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Creating Always Enabled Action From Scratch

Contributed By Varun Nischal

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This tutorial is based on an existing tutorial. That tutorial, lets you get started with the NetBeans Plugin-Development, as easily as possible.

Pre-requisites

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If you don’t have prior experience with NetBeans Platform, read that tutorial. That's a must! Now, after you have done that, you might like to explore a bit more. So, you should give the following a read as well(if you want you can skip it for a while and read it along with my tutorial),

This overview will quickly familiarize you with how NetBeans plug-in modules interact with the NetBeans infrastructure and with each other.

Now, you're ready for plugin-development. So, lets get started then!

Getting Started

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Aim of this tutorial, is to let you make an Always Enabled (see CallableSystemAction) Action, without using New File Type Wizard.

Creating Project

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So, here are the following steps to create a NetBeans Module;

1. Goto File > New Project...
2. Choose NetBeans Modules from Categories and then, select Module from related Projects.
3. Wizard opens...Now, follow steps as mentioned in this tutorial.

Creating a Menu Item and Toolbar Button

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This is what existing tutorial states,

You use the NetBeans plug-in module file templates to create the basis of the module's functionality. When you use a file template, the IDE registers the item that you create in the layer.xml file. After using a wizard to create the file template, you use the NetBeans API List to continue developing the module.

We won't be using any Wizard, as said before. So, follow these steps to create your Action;

1. Right-click Project Node, pops-up a Context-Menu!
2. Select New > Java Class...
3. Write SayCheez in Class Name and press Finish.

Without Using Action Wizard

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The existing tutorial creates Action using New File Type Wizard!

Now, we will extend SayCheez by CallableSystemAction, and you would be prompted by NetBeans, to implement all abstract methods. Press Alt-Insert, let the IDE implement them.

So, you can see the following structure of SayCheez.java;

import org.openide.util.HelpCtx;
import org.openide.util.actions.CallableSystemAction;

/*
 * To change this template, choose Tools | Templates
 * and open the template in the editor.
 */

//package {$your-package};

/**
 *
 * @author Varun Nischal (nvarun@NetBeans.org)
 */
public class SayCheez extends CallableSystemAction {

    @Override
    public void performAction() {
        throw new UnsupportedOperationException("Not supported yet.");
    }

    @Override
    public String getName() {
        throw new UnsupportedOperationException("Not supported yet.");
    }

    @Override
    public HelpCtx getHelpCtx() {
        throw new UnsupportedOperationException("Not supported yet.");
    }

}

Do following changes in these methods;

• performAction

    @Override
    public void performAction() {
        //throw new UnsupportedOperationException("Not supported yet.");
        String msg = "I'm plugged in!";
        NotifyDescriptor d = new NotifyDescriptor.Message(msg, 
                NotifyDescriptor.INFORMATION_MESSAGE);
        DialogDisplayer.getDefault().notify(d);  
    }

• getName

    @Override
    public String getName() {
        //throw new UnsupportedOperationException("Not supported yet.");
        return NbBundle.getMessage(SayCheez.class, "CTL_SayCheez");
    }

• getHelpCtx

Its declared in HelpCtx.Provider which is implemented by this class.

    @Override
    public HelpCtx getHelpCtx() {
        //throw new UnsupportedOperationException("Not supported yet.");
        return HelpCtx.DEFAULT_HELP;
    }

You must be wondering what to do with, NbBundle.getMessage(SayCheez.class, "CTL_SayCheez"); No need to worry, when you first created this project, a file called Bundle.properties gets created into {$your-package}, where SayCheez.java is present. Just add the following line into properties file, and continue coding!

CTL_SayCheez=Say Cheez...
# You may change the content on the right side of this assignment operator.

Add following methods

• initialize

Initialize the action. The default implementation just enabled it. Read more...

    @Override
    protected void initialize() {
        super.initialize();
        // see org.openide.util.actions.SystemAction.iconResource() Javadoc for more details
        putValue("noIconInMenu", Boolean.TRUE);
    }    

• asynchronous

If true, this action should be performed asynchronously in a private thread. Read more...

