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<b>General</b>
<br>:: <a class="nav" href="../README.html">Readme</a>
<br>:: <a class="nav" href="../RELEASE-NOTES.txt">Release Notes</a>
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<br>:: <a class="nav" href="quickstart.html"><b>Quick Start</b></a>
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<b>User's Guide</b>
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<br>:: <a class="nav" href="guide/3d.html">Plastic 3D Effects</a>
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<h1>:: Quick Start ::</h1>
<i>How to make your apps look better using the JGoodies Looks</i>
<p>
The following describes how to start effectively with the JGoodies Looks.
For each step we have listed the estimated migration costs.
<h2>1) Integrate the JGoodies L&Fs (< 1 day)</h2>
This is a very effective step and easy to do with
about 5 lines of code. Just choose
your preferred JGoodies look&feel and set it in the <tt>UIManager</tt>,
see <a href="guide/lookandtheme.html">here</a>.
<P>
As a result of this step your application will look better.
<h2>2) Use an Appropriate Icon Set (1-4 days)</h2>
Icons have a significant effect on the function
and elegance of your applications. The choice of
an appropriate icon set depends on many factors,
among others: your platform support strategy.
<p>
If you aim to provide high-fidelity Windows support plus
good support on Linux, Solaris, and Mac, I recommend
to consider using the icon set from
<a href="http://www.eclipse.org/">eclipse.org</a>.
This icon set won't alienate Windows users, is relatively
large and portable, and quite easy to extend by developers.
If you require larger icons, the icon set by Dean S.
Jones may be your choice. From my perspective, the icons
provided by Sun's HIG group don't work well on Windows
and Mac and do conflict with many popular desktop colors.
<h2>3) Remove Obsolete Decorations :: Use Less Ink (1-5 days)</h2>
Remove obsolete and duplicate borders and separators.
Check every line in your panels and ask yourself
whether it adds information or blurs your content.
Very often you can replace a border or separator
with white space.
<p>
The JGoodies Looks contain ClearLook, an add-on
that can help you find visual clutter.
The clutter often stems from wrapping multiple decorated components,
for example a JScrollPane in a JSplitPane.
Switch on the ClearLook debug mode and look
what it has marked with colored decorations.
You may consider these decorations as obsolete.
<p>
As a result users can more quickly and easily
comprehend your panels and find relevant information.
<h2>You're Done</h2>
If you have completed these steps your application should look significantly better.
Congratulations! If you want to further improve the appearance
and consistency of your applications check out the free
<a href="http://www.jgoodies.com/freeware/forms/">JGoodies Forms</a>.
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(c) 2008 JGoodies
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