Lotus BeanMachine Reference Guide

Customizing the Palette

Before we begin our discussion on customizing BeanMachine's Palette, let's talk a little about JavaBeans and JAR files. A JavaBean is a reusable component created in Java. A JavaBean can be an entire applet or just one part that makes up an applet. All the parts on BeanMachine's Palette are JavaBeans and are stored in compressed archives known as Java Archive (.jar) files. This JAR file contains all the necessary Java class and media files used by a particular Bean.

BeanMachine utilizes JAR files when publishing your applet to manage the media associated with the Bean efficiently and to speed up download time over the web. By packing all of the Java code and media files your applet uses into a single JAR file, your applet will only make one hit to the server to download. As you can imagine, using JAR files is much more efficient and faster than downloading each class and media file separately.

Now let's talk about what Beans, JARs and Beans in JARs means to you. Let's say your friend gives you a cool Bean (remember a Bean is simply a Java class). Or maybe you were surfing the web and found an applet you like. In either case, BeanMachine provides a fast and simple way to import any Bean and use it just as you would any BeanMachine part. After you download the Bean you want, simply place its JAR (.jar) file in BeanMachine's "Beans" folder. The "Beans" folder, located under the main BeanMachine folder, contains all of the parts on BeanMachine's Palette. The next time BeanMachine starts, it will detect that a new Bean has been added and will automatically add it to the Palette. Couldn't be easier, right?

For additional instructions for customizing BeanMachine's Palette, see:

Adding a JavaBean

Adding an Applet Part

Adding Other Java Parts

Customizing Existing Parts


Removing Parts from the Palette
Removing a Bean from BeanMachine's palette is just as easy, just delete the Bean's JAR file and its corresponding .bmi file from the "Beans" folder. The .bmi file contains all the information regarding how the Bean has been customized in BeanMachine's Bean Wizard. Note: If there is more than one Bean in the JAR file you delete, all Beans in that JAR file will be removed from BeanMachine's Palette as well.