Getting system font properties in Java/Swing

Question

I am working on a Java application using Swing and I want to set up the GUI using the "proper" fonts and font sizes. With proper I mean the fonts (+size) as defined by the user, so that my application will fit right in to the user's screen setup (resolution / font size combination) without having to provide my own custom settings. My app will be used on Windows, MacOS X and Linux.

I've been unable to find how to do that, or whether this is actually possible in the first place. I found some references to getSystemFont but could not find any documentation.

Can anybody help?

EDIT: Eugene suggested that using setLookAndfeel would already take care of that. While this may be correct, this still leaves me with the issue on how to add e.g. a JTextField to the screen that has the proper height, as I need to pass something on to .setBounds

Answer 1

Actually system look and feel suppose to do it for each platform. You just have to use system look and feel:

UIManager.setLookAndfeel( UIManager. getSystemLookAndFeelClassName())

And do it before your GUI is created.

Answer 2

this still leaves me with the issue on how to add e.g. a JTextField to the screen that has the proper height, as I need to pass something on to .setBounds

No, you should be using LayoutManagers. They do all the work for you. There is no need to use a null layout and therefore you don't need to set the bounds of the component.

Read the section from the Swing tutorial on Using Layout Managers