View source for P4UiComponentSummary

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<span class="orangeBoxTitle">Protege Developer Docs: UI Components</span><br /><br />
This page describes some of the more useful UI components available for developers working with Protege 4, 5 or newer versions.
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== Packages ==

There are many standard UI components, as part of the core Protege framework and more specific components for managing OWL objects in the OWL editor kit.

All UI classes can be found in the following packages:
* [http://protege.stanford.edu/protege/4.0/docs/api/index.html?org/protege/editor/core/ui/package-summary.html org.protege.editor.core.ui] and its subpackages for core generic ui components
* [http://protege.stanford.edu/protege/4.0/docs/api/index.html?org/protege/editor/owl/ui/package-summary.html org.protege.editor.owl.ui] and its subpackages for owl specific ui components

== Components ==

=== Core components ===

==== Actions ====

Create menu items using a plugin mechanism (see [[PluginTypes#EditorKitMenuAction]] for details).


==== Errors ====

Display a dialog to the user when an exception needs to be reported.

use: '''org.protege.editor.core.ui.error.ErrorLogPanel'''

  ErrorLogPanel.showErrorDialog(Exception e)


==== Lists ====

Protege-style JLists that have support for sections, and items with buttons on the right hand side for deleting, editing etc

implement: '''org.protege.editor.core.ui.list.MList'''

example: '''org.protege.editor.core.ui.list.RemovableObjectList'''


==== Preferences ====

Create preferences panels for your plugins (see [[PluginTypes#preferencespanel]] for details).


==== Wizards ====

A dialog with a series of pages to guide the user through a set of tasks with a certain set of steps.

implement: '''org.protege.editor.core.ui.wizard.Wizard'''

example: '''org.protege.editor.owl.ui.ontology.wizard.create.CreateOntologyWizard'''


==== Icons ====

Get a selection of icons that are found in the '''icons/''' folder in the core plugin.

  Icons.getIcon("error.png")


==== Dialogs ====

Provides some handy static dialog/validating dialog (VerifyingOptionPane) creation methods.

use: '''org.protege.editor.core.ui.util.JOptionPaneEx'''


==== NativeBrowserLauncher ====

Show a url in the default native browser for the users OS.

  NativeBrowserLauncher.openURL(String url);


==== ComponentFactory ====

Provides a series of static methods to create some standard Swing components with Protege default look and feel.


==== CheckTable ====

A table that supports selection checkboxes in the first column with a "check all" option


==== CheckList ====


==== File dialogs ====

Provides a number of native file selectors for loading or saving files.

use: '''org.protege.editor.core.ui.util.UIUtil'''


==== FilePathPanel/FileURIPanel ====

An editor with a built in file selection dialog (as used by Open ontology dialogs etc)


==== LinkLabel ====

A label that acts like a hyperlink



=== OWL Specific components ===

Many of the OWL components are very specific, but a number can be reused in your own application.


==== Expression Editor ====

A text editor that allows OWL objects to be created.
It provides content parsing, autocompletion, validation and rendering of existing OWL objects using the
The type of object that is supported depends on the '''OWLExpressionChecker''' that is provided in the constructor (eg '''OWLDescriptionChecker''').

use: '''org.protege.editor.owl.ui.clsdescriptioneditor.ExpressionEditor'''

example of use: '''org.protege.editor.owl.ui.editor.OWLDescriptionExpressionEditor'''


==== OWLClassDescriptionEditor ====

A tabbed component that can take any number of '''OWLDescriptionEditor'''s as tabs and can be used to create OWL expressions


==== OWLEntityFindPanel ====

A component that, given another component that implements '''Findable''' will allow a search based on entity name.


==== OWL Frame lists ====

See [[Protege4Views#Frame_views|Frame views]] to see what the component looks like.

An extension of MList (see [[#Lists]] above) that contains axioms and provides additional functionality (such as right click items).
This list is used in all of the default entity description views and others.
A frame list is initialised with an '''OWLFrame''' that contains sections ('''OWLFrameSection'''s), each of which contains rows ('''OWLFrameSectionRow'''s).
An example of an '''OWLFrame''' is '''org.protege.editor.owl.ui.frame.OWLClassDescriptionFrame'''

All the work in using a frame list is likely to be in creating/specifying the '''AbstractOWLFrameSection'''s that its frame contains.

use: '''org.protege.editor.owl.ui.framelist.OWLFrameList2'''

many examples of OWLFrameSections are available in '''org.protege.editor.owl.ui.frame'''

==== Views ====

Views are implemented as plugins (see [[PluginTypes#ViewComponent]] for more details).


==== Rename entities UI ====

use: '''org.protege.editor.owl.ui.rename.RenameEntityPanel'''


==== Renderering / renderers ====

Various string renderers and cell renderers are available in the '''org.protege.editor.owl.ui.renderer''' package.
You can get renderings for OWLObjects and OWLEntities directly from the OWLModelManager as this will use the cache and also ensures the rendering is consistent with the defaults selected for the rest of P4.

Most components described here already use the OWL cell renderers


==== OWL Entity selectors ====

Selectors for each type of entity are available in the '''org.protege.editor.owl.ui.selector''' package.
You can get pull up a selector dialog more easily by using [[#UIHelper]].pickOWLClass() etc.

example: org.protege.editor.owl.ui.selector.OWLClassSelectorPanel


==== OWL Icons ====

Same as [[#Icons]] but gets its icon images from the '''icons/''' folder in the owl plugin.


==== OWL object trees ====

Take a hierarchy provider and render a JTree with the correct cell renderer and default protege behaviour.

use: '''org.protege.editor.owl.ui.tree.OWLModelManagerTree'''


==== OWLComponentFactory ====

Get selectors and editors for OWL Objects.

This can be retrieved from the '''OWLWorkspace.getOWLComponentFactory()'''.


==== UIHelper ====

Provides many useful static methods.

use: '''org.protege.editor.owl.ui.UIHelper'''


== Behaviours ==

Many of these behaviours can be added to views/components.

To be documented - for now, search for the interfaces usage.

=== Draggable ===

=== Deleteable/Copyable ===

=== Findable ===

=== CreateNewChild/SiblingTarget ===

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