    //Added
    @Override
    protected boolean asynchronous() {
        return false;
    }

Where's the Icon?

• Hey, this is the question, asked by the IDE, when you create a Global Toolbar Button using Action Wizard. Here, as we are doing everything from scratch, without using any Wizard.
• So, you need to keep in mind, that Toolbar Button is visible, only if you have an icon for it.
• So, add the following code, i.e. override iconResource()

    @Override
    protected String iconResource() {
        //Replace org/nvarun/tat with your path/to/icon
        return "org/nvarun/tat/icon24.png";
    }
    //see attachments to download icon24.png

Ready to Install/Reload

• Not yet, firstly, recall if you saw some red underlines present in the code, Add relevant Module Dependencies...(see tutorial) to get rid of them, so finally your code looks like this;

Source Code

import org.openide.DialogDisplayer;
import org.openide.NotifyDescriptor;
import org.openide.util.HelpCtx;
import org.openide.util.NbBundle;
import org.openide.util.actions.CallableSystemAction;

/*
 * To change this template, choose Tools | Templates
 * and open the template in the editor.
 */

//package {$your-package};

/**
 *
 * @author Varun Nischal (nvarun@NetBeans.org)
 */
public class SayCheez extends CallableSystemAction {

    @Override
    public void performAction() {
        //throw new UnsupportedOperationException("Not supported yet.");
        String msg = "I'm plugged in!";
        NotifyDescriptor d = new NotifyDescriptor.Message(msg, 
                NotifyDescriptor.INFORMATION_MESSAGE);
        DialogDisplayer.getDefault().notify(d);  
    }

    @Override
    public String getName() {
        //throw new UnsupportedOperationException("Not supported yet.");
        return NbBundle.getMessage(SayCheez.class, "CTL_SayCheez");
    }

    @Override
    public HelpCtx getHelpCtx() {
        //throw new UnsupportedOperationException("Not supported yet.");
        return HelpCtx.DEFAULT_HELP;
    }

    // Newly Added	
    @Override
    protected void initialize() {
        super.initialize();
        // see org.openide.util.actions.SystemAction.iconResource() Javadoc for more details
        putValue("noIconInMenu", Boolean.TRUE);
    }    
	
    // Newly Added	
    @Override
    protected boolean asynchronous() {
        return false;
    }
}

Module's XML Layer

• By the way, we missed one thing, register this Action in XML Layer. Don't worry, its easy, open your layer.xml. Add the following code within filesystem tags;

    <folder name="Actions">
        <folder name="Tools">        
            <file name="org-nvarun-tat-SayCheez.instance"/>
        </folder>
    </folder>
    <folder name="Menu">
        <folder name="Tools">
            <file name="org-nvarun-tat-SayCheez.shadow">
                <attr name="originalFile" stringvalue="Actions/Tools/org-nvarun-tat-SayCheez.instance"/>
                <attr name="position" intvalue="150"/>
            </file>
            <file name="org-nvarun-tat-separatorAfter.instance">
                <attr name="instanceClass" stringvalue="javax.swing.JSeparator"/>
                <attr name="position" intvalue="175"/>
            </file>
            <file name="org-nvarun-tat-separatorBefore.instance">
                <attr name="instanceClass" stringvalue="javax.swing.JSeparator"/>
                <attr name="position" intvalue="125"/>
            </file>
        </folder>
    </folder>
    <folder name="Toolbars">
        <folder name="Build">
            <file name="org-nvarun-tat-SayCheez.shadow">
                <attr name="originalFile" stringvalue="Actions/Tools/org-nvarun-tat-SayCheez.instance"/>
                <attr name="position" intvalue="325"/>
            </file>
        </folder>
    </folder>

• Replace "org-nvarun-tat" with your package name, in which SayCheez resides.

Installing and Using the Plug-in Module

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Refer to this tutorial, on how to Install and use your plug-in module. If you liked it, feel free give feedback, because this tutorial can only get better, if you actively participate in community.

Version Compatability

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Works with NetBeans 6.0, 6.1 as said above. Try this out on your version, and make sure to notify us if anything goes wrong!

Thank you!

Attachments