Eclipse Platform
Release 3.0

org.eclipse.ui.forms.widgets
Class FormToolkit

java.lang.Object
  extended byorg.eclipse.ui.forms.widgets.FormToolkit

public class FormToolkit
extends Object

The toolkit is responsible for creating SWT controls adapted to work in Eclipse forms. In addition to changing their presentation properties (fonts, colors etc.), various listeners are attached to make them behave correctly in the form context.

In addition to being the control factory, the toolkit is also responsible for painting flat borders for select controls, managing hyperlink groups and control colors.

The toolkit creates some of the most common controls used to populate Eclipse forms. Controls that must be created using their constructors, adapt() method is available to change its properties in the same way as with the supported toolkit controls.

Typically, one toolkit object is created per workbench part (for example, an editor or a form wizard). The toolkit is disposed when the part is disposed. To conserve resources, it is possible to create one color object for the entire plug-in and share it between several toolkits. The plug-in is responsible for disposing the colors (disposing the toolkit that uses shared color object will not dispose the colors).

FormToolkit is normally instantiated, but can also be subclassed if some of the methods needs to be modified. In those cases, super must be called to preserve normal behaviour.

Since:
3.0

Field Summary
static String KEY_DRAW_BORDER
           
static String TEXT_BORDER
           
static String TREE_BORDER
           
 
Constructor Summary
FormToolkit(Display display)
          Creates a toolkit that is self-sufficient (will manage its own colors).
FormToolkit(FormColors colors)
          Creates a toolkit that will use the provided (shared) colors.
 
Method Summary
 void adapt(Composite composite)
          Adapts a composite to be used in a form associated with this toolkit.
 void adapt(Control control, boolean trackFocus, boolean trackKeyboard)
          Adapts a control to be used in a form that is associated with this toolkit.
 Button createButton(Composite parent, String text, int style)
          Creates a button as a part of the form.
 Composite createComposite(Composite parent)
          Creates the composite as a part of the form.
 Composite createComposite(Composite parent, int style)
          Creates the composite as part of the form using the provided style.
 Composite createCompositeSeparator(Composite parent)
          Creats the composite that can server as a separator between various parts of a form.
 ExpandableComposite createExpandableComposite(Composite parent, int expansionStyle)
          Creates an expandable composite as a part of the form.
 Form createForm(Composite parent)
          Creates a form widget in the provided parent.
 FormText createFormText(Composite parent, boolean trackFocus)
          Creates a rich text as a part of the form.
 Hyperlink createHyperlink(Composite parent, String text, int style)
          Creates a hyperlink as a part of the form.
 ImageHyperlink createImageHyperlink(Composite parent, int style)
          Creates an image hyperlink as a part of the form.
 Label createLabel(Composite parent, String text)
          Creates a label as a part of the form.
 Label createLabel(Composite parent, String text, int style)
          Creates a label as a part of the form.
 ScrolledPageBook createPageBook(Composite parent, int style)
          Creates a rich text as a part of the form.
 ScrolledForm createScrolledForm(Composite parent)
          Creates a scrolled form widget in the provided parent.
 Section createSection(Composite parent, int sectionStyle)
          Creates a section as a part of the form.
 Label createSeparator(Composite parent, int style)
          Creates a separator label as a part of the form.
 Table createTable(Composite parent, int style)
          Creates a table as a part of the form.
 Text createText(Composite parent, String value)
          Creates a text as a part of the form.
 Text createText(Composite parent, String value, int style)
          Creates a text as a part of the form.
 Tree createTree(Composite parent, int style)
          Creates a tree widget as a part of the form.
 void dispose()
          Disposes the toolkit.
static void ensureVisible(Control c)
          A helper method that ensures the provided control is visible when ScrolledComposite is somewhere in the parent chain.
 int getBorderStyle()
          Returns the border style used for various widgets created by this toolkit.
 FormColors getColors()
          Returns the colors used by this toolkit.
 HyperlinkGroup getHyperlinkGroup()
          Returns the hyperlink group that manages hyperlinks for this toolkit.
 void paintBordersFor(Composite parent)
          Paints flat borders for widgets created by this toolkit within the provided parent.
 void refreshHyperlinkColors()
          Refreshes the hyperlink colors by loading from JFace settings.
 void setBackground(Color bg)
          Sets the background color for the entire toolkit.
 void setBorderStyle(int style)
          Sets the border style to be used when creating widgets.
 
