Handling tabs

A GUIApplication has an API allowing to:

• Add a tab
• Select a tab
• Close a tab, all tabs except one, or all tabs
• Add a close button in tabs
• Specify that a tab has been modified

Adding a tab

You can add a tab through one of these methods:

• The TabbedApplication.addTab(JComponent comp, SwingFileProperties properties) adds a tab using a FileProperties instance
• The TabbedApplication.addTab(SwingFileProperties properties) does the same thing but uses the FileProperties.getComponent() method to get the component to put in the tab
• The TabbedApplication.addTab(JComponent comp, Icon icon, SwingFileProperties properties, String tooltip) does the same thing but adds an optional icon to the tab and sets its tooltip
• The TabbedApplication.addTab(Icon, SwingFileProperties properties, String tooltip) does the same thing but uses the FileProperties.getComponent() method to get the component to put in the tab
• The TabbedApplication.addTab(JComponent comp, Object o, String name) is a simpler method which will create a FileProperties with the name of the tab and an associated object
• The TabbedApplication.addTab(JComponent comp, Icon icon, Object o, String name, String tooltip) does the same thing but adds an optional icon to the tab and sets its tooltip

Associate types of tabs with icons

It is possible to associate types of tabs to icons at the GUI application level, avoiding to provide the icon in each action.

Examples

The most simple way to add a tab is (for example in the Basic tutorial:

      public void run() throws Exception {
        JFileChooser chooser = new JFileChooser("Open Image");
        chooser.setDialogTitle("Open Image");
        chooser.setFileSelectionMode(JFileChooser.FILES_ONLY);
        if (chooser.showOpenDialog(app.getApplicationWindow()) == JFileChooser.APPROVE_OPTION) {
          File file = chooser.getSelectedFile();
          BufferedImage image = ImageIO.read(file); // the object associated with the tab
          if (image == null) throw new Exception("Bad File type");

          JScrollPane pane = new JScrollPane(new ImagePanel(image)); // the content of the panel to show in the tab
          String tabName = file.getName(); // the name of the tab
          app.addTab(pane, image, tabName);
        }
      }

A more elaborate way to do the same thing using a FileProperties instance would be:

   public void run() throws Exception {
     JFileChooser chooser = new JFileChooser("Open Image");
     chooser.setDialogTitle("Open Image");
     chooser.setFileSelectionMode(JFileChooser.FILES_ONLY);
     if (chooser.showOpenDialog(app.getApplicationWindow()) == JFileChooser.APPROVE_OPTION) {
       File file = chooser.getSelectedFile();
       BufferedImage image = ImageIO.read(file); // the object associated with the tab
       if (image == null) throw new Exception("Bad File type");

       JScrollPane pane = new JScrollPane(new ImagePanel(image)); // the content of the panel to show in the tab
       String tabName = file.getName(); // the name of the tab
          SwingFileProperties properties = new SwingFileProperties(tabName, comp, image);
          app.addTab(properties);
     }
   }

We can also want to add a tooltip on the tab, for example here to show the path of the file (here we choose not to have an Icon on the tab):

   public void run() throws Exception {
     JFileChooser chooser = new JFileChooser("Open Image");
     chooser.setDialogTitle("Open Image");
     chooser.setFileSelectionMode(JFileChooser.FILES_ONLY);
     if (chooser.showOpenDialog(app.getApplicationWindow()) == JFileChooser.APPROVE_OPTION) {
       File file = chooser.getSelectedFile();
       BufferedImage image = ImageIO.read(file); // the object associated with the tab
       if (image == null) throw new Exception("Bad File type");

       JScrollPane pane = new JScrollPane(new ImagePanel(image)); // the content of the panel to show in the tab
       String tabName = file.getName(); // the name of the tab
       String path = file.getAbsolutePath();
          SwingFileProperties properties = new SwingFileProperties(tabName, comp, image);
          app.addTab(null, properties, path);
     }
   }

Close a tab

You can close the selected tab by one of the following methods:

• The TabbedApplication.closeCurrentTab() method will close the currently selected tab. The application will check for the result of the TabbedApplication.acceptRemoveTab(String) method before closing
• The TabbedApplication.closeCurrentTab(boolean) method will close the currently selected tab. The application will check for the result of the TabbedApplication.acceptRemoveTab(String) method before closing, only if the argument is false

Note that the user will also be able to close a tab by clicking on the cross on the tab, depending on the closable tabs behavior.

