Creating a Form

A form is added to your application through the Project menu.

Objects can be dragged from the Toolbox to the form. The form is persisted as a block of source code that defines an instance of the WFC Form class. The default Form class contains:

• A constructor that invokes the initForm method.
  
  
• A set of instance variables, one for each item on the form.
  
  
• An initForm method that specifies the default properties for the items. These defaults can be changed by setting item properties.

The Form Designer generates this code based on values set in the Properties window for each control and the form itself. Caution should be taken when modifying the initForm method since the Form Designer also reads this code when displaying the form. Conditionals such as if, while, and switch statements should be avoided, as should component methods. If you modify the initForm code, restrict changes to properties that begin with set and restrict values to constants. Do not use variables to set values.

For example:

To create a form

1. If you do not have a project open, select one from the Projects template dialog box. If you select a Windows Application template, a form template is already included.
   
   
2. On the Project menu, click Add Item or Add Form.

   The Add Item dialog box appears with the form templates.

3. In the Add Item dialog box, you can select either the New or Existing tab. For this example, select the New tab.
   
   
4. On the right side of the Add Item dialog box are the various templates you can use. Click Form for this example. This template creates a class capable of hosting controls.
   
   
5. By default, the name of the class file is Form1.java. If you wish, you can edit the name of the class file in the Name text box to match your project.(such as MyForm1.java).
   
   
6. Click Open.

   The form window is displayed, showing the form surface.

The form is automatically opened in design mode if you are creating a new form from a template. If the Form Designer is not currently active, follow the below procedure to open the Form Designer.

To view the form in the Form Designer

• On the View menu, click Designer.

  -or-

• Double-click the node in the Project Explorer or right-click the form file name and use the context menu to select View Designer. Your form now appears in the Form Designer.

By default, controls are aligned to the grid. The grid options can be set through the Tools/Options dialog box for Forms.

The Toolbox contains WFC Controls and may include other tabs containing ActiveX and custom controls.

Once you have the basic form template, you are ready to add controls to it.