Swing hacks tips

SwingHacks
ByChrisAdamson,JoshuaMarinacci
...............................................
Publisher:O'Reilly
PubDate:June2005
ISBN:0-596-00907-0
Pages:542

TableofContents|Index

SwingHackshelpsJavadevelopersmovebeyondthebasicsofSwing,thegraphicaluser
interface(GUI)standardsinceJava2.Ifyou'reaJavadeveloperlookingtobuild
enterpriseapplicationswithafirst-classlookandfeel,Swingisdefinitelyoneskillyou
needtomaster.ThislatesttitlefromO'ReillyisareferencetothecoolstuffinSwing.It's
abouttheinterestingthingsyoulearnovertheyears--creative,original,evenweirdhacks-thethingsthatmakeyousay,"Ididn'tknowyoucouldevendothatwithSwing!"
SwingHackswillshowyouhowtoextendSwing'srichcomponentsetinadvancedand
sometimesnon-obviousways.ThebooktouchesupontheentireSwinggamut-tables,
trees,sliders,spinners,progressbars,internalframes,andtextcomponents.Detailisalso
providedonJTable/JTree,threadedcomponentmodels,andtranslucentwindows.You'll
learnhowtofilterlists,power-uptreesandtables,andadddrag-and-dropsupport.
SwingHackswillshowyouhowtodofunthingsthatwilldirectlyenhanceyourown
applications.Somearevisualenhancementstomakeyoursoftwarelookbetter.Someare
functionalimprovementstomakeyoursoftwaredosomethingitcouldn'tdobefore.Some
areevenjustplainsilly,inprintonlytoproveitcouldbedone.Thebookwillalsogiveyou
giveyouasmallglimpseoftheapplicationscominginthefuture.Newtechnologyis
streamingintotheJavacommunityatablisteringrate,anditgivesapplicationdevelopers
awholenewsetofblockstoplaywith.
Withitsprofusionoftipsandtricks,SwingHacksisn'tjustforthedeveloperwhowantsto
buildabetteruserinterface.It'salsoideallysuitedforclient-sideJavadeveloperswho
wanttodeliverpolishedapplications,enthusiastswhowanttopushJavaclientapplication
boundaries,andcoderswhowanttobringpowerfultechniquestotheirownapplications.

Whateveryourprogrammingneeds,SwingHacksispackedwithprogramminglessonsthat
increaseyourcompetencywithinterface-buildingtools.


SwingHacks
ByChrisAdamson,JoshuaMarinacci
...............................................
Publisher:O'Reilly
PubDate:June2005
ISBN:0-596-00907-0
Pages:542

TableofContents|Index

Credits
AbouttheAuthors
Contributors
Acknowledgments
Preface
WhySwingHacks?
HowtoUseThisBook
HowThisBookIsOrganized
ConventionsUsedinThisBook
UsingCodeExamples
HowtoContactUs
GotaHack?
SafariEnabled
Chapter1.BasicJComponents
Section1.1.Hacks112:Introduction
Hack1.CreateImage-ThemedComponents
Hack2.Don'tSettleforBoringTextLabels
Hack3.FillYourBorderswithPrettyPictures
Hack4.DisplayDatesinaCustomCalendar
Hack5.AddaWatermarktoaTextComponent
Hack6.WatermarkYourScrollPanes
Hack7.PutaNASAPhotointotheBackgroundofaTextArea
Hack8.AnimateTransitionsBetweenTabs
Hack9.BlurDisabledComponents
Hack10.BuildingaDrop-DownMenuButton

Hack11.CreateMenuswithDropShadows
Hack12.AddTranslucencetoMenus
Chapter2.ListsandCombos
Section2.1.Hacks1320:Introduction
Hack13.FilterJLists
Hack14.AddaFilterHistory
Hack15.MakeJListsCheckable
Hack16.MakeDifferentListItemsLookDifferent
Hack17.ReorderaJListwithDrag-and-Drop
Hack18.AnimateYourJListSelections
Hack19.TurnMethodsintoListRenderers
Hack20.CreateaCollections-AwareJComboBox
Chapter3.TablesandTrees
Section3.1.Hacks2127:Introduction
Hack21.SizeYourColumnstoSuitYourJTable'sContents

