Netbeans: using GUI Builder on regular Java class file

Question

I\'m using Netbeans. When I create a Java class, I sometimes want to change it to be a GUI component so that I can visually edit it using the GUI Builder.

What is the ne

Answer 1

To add a class to the Palette, all that's needed is for your class to conform to the Java Beans model. That is, your class must:

• be serializable
• have a public, no-argument constructor.

All fields that have getter and setter methods that are named properly, i.e.:

int count
int getCount()
void setCount(int c)

should by default be recognized as a property.

For a finer control of what properties should and should not be exposed to the GUI Builder, you can associate your class with an implementation of the BeanInfo interface. See this Sun tutorial for more details.

However, NetBeans has several tools to help you in designing a custom bean. You can create new beans using the built-in templates available in the new file dialog, under the "JavaBeans Objects" folder. This tutorial will guide you through creating an Image Bean.

What you could do is create one from scratch, design it as you wish, and then look at the generated code to understand how you can modify your existing class.