Swing Themes - Availability & Relevance about artofillusion HOT 10 OPEN

I think the enthusiasm for custom Swing themes was partly a novelty, and partly because the default look and feel wasn't really very good back then. I don't think it's something the manual needs to make a big deal of.

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Swing Theming, which was sort of a big deal back then.

There were some nice ones passed around user to user at the time, but the powers that be never bothered to add them to the repository. Now there is only one available.

Some users have it installed it and I can very well understand why. Also a few years ago I saw on someone's screen captures a different theme, that (obviously) reached some popularity in it's time. So basically I think it should be explained somewhere, but possibly the appendix idea could be applied here.

My personal feelings were originally that it was a toy that nobody needs, but apparently I was wrong about that. The indisputable problem though is that the themes do not cover everything. Some time ago I tried to build theme for working in low light environments but the text backgrounds were still burning white and some UI-buttons and thing of that sort were also unaffected. (I think for example the object list is hard coded to be white.)

In the tools I usually use there are pretty wide customization options. Some are easier to use than others. Some rely on themes that are built by a different tool... Some have all the options in preferences and the preference tabs are actually theme editors. And (OOT but mentioning this for background) when it comes to AutoDesk, their look&feel options are deteriorating as version numbers go up, which is a f*ck-up because the graphic information, that the UI provides is getting harder to read -- all icons are in similar colors and start eventually to look the same.

javootoo.com

Hmm... never heard. :D -- What does it tell about my manual reading? -- Or the readability of the manual...?

the default look and feel wasn't really very good back then.

I don't remember that it would have much changed? The procedural editors got smooth wires at some point and maybe something else but nothing big.

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...And when it comes to professional usage people do have their preferences, when it comes to colors, icons, high lights, cast shadows... Many times users just go with defaults (if they are not very badly off) but customization is not that uncommon either and often I would hate somebody else's 'perfect' settings.

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Good point about customization for readability.

Default look and feel

Mostly affected window decorations - menu bar, scroll bars, etc. At that time, an 'un-skinned' Java app looked like a refugee from Windows 3.1!

Now, it looks just like other apps in the desktop.

Some time ago I tried to build theme for working in low light environments but the text backgrounds were still burning white and some UI-buttons and thing of that sort were also unaffected. (I think for example the object list is hard coded to be white.)

I think more likely, you were trying to adjust options on the default look and feel, which is not terribly flexible. (By design) A serious LaF makeover actually includes writing some custom code...

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looked like a refugee from Windows 3.1!

Oh, that...

think more likely, you were trying to adjust options on the default look and feel

No I am talking about creating an AoI theme.

Widgets and dialogs are not affected.

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I the sense that you were implementing an extension to javax.swing.LookAndFeel or one of it's subclasses? In that case, you probably hadn't found all of the correct UI components to override...

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Ehhh.. No, I was not extending any classes or doing any Java coding. That is just a theme .jar file. A bit simpler that ElectrixWaxTheme. All XMLs and .png images (and .properties for the Preferences texts.)

The theming system (at least in Win10) just does not go deep enough. I'm not sure, but I don't think it accesses the L&F at all. It just setColor(), setBackground() and so on.

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Ahh yes... AOI's built-in themeing support is a bit limited in respect to what areas can be targeted.

Your setColor() and setBackground() calls are down on the AWT level, and it is part of the documentation that some LaF packages may ignore the property. (AOI defaults to the system LaF)

A true re-skin would need to start with implementing an entire LaF from scratch, or more likely building something off of Nimbus

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If you are in search for a modern look and feel you might want to check out darklaf. It supports multiple dark and light themes.

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@weisJ Thanks for the 'heads up!'

I'm still not sure what the future of AOI theming should be, but I'll keep that in mind.

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