Hack22.AddColumnSelectiontoJTables
Hack23.LetYourJTablesDotheSorting
Hack24.CreateaJDBCTableModel
Hack25.ExportTableDatatoanExcelSpreadsheet
Hack26.SearchThroughJTablesEasily
Hack27.AnimateJTreeDrops
Chapter4.FileChoosers
Section4.1.Hacks2832:Introduction
Hack28.AddaRight-ClickContextMenutotheJFileChooser
Hack29.DisplayShortcutsintheJFileChooser
Hack30.RealWindowsShortcutSupport
Hack31.AddImagePreviewtoFileChoosers
Hack32.PreviewZIPandJARFiles
Chapter5.Windows,Dialogs,andFrames
Section5.1.Hacks3340:Introduction
Hack33.WindowSnapping
Hack34.MakeaDraggableWindow
Hack35.AddWindowsResizeIcons
Hack36.AddStatusBarstoWindows
Hack37.SaveWindowSettings
Hack38.EarthquakeDialog
Hack39.SpinOpenaDetailPane
Hack40.MinimizetoaMini-Frame
Chapter6.TransparentandAnimatedWindows

Section6.1.Hacks4147:Introduction
Hack41.TransparentWindows
Hack42.MakeYourFrameDissolve
Hack43.CreateCustomToolTips
Hack44.TurnDialogsintoFrame-AnchoredSheets
Hack45.AnimatingaSheetDialog
Hack46.SlideNotesOutfromtheTaskbar
Hack47.IndefiniteProgressIndicator
Chapter7.Text
Section7.1.Hacks4855:Introduction
Hack48.MakeTextComponentsSearchable
Hack49.ForceTextInputintoSpecificFormats
Hack50.Auto-CompletingTextFields
Hack51.WriteBackwardText
Hack52.UseHTMLandCSSinTextComponents
Hack53.UseGlobalAnti-AliasedFonts
Hack54.Anti-AliasedTextWithoutCode
Hack55.Anti-AliasedTextwithaCustomLookandFeel

Chapter8.Rendering
Section8.1.Hacks5664:Introduction
Hack56.CreateaMagnifyingGlassComponent
Hack57.CreateaGlobalRight-Click
Hack58.BlockaWindowWithoutaModalDialog
Hack59.CreateaColorEyedropper
Hack60.ChangingFontsThroughoutYourApplication
Hack61.LoadNewFontsatRuntime
Hack62.BuildaColorfulVector-BasedButton
Hack63.AddaThirdDimensiontoSwing
Hack64.TurntheSpotlightonSwing
Chapter9.Drag-and-Drop
Section9.1.Hacks6569:Introduction
Hack65.Drag-and-DropwithFiles
Hack66.HandleDroppedURLs
Hack67.HandleDroppedImages
Hack68.HandlingDroppedPictsonMacOSX
Hack69.TranslucentDrag-and-Drop
Chapter10.Audio
Section10.1.Hacks7078:Introduction
Hack70.PlayaSoundinanApplet

Hack71.PlayaSoundwithJavaSound
Hack72.PlayaSoundwithJavaMediaFramework
Hack73.PlayaSoundwithQuickTimeforJava
Hack74.AddMP3SupporttoJMF
Hack75.BuildanAudioWaveformDisplay
Hack76.PlayNon-TrivialAudio
Hack77.ShowAudioInformationWhilePlayingSoundHack
Hack78.ProvideAudioControlsDuringPlayback
Chapter11.NativeIntegrationandPackaging
Section11.1.Hacks7987:Introduction
Hack79.LaunchExternalProgramsonWindows
Hack80.OpenFiles,Directories,andURLsonMacOSX
Hack81.MakeMacApplicationsBehaveNormally
Hack82.ControliTunesonMacOSX
Hack83.ControliTunesUnderWindows
Hack84.ConstructSingle-LaunchApplications
Hack85.StuffStuffinJARs
Hack86.MakeQuickLookandFeelChanges
Hack87.CreateanInverseBlack-and-WhiteTheme
Chapter12.Miscellany
Section12.1.Hacks88100:Introduction
Hack88.DisplayaBusyCursor
Hack89.FunwithKeyboardLights
Hack90.CreateDemonstrationswiththeRobotClass
Hack91.CheckYourMailwithSwing
Hack92.Don'tBlocktheGUI
Hack93.CodeModelsThatDon'tBlock

