When the Desktop is created, it is filled with the set of components that are defined in the Desktop definition file (desktop.xml). Each of these components is described in this section. The components are listed in alphabetical order.
This component is a button that is created by dragging a TaskLauncher component over a BookmarkArea. This button is able to launch the task associated with the drag source. The bookmark component has the same behavior as a TaskLauncher.
This is the place where the bookmarks are dropped. The list of bookmarks that is defined in the BookmarkArea will be saved when the Desktop is closed.
The ButtonRow component is a row of a button set. The buttons are TaskLauncherButtons, which are responsible for launching specific tasks. Depending on customer requirements, a group of the most commonly used tasks is identified for each application, process, or scenario. These tasks are directly accessible through specific buttons when the user selects a scenario tab in the ScenarioArea tabbed pane or notebook.
The CustomizableArea component is an area reserved on the Desktop, within which most other components can be added.
The DateField component is a TextField object with the ability to display the date. It uses a date format for display.
This component is an IconButton with the ability to quit the application after prompting the user for confirmation. Information required in the confirmation prompter is externalized in the definition file. The Desktop must contain one (and only one) ExitButton.
The ExternalApplicationButton component is an IconButton with the ability to launch an external application that is specified in the XML file.
The IconButton component is a TaskLauncherButton with an associated icon. It is responsible for launching a specific task.
The IconLabel component is a Label with an associated icon. Instead of showing the label, it shows the designated icon. It can be added in any CustomizableArea.
The Label component is a label to be displayed wherever it is required on the Desktop. It can be added in any CustomizableArea.
This component is a ComboBox that shows the different languages supported by the Desktop. The languages available are defined as an attribute of this component, and the default language is set by the default Locale of the machine defined for the Desktop component. For more information, see National Language Support.
The LeafTreeNode component is responsible for launching a specific task. This component can be used to create a hierarchical structure of tasks by being combined with Tree and TreeNode components, which correspond to categories of tasks. The resulting tree structure organizes tasks, and provides a convenient way of launching them.
The MenuButton component is a button representing a menu of items, where each item is a button to launch a task.
The MenuButtonRow component is a row of menu buttons on the Desktop. According to how the customer wants to group the tasks, you can set a number of MenuButtons, each including a list of menu items to launch different tasks.
The MenuItem component is a menu item contained inside a MenuButton. It is responsible for launching a specified task, similar to the TaskLauncherButton component.
The messageArea component is a ComboBox that shows the various application messages. The number of messages shown is customizable.
It is possible to store a set of icons, called IconStates, inside the same icon label, called a MultipleStateIconLabel. The particular icon that is displayed at any given time depends on the status of the system environment. The icons are associated with specific status codes and the application or operation requests the icon label to activate or show the icon associated with a specific status code. This is particularly useful for displaying communications and device statuses.
The Scenario component is an embedded panel located inside its parent tabbed pane (the ScenarioArea). It can be compared to a notebook or workbook tab. It can contain a set of TaskLauncherButtons which can be used to directly launch tasks, and a set of MenuButtons. Each menu button represents a group of tasks that can be launched from the menu items.
The ScenarioArea component is a tabbed pane containing pages for the different scenarios needed during an application process. It is a reserved area on the Desktop for displaying the scenarios. In some systems, this type of component is called a notebook or a workbook.
The Separator component is a line that separates the MenuItems within a menu.
The JSplitArea is used to divide two (and only two) components of the Desktop. The two components are graphically divided based on the look and feel implementation. They can then be interactively resized by the user. The split can be horizontal or vertical.
The TaskArea component is the area reserved for keeping the list of tasks that are active (launched) during the application process. The active tasks appear as buttons in the TaskArea. The size of this area and the size of the buttons within it are fixed in the definition file, taking into account the maximum number of tasks that the customer wants the system to support at any given time, as well as the user interface requirements.
The TaskInfo component keeps information about a specific task, and makes that information available to the applications or processes running in the system. It is mainly used to hold the task (operation of the operation Panel) related to a name or code. This name or code is used by the TaskLauncherTextField to launch the task.
The TaskInfo object is added to a list in the Desktop component so that the Desktop can keep information about all the tasks defined in the system. A TaskInfo component can be created through its definition in the Desktop definition file, and can also be dynamically built by the system when a component that implements the TaskLauncher interface is added.
The TaskLauncherButton component is a button responsible for launching a specific task.
>The TaskLauncherTextField component is a TextField with the ability to launch tasks identified by a name or a code that the user enters in the field. The component finds the TaskInfo associated with the name or code, and launches the corresponding task. If the component does not find any TaskInfo for the code entered by the user, it concatenates the code with its prefix and suffix attributes and searches again. The TaskLauncherTextField can launch any task stored in the Desktop's TaskInfo list. This component is mainly useful when the end user knows the specific codes of the tasks to be performed.
The user can also specify parameters for a task, by entering the task name, a delimiter character, and a list of parameters. The delimiter character must be specified in the Desktop definition file. The TaskLauncherTextField handles the parameters in the same way that other TaskLauncher parameter attributes are handled. To specify the parameters to use, enter the following in the TaskLauncherTextField text area:
<taskName or code> <delimiter> <list of parameters>
where taskName or code is the code for the task as found in the TaskInfo list, delimiter is the delimiter defined in the Desktop definition file, and list of parameters is the list of parameters defined in the format file.
The TextField component is a text field that can be added to the Desktop to display information. By default, the text and background color are not editable by the end user. A developer can set the background color by specifying the desired value for the nonEditableBackgroundColor attribute in the Settings properties file (see Visual beans settings).
The Timer component is a TextField object with the ability to display the time. It shows the time using hours and minutes.
The Tree and TreeNode components are used to create a hierarchical structure of elements in the Desktop, in order to group tasks into different categories or folders. These components correspond to tasks, and create a structure that is made up of LeafTreeNode components, which correspond to task launchers. The size of the area in which a Tree component is displayed in the Desktop can be defined in the Desktop definition file.
The WorkingArea component is a generic pane where the operation panels are dynamically added when the different tasks are launched.