java - Changing look and feel of specific window

Question

I'm writing a script for a larger GUI application. The main application window uses the system's LookAndFeel, but I want my script's GUI to use the Nimbus LookAndFeel. After GUI creation, I want to set the LookAndFeel back to the original. I feel the below SSCCE should work, but I'm getting a NullPointerException when using my Component objects.

import java.awt.Dimension;
import java.awt.GridBagLayout;
import javax.swing.*;
import javax.swing.UIManager.LookAndFeelInfo;

public class GUI extends JFrame {
    private static LookAndFeel originalLookAndFeel = UIManager.getLookAndFeel();
    static {
        System.out.println("At start, look and feel is " + UIManager.getLookAndFeel().getName());
        try {
            setNimbusLookAndFeel();
        } catch (Exception e) {
            System.out.println(e.getMessage());
        }
        System.out.println("Look and feel changed to " + UIManager.getLookAndFeel().getName()
                + " before component creation");
    }
    private GridBagLayout gridBag = new GridBagLayout();
    private JTabbedPane tabs = new JTabbedPane();
    private JPanel selectionPanel = new JPanel(gridBag);
    private JPanel infoPanel = new JPanel(gridBag);
    private JPanel settingsPanel = new JPanel(gridBag);

    public GUI() {
        setWindowProperties();
        setUpComponents();
        addComponents();

        try {
            System.out.println("Setting to original, which is " + originalLookAndFeel.getName());
            UIManager.setLookAndFeel(originalLookAndFeel);
            System.out.println("Current look and feel is " + UIManager.getLookAndFeel().getName());
        } catch (UnsupportedLookAndFeelException e) {
            e.printStackTrace();
        }
    }

    private void setWindowProperties() {
        setLayout(gridBag);
        setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
        setSize(new Dimension(700, 600));
        setTitle("fAmos Quester");
        setResizable(false);
        setLocationRelativeTo(null);
    }

    private static void setNimbusLookAndFeel() {
        try {
            for (LookAndFeelInfo info : UIManager.getInstalledLookAndFeels()) {
                if ("Nimbus".equals(info.getName())) {
                    UIManager.setLookAndFeel(info.getClassName());
                }
            }
        } catch (Exception e) {
            try {
                UIManager.setLookAndFeel(UIManager.getSystemLookAndFeelClassName());
            } catch (Exception e2) {
            }
        }
    }

    public void setUpComponents() {
        tabs.addTab("Quest selection", selectionPanel);
        tabs.addTab("Quest info", infoPanel);
        tabs.addTab("Settings", settingsPanel);

        selectionPanel.setPreferredSize(new Dimension(650, 500));
        infoPanel.setPreferredSize(new Dimension(650, 500));
        settingsPanel.setPreferredSize(new Dimension(650, 500));
    }

    private void addComponents() {
        add(tabs);
    }

    public static void main(String[] args) {
        new GUI().setVisible(true);
    }
}

Answer 1

As a general rule it is not a good idea to mix LAF's. This problem is an example of why.

There is something in the Nimbus LAF that may not allow you to do this. Run the code as is. It will set the LAF to the System LAF and then reset the LAF. In my case the system is Windows and it appear to work fine. Then change the code to use the Nimbus LAF. It appears to work initially, but try resizing the frame and you get the errors. So it would appear that the Nimbus frame does not work completely independent of the current LAF.

import java.awt.*;
import java.awt.event.*;
import java.awt.GridBagLayout;
import javax.swing.*;
import javax.swing.UIManager.LookAndFeelInfo;

public class GUI2 extends JFrame {
    private static LookAndFeel originalLookAndFeel = UIManager.getLookAndFeel();
/*
    private GridBagLayout gridBag = new GridBagLayout();
    private JTabbedPane tabs = new JTabbedPane();
    private JPanel selectionPanel = new JPanel(gridBag);
    private JPanel infoPanel = new JPanel(gridBag);
    private JPanel settingsPanel = new JPanel(gridBag);
*/
    private GridBagLayout gridBag;
    private JTabbedPane tabs;
    private JPanel selectionPanel;
    private JPanel infoPanel;
    private JPanel settingsPanel;

    public GUI2() {
        System.out.println("At start, look and feel is " + UIManager.getLookAndFeel().getName());
        try {
//            setNimbusLookAndFeel();
          UIManager.setLookAndFeel(UIManager.getSystemLookAndFeelClassName());
        } catch (Exception e) {
            e.printStackTrace();
        }
        System.out.println("Look and feel changed to " + UIManager.getLookAndFeel().getName()
                + " before component creation");

        gridBag = new GridBagLayout();
        setLayout(gridBag);
        tabs = new JTabbedPane();
        selectionPanel = new JPanel(gridBag);
        infoPanel = new JPanel(gridBag);
        settingsPanel = new JPanel(gridBag);

        setUpComponents();
        addComponents();
        setWindowProperties();

        Action reset = new AbstractAction()
        {
            public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent ae)
            {
                try {
                    System.out.println("Setting to original, which is " + originalLookAndFeel.getName());
                    UIManager.setLookAndFeel(originalLookAndFeel);
                    System.out.println("Current look and feel is " + UIManager.getLookAndFeel().getName());
                } catch (UnsupportedLookAndFeelException e) {
                    //e.printStackTrace();
                    System.out.println(e.getMessage());
                }

            }
        };

        Timer timer = new Timer(500, reset);
        timer.setRepeats(false);
        timer.start();
    }

    private void setWindowProperties() {
//        setLayout(gridBag);
        setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
        setTitle("fAmos Quester");
//        setResizable(false);
        pack();
        setLocationRelativeTo(null);
    }

    private void setNimbusLookAndFeel() {
        try {
            for (LookAndFeelInfo info : UIManager.getInstalledLookAndFeels()) {
                if ("Nimbus".equals(info.getName())) {
                    UIManager.setLookAndFeel(info.getClassName());
                }
            }
        } catch (Exception e) {
            try {
                UIManager.setLookAndFeel(UIManager.getSystemLookAndFeelClassName());
            } catch (Exception e2) {
            }
        }
    }

    public void setUpComponents() {
        tabs.addTab("Quest selection", selectionPanel);
        tabs.addTab("Quest info", infoPanel);
        tabs.addTab("Settings", settingsPanel);

        selectionPanel.setPreferredSize(new Dimension(650, 500));
        infoPanel.setPreferredSize(new Dimension(650, 500));
        settingsPanel.setPreferredSize(new Dimension(650, 500));
    }

    private void addComponents() {
        add(tabs);
    }

    public static void main(String[] args) {
        new GUI2().setVisible(true);
    }
}

Maybe a solution would be to create the component using the Nimbus LAF as is done above. However, don't reset the LAF until the frame is deactivated. Then you could try resetting the LAF every time the frame is activated. You would use a WindowListener to handle the activated/deactivated events.