Hack94.FireEventsandStayBugFree
Hack95.DebugYourGUI
Hack96.DebugComponentswithaCustomGlassPane
Hack97.MirroranApplication
Hack98.AddVelocityforDynamicHTML
Hack99.GetLargeFileIcons
Hack100.MakeFramesResizeDynamically
Colophon
Index


Credits
AbouttheAuthors
Contributors
Acknowledgments


AbouttheAuthors
JoshuaMarinaccistartedplayingwithJavainthesummerof'95
attherequestofhisfavoriteTAandhasneverlookedback.
SincethenhehasbuiltallmannerofJavasoftwareforclients
rangingfromlargeFortune500companiestosmallInternet
startups.Hequicklydiscoveredhispassionforuserinterfaces
andclientsoftware,buildingareputationinthedesktopJava
worldandfinallyjoiningtheSwingTeamatSuninthespringof
2005.Inhissparetime,Joshuawritesarticlesandweblogsfor
Java.netwhilecontributingtotheJDIC,JDNC,andWinLAFopen
sourceprojects.HealsoheadsupFlyingSaucer,anopen
source,all-JavaXHTMLrenderer.Thisishisfirstbook,but
hopefullynothislast.HelivesinhistoricEastAtlantawithhis

girlfriendKimandtheiryellowlabradorEliza.
ChrisAdamsonistheEditorofO'Reilly'sONJavasiteandthe
AssociateOnlineEditorforJava.net,acollaborationofO'Reilly,
SunMicrosystems,andCollabNet.HealsowritesaboutJava
andMactopicsonlineandspeaksatconferencessuchas
ADHOC/MacHackandtheO'ReillyMacOSXConference.He
developsmediaapplicationsundertheguiseofhisconsulting
company,Subsequently&Furthermore,Inc.HehasanM.A.in
TelecommunicationsfromMichiganStateUniversityandaB.A.
inEnglishandB.S.inSymbolicSystemsfromStanford
University.HelivesinAtlantawithhiswife,Kelly,andtheir
children,KeaganandQuinn,andhehasthusfarmanagedto
ownsevenandahalfMacs.


Contributors
Swingisbigenoughthatsurelyeveryonewhoworkswithit
takesawaysomenewideasforhowtohackit.Ourcontributors
helpedfleshthisbookoutwithhacksthatblewusawayand
thatwe'resureyou'lllike,too.
RomainGuyisaFrenchstudentcurrentlyworkingasan
internwiththeSwingTeamatSunMicrosystemsin
California.HediscoveredJavain1998andcontributedto
theOpenSource/FreeSoftwarecommunitywithJext,a
Javasourcecodeeditorhedevelopedoverfiveyears.Heis
alsoafreelancejournalistforLogin:,aFrenchcomputing
magazine.Nevershortforideas,healsowrotefor
Javalobby,theJavadeveloper'sjournal,andacoupleof
Frenchmagazines.Romainseeksforotherexperiences
wheneverhecan:heworksasatranslatorforO'Reilly

France,hetaughtJavainaFrenchuniversity,hefulfilled
severalmissionsasafreelanceJavadeveloper,andheeven
workedasavideogameprogrammer.Today,Romain
focusesonUIdesignandhumaneinteraction.Heshareshis
workonhisweblog:www.jroller.com/page/gfx.
JonathanSimonisacomprehensiveclient-sideexpert,
designinganddevelopingmission-criticalfinancialtrading
clientsforWallStreetinvestmentbanks.Thisrequiresa
fluidcombinationofbusinessandtaskanalysisand
interactiondesignwiththeintricaciesofJavarich-client
developmenttocreatecontentrich,ergonomictrading
applications.Hehaswrittenextensivelyabouthis
experiencesforJava.net,IBMDeveloperWorks,JavaWorld,
andAddisonWesley.Anavidpercussionist,composer,and
electronicmusician,Jonathanalsodevelopsmusicsoftware
inJava.Heisespeciallyinterestedininteractiondesignand
datavisualization.


