Form Object Nodes in the Explorer

The Explorer displays all Java files that have GUI forms as form object nodes (Form object node icon). Only files that were created using the IDE's form templates such as Swing and AWT templates are recognized as form objects and can be manipulated using the Form Editor.

Each form object node expands to reveal subnodes for each of its classes (Class node icon) and interfaces (Interface node icon). When you open a file in the Form Editor, a Form Editor node (Form editor node icon) appears under the form object node. The Form Editor node contains nodes for all of the file's components. Right-click any component's node to manipulate its appearance and behavior.

You can right-click any form object node to access a contextual menu containing the following commands:

Badges

Badge icons can be affixed to form object icons to indicate a particular state of the object.

Icon Description
Needs compilation badge The file needs to be compiled. It has not been compiled or the source has changed since the last compilation.
Runnable object badge The file is a runnable object.
File cannot be parsed badge The file can not be parsed. The file may contain an unrecoverable syntactic error or there may have been a problem reading the file.
See also
Source File Nodes in the Explorer
Serialized Prototype Nodes in the Explorer
Class Nodes in the Explorer
Interface Nodes in the Explorer
Field Nodes in the Explorer
Constructor Nodes in the Explorer
Method Nodes in the Explorer
Bean Pattern Nodes in the Explorer

Overriding Methods
Using the Import Management Tool
Synchronizing Source Code
Specifying Java Settings for a Project

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