jfc-swing

Summary: How to make a Java JFrame transparent (translucent) on Mac OS X.

A lot of people complain about a lot of things in regards to Java on Apple's Mac OS X platform, and okay, occasionally I'm one of them, but a very cool thing you can do on OS X is to create translucent (transparent) frames and windows with Java.

Java Swing FAQ: How do I create a Java tooltip (also known as balloon or bubble help text)?

I'm often asked, "How do I center a JFrame on screen?", or, "Is there a method to center a JFrame?"

I always center my initial JFrame on screen using the setLocationRelativeTo method, and pass it a null reference. As the Javadoc for setLocationRelativeTo method states:

Problem

You want to implement a nice mouse rollover effect on the buttons (JButton instances) in your Java Swing application. This Java button rollover effect makes your application feel more "alive" and interactive.

You can see what this button rollover effect looks like in the following two images. First, here's what a Java button (JButton) looks like normally:

Java/Swing FAQ: How do I set the help text (i.e., help text, balloon text, tooltip text) on a JButton?

Just call the setToolTipText method on the JButton. Here's a quick JButton tooltip display example:

// create a button with tooltip help text
JButton button = new JButton("Click Me");
button.setToolTipText("Click this button to make something happen.");