What's New in JFormDesigner 5.1
JFormDesigner 5.1 introduces several new features and enhancements. This topic describes some of the significant or more interesting changes. Please have a look at the change log for a complete list of changes.
Java 7 support
Use diamond operator in generated source code if source compatibility is set
to Java 7. Automatically use type parameter <String> for
ComboBoxModel<E>, JComboBox<E>,
ListModel<E> and JList<E> if model
property is set.
JGoodies Forms 1.4 and 1.5 support
JGoodies FormLayout 1.4 and 1.5, which provides the new row gap "label component gap", are now supported.
GroupLayout design improved
The NetBeans team has made many improvements and fixes to the GroupLayout design in NetBeans 7.1, which are now incorporated into JFormDesigner.
JFDML persistence format for .jfd form files
New JFDML persistence format for .jfd form files. This is a compact, easy-to-merge and fast-to-load format. It is about 70% smaller than the XML format.
JFDML format (30 lines; 1 KB):
XML format (90 lines; 3 KB):
To change the persistence format of an existing form, open the form, select the "(form)" node in the Structure view and change the "Form file format" property in the Properties view. Or use the JFormDesigner command-line tool to convert the format of many forms.
Palette improved
The Palette has been improved:
- Display multiple items per row if there is enough room.
- New option "Item Names" in context menu to show only item icons.
Preferences
Following options have been added to the Preferences:
- New preferences page GridBagLayout supports specification of default properties for new GridBagLayout columns/rows.
- Added Localization preferences option "Format used for generated keys".
- Added Java code generator preferences options "Variable modifiers" and "Event handler modifiers".
Batch convert forms
(Eclipse, NetBeans and IntelliJ IDEA plug-ins only)
You can now convert all forms contained in containers (folders, packages, project, etc.). The improved Convert dialog allows you to select the forms that you want convert.
NetBeans 7.1 form conversion
The NetBeans forms converter now supports forms created with NetBeans 7.1 that use GridBagLayout gaps or FlowLayout.alignOnBaseline.
Runtime library license changed
Changed license of runtime library from BSD-3-Clause to BSD-2-Clause.