InternalFrameDemo, a JFrame subclass:
desktop = new JDesktopPane();
createFrame(); //Create first window
setContentPane(desktop);
...
//Make dragging a little faster but perhaps uglier.
desktop.setDragMode(JDesktopPane.OUTLINE_DRAG_MODE);
...
protected void createFrame() {
MyInternalFrame frame = new MyInternalFrame();
frame.setVisible(true);
desktop.add(frame);
try {
frame.setSelected(true);
} catch (java.beans.PropertyVetoException e) {}
}
...//In the constructor of MyInternalFrame, a JInternalFrame subclass:
static int openFrameCount = 0;
static final int xOffset = 30, yOffset = 30;
public MyInternalFrame() {
super("Document #" + (++openFrameCount),
true, //resizable
true, //closable
true, //maximizable
true);//iconifiable
//...Create the GUI and put it in the window...
//...Then set the window size or call pack...
...
//Set the window's location.
setLocation(xOffset*openFrameCount, yOffset*openFrameCount);
}
Internal Frames vs. Regular Frames
The code for using internal frames is similar in many ways to the code for using regular Swing frames. Because internal frames have root panes, setting up the GUI for a JInternalFrame is very similar to setting up the GUI for a JFrame. JInternalFrame also provides other API, such as pack, that makes it similar to JFrame.
Just as for a regular frame, you must invoke setVisible(true) or show() on an internal frame to display it. The internal frame does not appear until you explicitly make it visible.
Internal frames are not windows or top-level containers, however, which makes them different from frames. For example, you must add an internal frame to a container (usually a JDesktopPane); an internal frame cannot be the root of a containment hierarchy. Also, internal frames do not generate window events. Instead, the user actions that would cause a frame to fire window events cause an internal frame to fire internal frame events.
Because internal frames are implemented with platform-independent code, they add some features that frames cannot give you. One such feature is that internal frames give you more control over their state and capabilities than frames do. You can programmatically iconify or maximize an internal frame. You can also specify what icon goes in the internal frame's title bar. You can even specify whether the internal frame has the window decorations to support resizing, iconifying, closing, and maximizing.
Another feature is that internal frames are designed to work within desktop panes. The JInternalFrame API contains methods such as moveToFront that work only if the internal frame's container is a layered pane such as a JDesktopPane.
If you have built any programs using JFrame and the other Swing components, then you already know a lot about how to use internal frames. The following list summarizes the rules for using internal frames. For additional information, see How to Make Frames and The JComponent Class.
setSize, pack, or setBounds.
setLocation or setBounds method to specify the upper left point of the internal frame, relative to its container.
JFrame situation. See Adding Components to the Content Pane for details.
JOptionPane or JInternalFrame, not JDialog.
JOptionPane showInternalXxxDialog methods, as described in How to Make Dialogs.
JDesktopPane), the internal frame will not appear.
show or setVisible on internal frames.
setVisible(true) or show() to make them visible.
When a desktop has many internal frames, the user might notice that moving them seems slow. Outline dragging is one way to avoid this problem. With outline dragging, only the outline of the internal frame is painted at the current mouse position while the internal frame's being dragged. The internal frame's innards are not repainted at a new position until dragging stops. The default behavior (called live dragging) is to reposition and repaint some or all of internal frame continuously while it is being moved; this can be slow if the desktop has many internal frames.
Use the JDesktopPane method setDragMode* to specify outline dragging. For example:
desktop.setDragMode(JDesktopPane.OUTLINE_DRAG_MODE);The Internal Frame API
The following tables list the commonly used JInternalFrame constructors and methods, as well as a few methods that JDesktopPane provides. Besides the API listed in this section, JInternalFrame inherits useful API from its superclasses, JComponent, Component, and Container. See The JComponent Class for lists of methods from those classes.
Like JInternalFrame, JDesktopPane descends from JComponent, and thus provides the methods described in The JComponent Class. Because JDesktopPane extends JLayeredPane, it also supports the methods described in The Layered Pane API.
The API for using internal frames falls into these categories:
JInternalFrame instance. The first argument specifies the title (if any) to be displayed by the internal frame. The rest of the arguments specify whether the internal frame should contain decorations allowing the user to resize, close, maximize, and iconify the internal frame (specified in that order). The default value for each boolean argument is false, which means that the operation is not allowed. static int showInternalConfirmDialog(Component, Object)
JInternalFrame that simulates a dialog. See How to Make Dialogs for details. Examples that Use Internal Frames
The following examples use internal frames. Because internal frames are similar to regular frames, you should also look at Examples that Use Frames.
Example Where Described NotesMyInternalFrame This page. Implements an internal frame that appears at an offset to the previously created internal frame. InternalFrameDemo This page. Lets you create internal frames (instances of MyInternalFrame) that go into the application's JDesktopPane. InternalFrameEventDemo How to Write an Internal Frame Listener Demonstrates listening for internal frame events. Also demonstrates positioning internal frames within a desktop pane.
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