Enabling the close actions

By default, the Close action is enabled, except if the tab is set as not closeable. The Close All and Close Other actions will also only close the tabs which are not set as not closeable.

The TabbedApplication.getDefaultForceCloseTab() method can be overriden to change the way the Close All and Close Other actions are working for tabs which are not closeable:

• The TabbedApplication.FORCE_CLOSE_ALL value will allow to close every tab for Close, Close Alll, and Close Other even for the tabs which are not set as closeable
• The TabbedApplication.FORCE_CLOSE_ALL_TABS value will allow to close every tab for Close All, and Close Other even for the tabs which are not set as closeable
• The TabbedApplication.FORCE_CLOSE_OTHER_TABS value will allow to close every tab Close Other even for the tabs which are not set as closeable

Closable tabs

The AbstractMDIApplication.hasClosableTab(boolean hasClosableTab) allows to specify that the tabs must have a close button (there is no close button by default)^[1]

The close button will be a small cross at the right of the tab

:

For example the following application has closable tabs:

   public class MyApplication extends AbstractMDIApplication {      
     public MyApplication() {
       super("My Application");
       this.hasClosableTab(true);
     }      
   }

Showing modified tabs

The GUIApplication has an API to specify that a tab has been modified. The TabbedApplication.setModified(String name, boolean modified) and TabbedApplication.setCurrentTabModified(boolean modified) methods allow to define that a tab content has been modified:

• Setting the boolean as true will show the tab as modified (with a trailing "*" character
• Setting the boolean as false will show the tab in the default unmodified state

Getting the ordered list of tabs

The TabbedApplication.getOrderedTabs() return the ordered lsit of SwingFileProperties.

Listen to tab updates

The MDIApplicationListener interface allows a listener to be notified when a tab is eelected or is closed.

This interface is registered with the TabbedApplication.addApplicationListener(MDIApplicationListener listener) method.

The interface has the following methods:

• The MDIApplicationListener.fireTabChanged(FileProperties properties) is called when when the currently selected Tab change. It is fired when the user selects another tab or creates a new tab
• The MDIApplicationListener.fireUpdateSelectedTab(FileProperties properties) is called when when the currently selected Tab change. It is fired in slightly different usae cases than the previous one
• The MDIApplicationListener.fireTabBeforeClosing(FileProperties properties) is called before a tab is closed
• The MDIApplicationListener.fireTabRemoved(FileProperties properties) is called after a tab is closed

Registering the listener

You register the listener by calling the TabbedApplication.addApplicationListener(MDIApplicationListener listener) method.

fireTabBeforeClosing usage

The method MDIApplicationListener.fireTabBeforeClosing(FileProperties properties) returns a boolean specifying if the tab can be closed. By default the method returns true, but it is psosible to override the method, for example to add a popup allowing the user to cancel the close after clicking on the cross on the tab.

fireUpdateSelectedTab usage

The method MDIApplicationListener.fireUpdateSelectedTab(FileProperties properties) is different from the MDIApplicationListener.fireTabChanged(FileProperties properties) method because another selected tab will be set after removing a tab.

For example, if you have two tabs:

• FileProperties prop1
• Currently selected tab: FileProperties prop2

and you remove the second tab:

• You will receive a fireTabRemoved with prop2
• You will receive a fireUpdateSelectedTab with prop1, because prop1 becomes the currently selected tab

If you have ony one tab:

• Currently selected tab: FileProperties prop1

and you remove the tab:

• You will receive a fireTabRemoved with prop1
• You will receive a fireUpdateSelectedTab with null, because there is no more selected tab

Changing the component associated with a tab

Several methods allow to change the component associated with a tab:

• The TabbedApplication.setComponentAt(String name, JComponent comp) method sets a new component for an existing tab of a specified name
• The TabbedApplication.setComponentAtSelectedTab(JComponent comp) method sets a new component for the currrently selected tab

Several methods allow to change the object and the component associated with a tab:

• The TabbedApplication.setObjectAt(String name, Object o, JComponent comp) method sets a new object and component for an existing tab of a specified name
• The TabbedApplication.setObjectAtSelectedTab(Object o, JComponent comp) method sets a new object and component for the currrently selected tab

All of these methods will return false if the tab does not exist.