Acknowledgments
Joshua
ThisbookhasgonefasterthatIeverimagined,fromoriginal
concepttofinaldraftinlessthanayear.WritingSwingHacks
washarderthanIeverthought,givingmegreatrespectfor
thosewhowritecompletenovels.Ihavehadtheutmostfun,
however,andwouldn'ttradetheexperiencefortheworld.
IwouldfirstliketothankKimi,mylovingpartnerwho
convincedmetopursuewritingasaseriousendeavor.Shehas
alwaysbelievedthatIcouldbemorethanjustacontractcoder.
Icouldn'thavedoneitwithoutyou,Sweetie.

ManythankstomyfamilyandfriendswhoalwayssaidthatI
wasneverlivinguptomypotential.Thankyouforraising,
loving,andteachingme.Ipromisetoliveuptomypotential
now,startingnextweek.
ThankstothegreatteamatO'Reilly,especiallyBrett,who
tirelesslyreadthroughmydrafts,dottedthets,crossedtheis,
andmademyprosereadable.
ThanksgoouttothereadersofJava.netandDanielSteinberg,
myJava.neteditor,whohavealwaysprovidedencouragement,
feedback,andconstructivecriticism.WithouttheJava
community'secologyofcodeandfreshideas,thisbook
wouldn'thavebeenpossible.
SpecialthankstoJonathanandRomainwhogaveustheboost
weneededtogetthebookfinished.They'veputinsomegreat
stuff.I'veevenlearnedafewthings.
ExtraspecialthankstoChriswhobelievedfromthestartthat


thiswasagreatideaforabook.Heguidedmethroughthe
proposalprocess,shapedourdraft,andalwayskeptthebook
ontrack.MaybewecanfinallygetthatOkamaGameSphere.
And,finally,myunendingthankstoalloftheSwingTeam
developerswhoputin10yearsofbloodandsweat,making
Swingthepowerfultoolkititistoday.Ihopewecankeep
pushingitforward.

Chris
CreditforthisbookneedstobeginwithJoshuaI'mstilltempted
totype"Joshy"becausethat'shisusernameeverywherewho
startedthisbookasaninformalseriesonhispopularJava.net

weblogandhadthewherewithaltopushthroughabook
proposal.
Also,allthereallycoolhacksarehis.ButIthinkthat'swhat
everyoneinvolvedwiththisbookhasbeensayingwhenthey
readwhattheothershavecontributed.
Andspeakingofthem,thanksalsotoourcontributors,Romain
andJonathan,whocameinatjusttherighttimetogetthis
bookoverthehumpandmakeitreal.Theirinventivenessand
responsivenesshelpeduspullthrough.
ThankstoBrettMcLaughlin,whowasonthereceivingendofa
prettywildbrain-dump,withtwoauthorsandtwocontributors
goingonwildlydifferenttangents.Hehelpedshapethisbook
intosomethingreadableandfun.
LotsofotherpeopleinO'Reillyproductionwillhandlethisbook
afterIfinishwritingthisacknowledgment,andIthankthemin
advanceforeverythingtheydo.
And,ofcourse,thankstoKellyandKeaganforholdingdownthe


fortathomewhiledaddywasintheofficeworkingonthisbook.
Quinnalsocontributed,sleepingonmylapwhileIbangedout
partsofChapters10and11.
ObligatoryO'Reillytunecheck:thistimeitwasDelgados,The
Tubes,GreenDay,L'Arc~en~Ciel,DavidBowie,FrankZappa,
PuffyAmiYumi,LittleFeat,theGundamWingEndlessWaltz
soundtrackandtheArmitage'sDimensionstream.


