VigilanteP@comcast.net

I was just wondering what tools out there you would recommend for visually designing a Java GUI.

Right now I am using Eclipse as my development environment and i have looked for plugins to do this but I haven't been able to get any of them to work and apparantly the Eclipse plugin community is either really small or non-existant because i couldn't find any forums to post my problems in.

I'm just trying to find a utility which will let me design my GUI a little bit more easily than my current method... which is to type it out, run it, and pray

Easter Bunny

if you download the new java 1.5 update 3 from sun, then you'll get netbeans as well(116MB though). don't know how to work it so nicely, but it looks nice. personally, i like to type my stuff out, because i feel that i know what's going on then. with netbeans it also just chucks in a bunch of code when you put something on your window and when you have a whole bunch of things it looks weird. maybe other programs do it better. maybe i'm just narrow minded.

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VigilanteP@comcast.net

I suppose i could try that out, i remember using netbeans in the past and hating it, but my memory of that is hazy.

All i want is something that i can use to design my forms and have it give me the code that i can take and put in with the rest of my code in eclipse.

kirkl_uk

I'm not sure, but maybe JBuilder does that. I use Eclipse too, and just type the code to add controls. Java's layout managers make it a lot easier to code controls, as most positioning aspects are taken care of for you.

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HeX

I usually do it myself. However, you can do that with Netbeans

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nnxion

Maybe someone can remove the @comcast.net from behind your nickname.

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Dizzutch

i've noticed that making GUI's with IDE's create super crappy code, it's like making a webpage in Frontpage. drag-n-drop also doesn't teach you anything. There's great tutorials on java.sun.com. Check those out.
-Dizz

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EdSalamander

There's no substitute to writing your own code for GUIs. It's tough and awkward at first, and Swing's LayoutManagers are confusing as hell until you've actually worked with them a bit, but like Dizzutch says, the tutorials on java.sun.com are great. Besides, if you find you need help with any specifics, you can always find it here.

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Ooble

That's not true - Visual Basic .NET and Visual C# generate pretty good code, even if it's kinda unordered. However, I still end up coding the GUIs myself due to a lack of control arrays when using the IDE.

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VigilanteP@comcast.net

Maybe i'll bite the bullet and just give in and learn to do it myself then...

The thing i don't like about the layout managers is that it seems no matter how hard i try it never comes out just like i want it. The last project that i worked on with a major GUI element I just ended up not using any layout managers and using Visual Studio's GUI designer to help me position my elements exactly where i wanted because the layout managers were driving me crazy.

I suppose i could give some of those Sun tutorials a shot though.

Oh and about my nickname.. i just hit autofill in google when i was signing up and it put this name in there for me and i didn't even notice until i tried logging in and it wouldnt let me :o