Shaped (Rounded Rectangle, Polygon, Oval, Arc etc) and Translucent Application Windows

Generally most of the application windows are rectangle shaped. This article show how to create different shaped rounded rectangle, polygonal, oval, circled, arced windows in Java. This can help you to create various shaped splash screens in Java. The window shaping and translucent effect is introduced in JDK 6u10 release.

Shaped Windows:You can set any shape in an undecorated window. Calling method setUndecorated(true) will make a window undecorated. The shaped windows feature is available through the new com.sun.awt.AWTUtilities class. Note that the com.sun.awt.AWTUtilities class is not part of an officially supported API and appears as an implementation detail. The API is only meant for limited use outside of the core platform. It may change drastically between update releases, and it may even be removed or be moved in some other packages or classes. To apply a shape to a window use the setWindowShape method. The method uses the window argument to define the window you want to set the shape to. Additionally, it uses the shape argument to define the desired shape. The shape can be any instance of the java.awt.Shape interface, for example, Ellipse2D.Float or RoundRectangle2D.Float.

Translucent Windows:By the translucency effect you can make application windows transparent that means you can tune the general opacity of the windows. The general opacity level of the application window is controlled by the the setWindowOpacity method. This method takes window and opacity variables as arguments. The window argument defines the window to apply the effect to. This argument must be an instance of the java.awt.Window class or its descendant, such as javax.swing.JFrame. The opacity argument is responsible for the level of opacity of the window. The lower its value, the more transparent the window becomes. The range of allowed values is [0f ; 1f]. If you set the value to 0f, the window becomes completely transparent (i.e. invisible). If the value is set to 1f, then the window becomes completely opaque (which is equal to a case when the effect is not applied at all).

Now it’s time for action.

Rounded rectangle shaped window:

Figure: Rounded Rectangle Shaped Window

Figure: Rounded Rectangle Shaped Window with Translucent Effect

Source Code:

import com.sun.awt.AWTUtilities;
import java.awt.Color;
import java.awt.Shape;
import java.awt.geom.RoundRectangle2D;
import javax.swing.JFrame;
import javax.swing.JLabel;
import javax.swing.SwingConstants;

/**
 *
 * @author Shamsuddin Ahammad
 */
public class RoundedRectangleWindow {

    public RoundedRectangleWindow() {
        JFrame frame = new JFrame();

        frame.setSize(700, 550);
        frame.setLocationRelativeTo(null);//to show the frame in the center of screen
        frame.setUndecorated(true);
        frame.setTitle("Rounded Rectangle Window");

        JLabel label = new JLabel("A Rounded Rectangle Window");
        label.setHorizontalAlignment(SwingConstants.CENTER);
        label.setForeground(Color.BLUE);

        frame.getContentPane().add(label);
        frame.getContentPane().setBackground(Color.PINK);

        /*
        * Setting window shape
        * RoundRectangle2D.Float(x,y,width,height,arcWidth,arcHeight)
        */
        Shape shape = new RoundRectangle2D.Float(0, 0, frame.getWidth(), frame.getHeight(), 50, 50);
        AWTUtilities.setWindowShape(frame, shape);

        //translucency operations

        if (AWTUtilities.isTranslucencySupported(AWTUtilities.Translucency.TRANSLUCENT)) {
            AWTUtilities.setWindowOpacity(frame, 0.65F);
        }

        frame.setVisible(true);

        //frame will dispose after 10 seconds
        try {
            Thread.sleep(10000);
        } catch (InterruptedException ie) {
            ie.printStackTrace();
        }

        frame.dispose();

    }

    public static void main(String args[]) {
        RoundedRectangleWindow roundedRectangleWindow = new RoundedRectangleWindow();
    }

}

Polygon Shaped Window:

Figure: Polygon Shaped Window

Figure: Polygon Shaped with Translucent Effect

Source Code:

import com.sun.awt.AWTUtilities;
import java.awt.Color;
import java.awt.Polygon;
import java.awt.Shape;
import javax.swing.JFrame;
import javax.swing.JLabel;
import javax.swing.SwingConstants;

/**
 *
 * @author Shamsuddin Ahammad
 */
public class PolygonWindow {

    public PolygonWindow() {
        JFrame frame = new JFrame();

        frame.setSize(700, 550);
        frame.setLocationRelativeTo(null);//to show the frame in the center of screen
        frame.setUndecorated(true);
        frame.setTitle("Polygon Window");

        JLabel label = new JLabel("A Polygon(Octagon) Window");
        label.setHorizontalAlignment(SwingConstants.CENTER);
        label.setForeground(Color.BLUE);

        frame.getContentPane().add(label);
        frame.getContentPane().setBackground(Color.PINK);

        /*int xpoints[]={140,372,512,512,372,140,0,0};
        int ypoints[]={0,0,140,338,478,478,338,140};*/

        //8 points for an octagon
        int xpoints[] = { 191, 509, 700, 700, 509, 191, 0, 0 };
        int ypoints[] = { 0, 0, 161, 389, 550, 550, 389, 161 };

        /*Setting window shape
        Polygon(xpoints,ypoints,numberOfPoints)*/
        Shape shape = new Polygon(xpoints, ypoints, xpoints.length);
        AWTUtilities.setWindowShape(frame, shape);

        //translucency operations

        if (AWTUtilities.isTranslucencySupported(AWTUtilities.Translucency.TRANSLUCENT)) {
            AWTUtilities.setWindowOpacity(frame, 0.65F);
        }

        frame.setVisible(true);

        //frame will dispose after 10 seconds
        try {
            Thread.sleep(10000);
        } catch (InterruptedException ie) {
            ie.printStackTrace();
        }

        frame.dispose();