Preface
Hi,welcometoSwingHacks!Thisbookisareference,butnota

completereferenceoftheSwingAPI.Wealreadyhavethat.It's
calledJavaSwing,ispublishedbyO'Reilly,andweighsinat
over1,200pages.It'savailableforpurchaseatfinebookstores
andRussianblackmarketwebsiteseverywhere.We'renot
sayingthatitisn'tagreatbook.It'sfantastic!We'veowned
manyweatheredcopiesovertheyears.Theproblemis…it's
huge!Thisisn'treallythebook'sfault:Swingitselfishuge.I
oncesawanAPIdiagramthattookanentire30-inchposter.
Swingispowerful,butittakesalongtimetoexplorefully,
simplybecauseitissobig.That'snotwhatthisbookisabout.
Thisbookisareferencetothecoolstuff.It'saboutthe
interestingthingsyoulearnovertheyears.Theweirdhacks
thatmakeyousay,"Ididn'tknowyoucouldevendothat!"
AfteryearsofworkingwithSwing,youstarttolearnwhatthe
APIisgoodatandwhatitlacks.Somedaysyoulearn
somethingthatmakesyourlifeasadevelopereasier,awayto
dosomethingquickerthanthestandardroute.That'swhatwe
putintothisbook.Somedaysyoulearnaworkaroundfora
long-standingbugoramissingfeaturethatyou'vebeendying
tohave.Weputthatstuffinthebook,too.Sometimesit's
somethingfunaninterestingAPIthatmakesusthink,"Well,if
wewereevilwhatcouldwedowithit?"Thisisusuallyfollowed
bythepinkieuptothemouthandcacklingthatcanbeheard
outsideourundergroundlair.Aftermuchconsultationwith
lawyersandgods,weslippedsomeoftheseintothebook,too.


WhySwingHacks?
Thetermhackinghasabadreputationinthepress.Theyuseit
torefertopeoplewhobreakintosystemsorwreakhavocwith

computersastheirweapon.Amongpeoplewhowritecode,
though,thetermhackreferstoaquick-and-dirtysolutiontoa
problem,oracleverwaytogetsomethingdone.Andtheterm
hackeristakenverymuchasacompliment,referringto
someoneasbeingcreative,havingthetechnicalchopstoget
thingsdone.TheHacksseriesisanattempttoreclaimthe
word,documentthegoodwayspeoplearehacking,andpass
thehackerethicofcreativeparticipationontotheuninitiated.
Seeinghowothersapproachsystemsandproblemsisoftenthe
quickestwaytolearnaboutanewtechnology.
Intheshortterm,wehopethisbookwillshowyouhowtodo
funthingsthatwillenhanceyourownapplicationsdirectly.
Somearevisualenhancementstomakeyoursoftwarelook
better.Somearefunctionalimprovementstomakeyour
softwaredosomethingitcouldn'tdobefore.Someareevenjust
plainsilly,inprintonlytoproveitcouldbedone.Whateveryour
interest,wehopeyouwillfindbothbetterwaysofdoingold
thingsandlearnsomethingnewabouttechniquesyounever
eventhoughtof.
Inthelongterm,wehopethisbookwillgiveyouasmall
glimpseoftheapplicationscominginthefuture.Thisyear
(2005)wehopewillbeawatershedyearforJavaonthe
desktop.Usersaredemandingmoreadvanceduserinterfaces
thantheWebcanprovide,andJavaispoisedtoprovidethem.
NewtechnologyisstreamingintotheJavacommunityata
blisteringrate,anditgivesapplicationdevelopersawholenew
setofblockstoplaywith.Thisisimportantbecauseweare
goingtoneedthesenewtechnologies.
Newdesktopsoftwarepromisesgreaterintegrationbetweenthe

Web,externaldevices,andsoftwaresittingrightonyour
desktop.RSSreadersandiPods.iTunesandphotocollaboration.
Gamingondesktops,servers,andcellphones;allatthesame
time.Thisisthefutureofdesktopsoftware.Swingisjusta
smallpartofdesktopJava,butwefeelitisthefocalpointthe
placewheredesktoptechnology(AWT,Java2D,JavaSound),
networktechnology(webservices,XML,JXTA),anddevice
technology(iPods,cellphones,TVs)allconvergeuponJava.
ManyofthehacksinthisbookarenotstrictlyaboutSwing,but
aboutusingSwingtodocoolthingswiththerestoftheworld.
Andit'smorethanjust"cool"animationisapowerfulwayto
showachangeincontentorcontext,andsoundcangetthe
user'sattentionwhenheorsheisawayfromthekeyboard.
Thesefeaturesareimportantpartsofdeliveringuser-centric,
qualitydesktopapplications.


