Configuring the Form Editor

You can configure the behavior of the Form Editor as well as the grid and color properties of the Form window.

To configure Form Editor behavior and Form window appearance:

  1. From the main window, choose Tools Options.

  2. Select the top-level Form Objects node. (Do not confuse this with the Form Objects node under the Object Types node.)

  3. Modify the values to your preferred settings.

    Properties Tab
    Event Variable Name   The name of the variable generated in the signature of the event handler method for the event object. For example, evt is the variable name in private void button1ActionPerformed (java.awt.event.ActionEvent evt).
    Generate Null Layout   If True, forms using the AbsoluteLayout manager generate null layouts instead of AbsoluteLayouts.
    Grid X   Size of grid for AbsoluteLayout (or null layout) in the x axis.
    Grid Y    Size of grid for AbsoluteLayout (or null layout) in the y axis.
    Indent AWT Hierarchy   If True, the code generated in initComponents() is indented for child components of a container.
    Output Detail Level   Level of detail of information written to the Output window.
    Property Editor Search Path   List of packages that are searched for property sheets used in the Form Editor.
    Property Editors   Explicitly registered editors for certain property types.
    Show Grid   If True, a grid is displayed in the Form Editor when using AbsoluteLayout (or null layout).
    Workspace   The workspace the IDE jumps to when a form object is opened.

    Expert Tab
    Apply Grid to Position   If True, the position of components is snapped to the grid (if a grid is used).
    Apply Grid to Size   If True, the size of components is snapped to the grid (if a grid is used).
    Connection Border Color   Color of components' selection border during connection mode.
    Drag Border Color   Color of components' border during dragging.
    Selection Border Color   Color of the boxes around a component that mark it as "selected."
    Selection Border Size   Size (in pixels) of the boxes around a component that mark it as "selected."
See also
Customizing the Component Palette

AbsoluteLayout

Null Layout

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