SDI and window management of non-TopComponents

[Roxie Rochat-4]

Our SDI application uses a mixture of TopComponents and other non-NetBeans-managed windows.
We have a major problem with the upgrade to NetBeans 6.0 and its elimination of SDI mode: now, whenever a TopComponent is activated, all other TopComponents pop to the top, thus obscuring our other windows.

We do not have the option to convert all of our windows into TopComponents.

How can we disable this new NetBeans "feature" that assumes all TopComponents need to be on top of all other windows?

I hope it doesn't require changes to any NetBeans source code, but if it does, I would appreciate any advice about where to look and what to change.  We don't want to go back to a pre-6.0 base, but cannot use the system as it is.

Thanks in advance,
Roxie

[Wade Chandler]

--- Roxie Rochat <rfr@...> wrote:

> Our SDI application uses a mixture of TopComponents and other non-NetBeans-managed windows.
> We have a major problem with the upgrade to NetBeans 6.0 and its elimination of SDI mode: now,
> whenever a TopComponent is activated, all other TopComponents pop to the top, thus obscuring
> our other windows.
>
> We do not have the option to convert all of our windows into TopComponents.
>
> How can we disable this new NetBeans "feature" that assumes all TopComponents need to be on top
> of all other windows?
>
> I hope it doesn't require changes to any NetBeans source code, but if it does, I would
> appreciate any advice about where to look and what to change.  We don't want to go back to a
> pre-6.0 base, but cannot use the system as it is.
>

I don't understand fully. You say all other TCs pop to the top and obscure the other Windows.
What are these Windows? Are they frames or are they dialogs? These top components, how are they
being housed? i.e. Are they in the main Window or what? Is the main window popping in front of
all the others? In your application are you saying that no window is the main window and the main
window is in front of some others at some times and this is not what you want? Anyways, I can
imagine an application with multiple frames and I can imagine one with floating dialogs which can
be resized and minimized, but what I don't understand is the work flow of what you are describing
enough to be able to help nor understand how a TC can obscure a window. Are you using
JDesktopPane perhaps?

Wade


==================
Wade Chandler, CCE
Software Engineer and Developer, Certified Forensic Computer Examiner, NetBeans Dream Team Member, and NetBeans Board Member
http://www.certified-computer-examiner.com
http://wiki.netbeans.org/wiki/view/NetBeansDreamTeam
http://www.netbeans.org

[Roxie Rochat-4]

Our application uses SDI - every "window" is separate/floating and not connected to any other window.  We've been using the SDI mode since the NetBeans 3.x days.
It is a multi-process, multi-language application.  Only one process is running NetBeans code.
That one has a regular NetBeans MainWindow with a menubar and toolbar, and several other separate windows derived from TopComponent.

The other process is not running NetBeans.  It is a legacy application with a mixture of windowing systems, i.e. X-Windows, JFrames, JDialogs, etc.

Whenever the 6.0 NetBeans MainWindow or one of its TopComponents gets the focus, it insists on popping all of its windows on top of all the windows running in the other process, which is unacceptable.  That is the problem I'm trying to solve, hopefully without abandoning 6.0 or modifying core NetBeans code.
Roxie


At 06:49 AM 5/8/2008, you wrote:

>--- Roxie Rochat <rfr@...> wrote:
>> Our SDI application uses a mixture of TopComponents and other non-NetBeans-managed windows.
>> We have a major problem with the upgrade to NetBeans 6.0 and its elimination of SDI mode: now,
>> whenever a TopComponent is activated, all other TopComponents pop to the top, thus obscuring
>> our other windows.
>>
>> We do not have the option to convert all of our windows into TopComponents.
>>
>> How can we disable this new NetBeans "feature" that assumes all TopComponents need to be on top
>> of all other windows?
>>
>> I hope it doesn't require changes to any NetBeans source code, but if it does, I would
>> appreciate any advice about where to look and what to change.  We don't want to go back to a
>> pre-6.0 base, but cannot use the system as it is.
>>
>
>I don't understand fully. You say all other TCs pop to the top and obscure the other Windows.
>What are these Windows? Are they frames or are they dialogs? These top components, how are they
>being housed? i.e. Are they in the main Window or what? Is the main window popping in front of
>all the others? In your application are you saying that no window is the main window and the main
>window is in front of some others at some times and this is not what you want? Anyways, I can
>imagine an application with multiple frames and I can imagine one with floating dialogs which can
>be resized and minimized, but what I don't understand is the work flow of what you are describing
>enough to be able to help nor understand how a TC can obscure a window. Are you using
>JDesktopPane perhaps?
>
>Wade
>
>
>==================
>Wade Chandler, CCE
>Software Engineer and Developer, Certified Forensic Computer Examiner, NetBeans Dream Team Member, and NetBeans Board Member
>http://www.certified-computer-examiner.com
>http://wiki.netbeans.org/wiki/view/NetBeansDreamTeam
>http://www.netbeans.org