    }

    public static void main(String args[]) {
        PolygonWindow roundedRectangleWindow = new PolygonWindow();
    }

}

Oval Shaped Window:

Figure: Oval Shaped Window

Figure: Oval Shaped Window with Translucent Effect

Source Code:

import com.sun.awt.AWTUtilities;
import java.awt.Color;
import java.awt.Shape;
import java.awt.geom.Ellipse2D;
import javax.swing.JFrame;
import javax.swing.JLabel;
import javax.swing.SwingConstants;

/**
 *
 * @author Shamsuddin Ahammad
 */
public class OvalWindow {

    public OvalWindow() {
        JFrame frame = new JFrame();

        frame.setSize(700, 550);
        frame.setLocationRelativeTo(null);//to show the frame in the center of screen
        frame.setUndecorated(true);
        frame.setTitle("Oval Window");

        JLabel label = new JLabel("An Oval Window");
        label.setHorizontalAlignment(SwingConstants.CENTER);
        label.setForeground(Color.BLUE);

        frame.getContentPane().add(label);
        frame.getContentPane().setBackground(Color.PINK);

        /*Setting window shape
        Ellipse2D.Float(x,y,width,height)*/
        Shape shape = new Ellipse2D.Float(0, 0, frame.getWidth(), frame.getHeight());
        AWTUtilities.setWindowShape(frame, shape);

        //translucency operations

        if (AWTUtilities.isTranslucencySupported(AWTUtilities.Translucency.TRANSLUCENT)) {
            AWTUtilities.setWindowOpacity(frame, 0.65F);
        }

        frame.setVisible(true);

        //frame will dispose after 10 seconds
        try {
            Thread.sleep(10000);
        } catch (InterruptedException ie) {
            ie.printStackTrace();
        }

        frame.dispose();

    }

    public static void main(String args[]) {
        OvalWindow roundedRectangleWindow = new OvalWindow();
    }

}

Circle Shaped Window:

Figure: Circle Shaped Window

Figure: Circle Shaped Window with Translucent Effect

Source Code:

import com.sun.awt.AWTUtilities;
import java.awt.Color;
import java.awt.Shape;
import java.awt.geom.Ellipse2D;
import javax.swing.JFrame;
import javax.swing.JLabel;
import javax.swing.SwingConstants;

/**
 *
 * @author Shamsuddin Ahammad
 */
public class CircleWindow {

    public CircleWindow() {
        JFrame frame = new JFrame();

        frame.setSize(700, 700);
        frame.setLocationRelativeTo(null);//to show the frame in the center of screen
        frame.setUndecorated(true);
        frame.setTitle("Circle Window");

        JLabel label = new JLabel("A Circle Window");
        label.setHorizontalAlignment(SwingConstants.CENTER);
        label.setForeground(Color.BLUE);

        frame.getContentPane().add(label);
        frame.getContentPane().setBackground(Color.PINK);

        /*Setting window shape
        Ellipse2D.Float(x,y,width,height)*/
        Shape shape = new Ellipse2D.Float(0, 0, frame.getWidth(), frame.getHeight());
        AWTUtilities.setWindowShape(frame, shape);

        //translucency operations

        if (AWTUtilities.isTranslucencySupported(AWTUtilities.Translucency.TRANSLUCENT)) {
            AWTUtilities.setWindowOpacity(frame, 0.65F);
        }

        frame.setVisible(true);

        //frame will dispose after 10 seconds
        try {
            Thread.sleep(10000);
        } catch (InterruptedException ie) {
            ie.printStackTrace();
        }

        frame.dispose();

    }

    public static void main(String args[]) {
        CircleWindow roundedRectangleWindow = new CircleWindow();
    }

}

Arc Shaped Window:

Figure: Arc Shaped Window

Figure: Arc Shaped Window with Translucent Effect

Source Code:

import com.sun.awt.AWTUtilities;
import java.awt.Color;
import java.awt.Shape;
import java.awt.geom.Arc2D;
import javax.swing.JFrame;
import javax.swing.JLabel;
import javax.swing.SwingConstants;

/**
 *
 * @author Shamsuddin Ahammad
 */
public class ArcWindow {

    public ArcWindow() {
        JFrame frame = new JFrame();

        frame.setSize(700, 550);
        //show the frame in the center of screen
        frame.setLocationRelativeTo(null);
        frame.setUndecorated(true);
        frame.setTitle("Arc Window");

        JLabel label = new JLabel("An Arc Window");
        label.setHorizontalAlignment(SwingConstants.CENTER);
        label.setForeground(Color.BLUE);

        frame.getContentPane().add(label);
        frame.getContentPane().setBackground(Color.PINK);

        /*Setting window shape
        Arc2D.Float(x,y,width,height,start,extent,type)*/
        Shape shape = new Arc2D.Float(0, 0, frame.getWidth(), frame.getHeight(), 0, 200, Arc2D.OPEN);
        AWTUtilities.setWindowShape(frame, shape);

        //translucency operations

        if (AWTUtilities.isTranslucencySupported(AWTUtilities.Translucency.TRANSLUCENT)) {
            AWTUtilities.setWindowOpacity(frame, 0.65F);
        }

        frame.setVisible(true);

        //frame will dispose after 10 seconds
        try {
            Thread.sleep(10000);
        } catch (InterruptedException ie) {
            ie.printStackTrace();
        }

        frame.dispose();

    }

    public static void main(String args[]) {
        ArcWindow roundedRectangleWindow = new ArcWindow();
    }

}

Reference:

Dmitry Bondarenko and Anthony Petrov (April 2008; Updated: August 2008) How to Create Translucent and Shaped Windows, http://java.sun.com/developer/technicalArticles/GUI/translucent_shaped_windows