HowtoUseThisBook
Youcanreadthisbookfromcovertocoverifyoulike,buteach
hackstandsonitsown,sofeelfreetobrowseandjumptothe
differentsectionsthatinterestyoumost.Ifthere'sa
prerequisiteyouneedtoknowabout,acrossreferencewill
guideyoutotherighthack.Thecodeallworks(wetriedit)but
incaseyoucan'tgetahacktowork,letusknowatthebook's
website:Youcan
alsodownloadthebook'scodeonline,orcontributeyourown
tipsandtricks.Ifwecollectenoughnewmaterial,andthisbook
sellsmorethan10copies,thenthepublishersmightletus
makeSwingHacks2:TheEndlessRepaint.

Withfewexceptions,thehacksinthisbookwerewrittenfor
Java2StandardEdition(J2SE),version1.4,whichyoucanget
fromAfewhacksdependonopen
sourcepackages,whicharefreelydownloadablefromtheir
homepages,asdescribedinthehackitself.Theonlyexceptions
aretwohacksthatuseQuickTimeforJavathisisfreelyavailable
fromApple(andinstalledbydefaultonMacOSX),butitis
proprietaryandavailableforMacandWindowsonly.
BecausethisisabookaboutSwing,theprogramlistingswillbe
usingtheclassesfromtheSwingandAWTpackages,sowe've
skippedimportjavax.swing.*andimportjava.awt.*statementsfor
space.Youcanalsoassumethatanylistinginvolvingevent
handlingwillimportjava.awt.event.*andprobablyimport
javax.swing.event.*aswell.Java2Dhacksimplicitlyimport
java.awt.image.*.Inshort,we'llincludeimportstatementsonly
whenahackinvolvesnon-core,and/ornon-obviousimports,
likethehacksthatuseJDBC,Lucene,Velocity,QuickTimefor
Java,etc.


HowThisBookIsOrganized
Thebookisdividedintoseveralchapters,organizedbysubject:

Chapter1,BasicJComponents
Hereyou'llfindsimplehacksforthebasiccomponentslike
labels,buttons,andtextfields.Thischaptercontainsalot
ofbangforthebuck,anditillustratessomeofthe
techniquesthatwewillexploremorefullylateron.From
fancyJLabelstotranslucentmenus,thisisagreatplaceto
start.

Chapter2,ListsandCombos
ThischapterfeaturescomplicatedSwingcomponentsthat
areusedeverywhere.Bendthemtoyourwill!Makethem
lookgoodwithpolymorphicrenderersandanimated
selections.Makethemperformwellwithfilteringand
Collectionssupport.

Chapter3,TablesandTrees
Thischapterrevelasthesecretsofthesemystic
componentsfromExcelexportingtoproperJTreedrop
targets.MaketheJTreeandJTabledance.

Chapter4,FileChoosers


OneofSwing'smostmalignedcomponents,the
JFileChooser,actuallyhasalotofpowerhidinginsidesome
murkyAPIs.Thischapterwillletyouusecustomicons,
detectWindowsshortcuts,andevennavigateZIPfiles.

Chapter5,Windows,Dialogs,andFrames
Thisiswherethefunbegins.Everyapplicationneedsa
container,sowhynotmakeitprettyandpowerful?Make
yourwindowsdragandsnap.Buildcustomwindowslikethe
earthquakeloginandspinopendialog.Youcanevensave
yourwindowsettingsautomaticallywithalmostnocode
changes.

Chapter6,TransparentandAnimatedWindows

Ifyouwentthroughthepreviouschapterandstillwant
more,thenthischapterisforyou.Wepushwindowstothe
limitwithtransparency,animations,slide-inOSX
stylesheets,andsomeofthecoolestspecialeffectsyou've
everseen.

Chapter7,Text
Textcomponentsseemboring,butthere'salotofpower
hidinginthere.Thischapterwillshowyouhowtodo
regularexpressionsearching,dotcompletion,backward
text,andeventhreedifferentwaystogiveyourapplication
thebrightsheenofanti-aliasing.

Chapter8,Rendering


Thischapterhasthemeatofthegraphicshacks.Custom
fonts,amagnifyingglass,vectorbuttons,andevensome
workwithJava3D.We'vegotsomegreatthingstomake
yourapplicationpop.

Chapter9,Drag-and-Drop
Whenyouruserswanttwopiecesofsoftwaretowork
togetherthefirstthingtheywanttodoisdrag-and-drop
datafromtheirotherprogramstoyours.Thischapter
covershowtodorobustandattractivedrag-and-drop
entirelywithinJava.