Methods inherited from class java.lang.Object
clone, equals, finalize, getClass, hashCode, notify, notifyAll, toString, wait, wait, wait
 

Field Detail

KEY_DRAW_BORDER

public static final String KEY_DRAW_BORDER
See Also:
Constant Field Values

TREE_BORDER

public static final String TREE_BORDER
See Also:
Constant Field Values

TEXT_BORDER

public static final String TEXT_BORDER
See Also:
Constant Field Values
Constructor Detail

FormToolkit

public FormToolkit(Display display)
Creates a toolkit that is self-sufficient (will manage its own colors).


FormToolkit

public FormToolkit(FormColors colors)
Creates a toolkit that will use the provided (shared) colors. The toolkit will not dispose the provided colors.

Parameters:
colors - the shared colors
Method Detail

createButton

public Button createButton(Composite parent,
                           String text,
                           int style)
Creates a button as a part of the form.

Parameters:
parent - the button parent
text - an optional text for the button (can be null)
style - the button style (for example, SWT.PUSH)
Returns:
the button widget

createComposite

public Composite createComposite(Composite parent)
Creates the composite as a part of the form.

Parameters:
parent - the composite parent
Returns:
the composite widget

createComposite

public Composite createComposite(Composite parent,
                                 int style)
Creates the composite as part of the form using the provided style.

Parameters:
parent - the composite parent
style - the composite style
Returns:
the composite widget

createCompositeSeparator

public Composite createCompositeSeparator(Composite parent)
Creats the composite that can server as a separator between various parts of a form. Separator height should be controlled by setting the height hint on the layout data for the composite.

Parameters:
parent - the separator parent
Returns:
the separator widget

createLabel

public Label createLabel(Composite parent,
                         String text)
Creates a label as a part of the form.

Parameters:
parent - the label parent
text - the label text
Returns:
the label widget

createLabel

public Label createLabel(Composite parent,
                         String text,
                         int style)
Creates a label as a part of the form.

Parameters:
parent - the label parent
text - the label text
style - the label style
Returns:
the label widget

createHyperlink

public Hyperlink createHyperlink(Composite parent,
                                 String text,
                                 int style)
Creates a hyperlink as a part of the form. The hyperlink will be added to the hyperlink group that belongs to this toolkit.

Parameters:
parent - the hyperlink parent
text - the text of the hyperlink
style - the hyperlink style
Returns:
the hyperlink widget

createImageHyperlink

public ImageHyperlink createImageHyperlink(Composite parent,
                                           int style)
Creates an image hyperlink as a part of the form. The hyperlink will be added to the hyperlink group that belongs to this toolkit.

Parameters:
parent - the hyperlink parent
style - the hyperlink style
Returns:
the image hyperlink widget

createFormText

public FormText createFormText(Composite parent,
                               boolean trackFocus)
Creates a rich text as a part of the form.

Parameters:
parent - the rich text parent
trackFocus - if true, the toolkit will monitor focus transfers to ensure that the hyperlink in focus is visible in the form.
Returns:
the rich text widget

adapt

public void adapt(Control control,
                  boolean trackFocus,
                  boolean trackKeyboard)
Adapts a control to be used in a form that is associated with this toolkit. This involves adjusting colors and optionally adding handlers to ensure focus tracking and keyboard management.

Parameters:
control - a control to adapt
trackFocus - if true, form will be scrolled horizontally and/or vertically if needed to ensure that the control is visible when it gains focus. Set it to false if the control is not capable of gaining focus.
trackKeyboard - if true, the control that is capable of gaining focus will be tracked for certain keys that are important to the underlying form (for example, PageUp, PageDown, ScrollUp, ScrollDown etc.). Set it to false if the control is not capable of gaining focus or these particular key event are already used by the control.

adapt

public void adapt(Composite composite)
Adapts a composite to be used in a form associated with this toolkit.

Parameters:
composite - the composite to adapt

ensureVisible

public static void ensureVisible(Control c)
A helper method that ensures the provided control is visible when ScrolledComposite is somewhere in the parent chain. If scroll bars are visible and the control is clipped, the client of the scrolled composite will be scrolled to reveal the control.

Parameters:
c - the control to reveal

createSection

public Section createSection(Composite parent,
                             int sectionStyle)
Creates a section as a part of the form.

Parameters:
parent - the section parent
sectionStyle - the section style
Returns:
the section widget

createExpandableComposite

public ExpandableComposite createExpandableComposite(Composite parent,
                                                     int expansionStyle)
Creates an expandable composite as a part of the form.

