java mouse capture

Question

How do I capture the mouse in a Java application so that all mouse events (even ones that happen if the mouse is moved outside the app window) are seen by the Java app? This is like the Windows SetCapture function.

Answer 1

You don't; the JVM, or more specifically AWT, only generates input events when Windows sends it input events, and the JVM only registers for those events which occur within it's window.

You might be able to pull it off using JNI, but then again you might not - it will depend if you can get your hands on the information required by the underlying API. Since that's likely to be a window handle, you won't have what you need to invoke the API, even from JNI.