Chapter10,Audio
Whatwouldbeacoolmodernapplicationwithoutsome

mediasupport?Thischaptercoversfourdifferentwaysto
playsound,howtodisplaywaveforms,andhowtoembed
MP3supportinyourownprograms.

Chapter11,NativeIntegrationandPackaging
Thebestsoftwareworkswellwiththenativeoperating
system.Hereyou'lllearnhowtolaunchwebbrowsers,hack
theWindowsregistry,customizeyourprogramforspecific
platforms,andevencontroliTunes.

Chapter12,Miscellany
Thischapteroffersagrabbagofthingsthatdidn'tfit
anywhereelse,butweretoocoolnottoinclude.Animated


cursors,betterthreading,flashingthekeyboardlights,and
abunchofquickone-linerstoletyoumakethemostof
yourbusyday.


ConventionsUsedinThisBook
Thefollowingisalistofthetypographicalconventionsusedin
thisbook:

Italics
UsedtoindicateURLs,filenames,filenameextensions,and
directory/foldernames.Apathinthefilesystemwillappear
as/Developer/Applications,forexample.

Constantwidth

Usedtoshowcodeexamples,thecontentsoffiles,and
consoleoutput,aswellasthenamesofvariables,
commands,andothercodeexcerpts.

Constantwidthbold
Usedtohighlightportionsofcode,typicallynewadditionsto
oldcode.

Constantwidthitalic
Usedincodeexamplesandtablestoshowsampletextto
bereplacedwithyourownvalues.

color


Thesecondcolorisusedtoindicateacross-referencewithin
thetext.
Youshouldpayspecialattentiontonotessetapartfromthe
textwiththefollowingicons:

Thisisatip,suggestion,orgeneralnote.Itcontainsuseful
supplementaryinformationaboutthetopicathand.

Thisisawarningornoteofcaution,oftenindicatingthatyourmoney
oryourprivacymightbeatrisk.

Thethermometericons,foundnexttoeachhack,indicatethe
relativecomplexityofthehack:
beginner moderate expert

UsingCodeExamples
Thisbookisheretohelpyougetyourjobdone.Ingeneral,you
mayusethecodeinthisbookinyourprogramsand
documentation.Youdonotneedtocontactusforpermission
unlessyou'rereproducingasignificantportionofthecode.For
example,writingaprogramthatusesseveralchunksofcode
fromthisbookdoesnotrequirepermission.Sellingor
distributingaCD-ROMofexamplesfromO'Reillybooksdoes
requirepermission.Answeringaquestionbycitingthisbook
andquotingexamplecodedoesnotrequirepermission.
Incorporatingasignificantamountofexamplecodefromthis
bookintoyourproduct'sdocumentationdoesrequire
permission.
Weappreciate,butdonotrequire,attribution.Anattribution
usuallyincludesthetitle,author,publisher,andISBN.For
example:"SwingHacksbyJoshuaMarinacciandChris
Adamson.Copyright2005O'ReillyMedia,Inc.,0-596-00907-0."
Ifyoufeelyouruseofcodeexamplesfallsoutsidefairuseor
thepermissiongivenabove,feelfreetocontactusat



HowtoContactUs
Wehavetestedandverifiedtheinformationinthisbooktothe
bestofourability,butyoumayfindthatfeatureshavechanged
(oreventhatwehavemademistakes!).Asareaderofthis
book,youcanhelpustoimprovefutureeditionsbysendingus
yourfeedback.Pleaseletusknowaboutanyerrors,
inaccuracies,bugs,misleadingorconfusingstatements,and

typosthatyoufindanywhereinthisbook.
Pleasealsoletusknowwhatwecandotomakethisbookmore
usefultoyou.Wetakeyourcommentsseriouslyandwilltryto
incorporatereasonablesuggestionsintofutureeditions.Youcan
writetousat:
O'ReillyMedia,Inc.
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Sebastopol,CA95472
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Toasktechnicalquestionsortocommentonthebook,send
emailto:

ThewebsiteforSwingHackslistsexamples,errata,andplans
forfutureeditions.Youcanfindthispageat:
/>Formoreinformationaboutthisbookandothers,seethe
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GotaHack?
ToexploreHacksbooksonlineortocontributeahackforfuture
titles,visit:



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