Parameters:
parent - the expandable composite parent
expansionStyle - the expandable composite style
Returns:
the expandable composite widget

createSeparator

public Label createSeparator(Composite parent,
                             int style)
Creates a separator label as a part of the form.

Parameters:
parent - the separator parent
style - the separator style
Returns:
the separator label

createTable

public Table createTable(Composite parent,
                         int style)
Creates a table as a part of the form.

Parameters:
parent - the table parent
style - the table style
Returns:
the table widget

createText

public Text createText(Composite parent,
                       String value)
Creates a text as a part of the form.

Parameters:
parent - the text parent
value - the text initial value
Returns:
the text widget

createText

public Text createText(Composite parent,
                       String value,
                       int style)
Creates a text as a part of the form.

Parameters:
parent - the text parent
value - the text initial value
Returns:
the text widget

createTree

public Tree createTree(Composite parent,
                       int style)
Creates a tree widget as a part of the form.

Parameters:
parent - the tree parent
style - the tree style
Returns:
the tree widget

createScrolledForm

public ScrolledForm createScrolledForm(Composite parent)
Creates a scrolled form widget in the provided parent. If you do not require scrolling because there is already a scrolled composite up the parent chain, use 'createForm' instead.

Parameters:
parent - the scrolled form parent
Returns:
the form that can scroll itself
See Also:
createForm(org.eclipse.swt.widgets.Composite)

createForm

public Form createForm(Composite parent)
Creates a form widget in the provided parent. Note that this widget does not scroll its content, so make sure there is a scrolled composite up the parent chain. If you require scrolling, use 'createScrolledForm' instead.

Returns:
the form that does not scroll
See Also:
createScrolledForm(org.eclipse.swt.widgets.Composite)

createPageBook

public ScrolledPageBook createPageBook(Composite parent,
                                       int style)
Creates a rich text as a part of the form.

Parameters:
parent - the rich text parent
Returns:
the rich text widget

dispose

public void dispose()
Disposes the toolkit.


getHyperlinkGroup

public HyperlinkGroup getHyperlinkGroup()
Returns the hyperlink group that manages hyperlinks for this toolkit.

Returns:
the hyperlink group

setBackground

public void setBackground(Color bg)
Sets the background color for the entire toolkit. The method delegates the call to the FormColors object and also updates the hyperlink group so that hyperlinks and other objects are in sync.

Parameters:
bg - the new background color

refreshHyperlinkColors

public void refreshHyperlinkColors()
Refreshes the hyperlink colors by loading from JFace settings.


paintBordersFor

public void paintBordersFor(Composite parent)
Paints flat borders for widgets created by this toolkit within the provided parent. Borders will not be painted if the global border style is SWT.BORDER (i.e. if native borders are used). Call this method during creation of a form composite to get the borders of its children painted. Care should be taken when selection layout margins. At least one pixel pargin width and height must be chosen to allow the toolkit to paint the border on the parent around the widgets.

Borders are painted for some controls that are selected by the toolkit by default. If a control needs a border but is not on its list, it is possible to force border in the following way:

 
  
    widget.setData(FormToolkit.KEY_DRAW_BORDER, FormToolkit.TREE_BORDER);
    
    or
    
    widget.setData(FormToolkit.KEY_DRAW_BORDER, FormToolkit.TEXT_BORDER);
   
  
 

Parameters:
parent - the parent that owns the children for which the border needs to be painted.

getColors

public FormColors getColors()
Returns the colors used by this toolkit.

Returns:
the color object

getBorderStyle

public int getBorderStyle()
Returns the border style used for various widgets created by this toolkit. The intent of the toolkit is to create controls with styles that yield a 'flat' appearance. On systems where the native borders are already flat, we set the style to SWT.BORDER and don't paint the borders ourselves. Otherwise, the style is set to SWT.NULL, and borders are painted by the toolkit.

Returns:
the global border style

setBorderStyle

public void setBorderStyle(int style)
Sets the border style to be used when creating widgets. The toolkit chooses the correct style based on the platform but this value can be changed using this method.

Parameters:
style - SWT.BORDER or SWT.NULL
See Also:
getBorderStyle()

Eclipse Platform
Release 3.0

Guidelines for using Eclipse APIs.

Copyright (c) IBM Corp. and others 2000, 2004. All rights reserved.