Creating Your Own Panels

How It Works

What You Need

First you have to read the NanoXML documentation if you need to use XML in your panel. Secondly, it is necessary that you use the Javadoc-generated class references. We will just explain here briefly how to start making your panels.

It is a good idea to read the source code of some IzPack panels. They are usually very small, which makes it easier to understand how to write your own.

What You Have To Do

Extending IZPACK with a panel is quite simple. A panel used with IZPACK must be a subclass of IzPanel. The IzPanel class is located in the com.izforge.izpack.installer package but your panels need to belong to com.izforge.izpack.panels.

Things will get a good deal easier if you build IzPack with Jakarta Ant. Simply add your class in the source tree and add the And directives to build your own panels. In this way you'll be able to focus on your code :-)

The IzPanel Class

UML Diagram

Description

The data members are : the install data (refer to the InstallData Javadoc reference) and a reference to the parent installer frame. Additional there are the initialFocus Component and some members for handling the grid bag constraint.

The methods have the following functionality :

• (constructor) : called just after the language selection dialog. All the panels are constructed at this time and then the installer is shown. So be aware of the fact that the installer window is not yet visible when the panel is created. If you need to do some work when the window is created, it is in most cases better do it in panelActivate.
  

• isValidated returns true if the user is allowed to go a step further in the installation process. Returning false will lock it. For instance the LicencePanel returns true only if the user has agreed with the license agreement. The default is to return true.
  

• panelActivate is called when the panel becomes active. This is the best place for most initialization tasks. The default is to do nothing.
  

• makeXMLData is called to build the automated installer data. The default is to do nothing. panelRoot refers to the node in the XML tree where you can save your data. Each panel is given a node. You can organize it as you want with the markups you want starting from panelRoot. It's that simple.
  

• runAutomated is called by an automated-mode installation. Each panel is called and can do its job by picking the data collected during a previous installation as saved in panelRoot by makeXMLData.
  

• setInitialFocus with this method it is possible to set a hint which component should be get the focus at activation of the panel. It is only a hint. Not all components are supported. For more information see java.awt.Component.requestFocusInWindow or java.awt.Component.requestFocus if the VM version is less than 1.4.
  

• getInitialFocus returns the component which should be get the focos at activation of the panel. If no component was set, null returns.
  

Additional there are some helper methods to simplify grid bag layout handling and creation of some common used components.