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Visual Mobile Designer Custom Components: Using Splash Screens in Java ME Applications

Splash screens are used to enhance the look and feel of an application. Typically, you use a splash screen when the program starts, or to display a logo or branding information. It gives users the first impression of your application. The Visual Mobile Designer (VMD) in NetBeans includes the SplashScreen custom component in the VMD palette. This brief example shows you how to create a new Java ME project using NetBeans that uses the SplashScreen component. It will also explain how to use the features to design and implement your own splash screens using this feature.

If you are new to mobile application development in NetBeans, you should start with the NetBeans Java ME MIDP Quick Start Guide before continuing.

Content on this page applies to NetBeans IDE 6.5 or later

Tutorial Requirements
Installing and Running the Sample Application
Creating a Mobile Application with the SplashScreen Custom Component
Next Steps

Requirements

To complete this tutorial, you need the following software and resources:

Software or Resource	Version Required
NetBeans IDE with Java ME	Version 6.5 or later
Java Development Kit (JDK)	Version 6

Installing and Running the Sample Application

Before we begin, you might want to see final result of the tutorial.

Take the following steps to install SplashScreen example application:

Download SplashScreen.zip.
Unzip the file.
In the IDE, choose File > Open Project and find the folder that contains the unzipped file.
Open the Project. It should look like the following:
In the Projects window, right-click the project node and choose Run Project (or press F6 key). As the application runs, an emulator window opens and displays the application running in the default device emulator.
In the Emulator window, click the button underneath "Launch." The emulator displays a splash screen, as shown:

Creating a Mobile Application with the SplashScreen Custom Component

Now that you have seen the SplashScreen component in action, let's go back to the beginning and create this application. To create the application do the following:

Create the SplashScreen project
Add packages and a Visual MIDlet to the project
Add components to MySplashScreenMidlet
Change the Timeout property of the SplashScreen component
Add Exit and Back commands to the Form component
Add images to the splash screen
Connect the components
Run the project

Creating the SplashScreen Project

Choose File > New Project (Ctrl-Shift-N). Under Categories, select Java ME. Under Projects, select Mobile Application and click Next.
Enter SplashScreenExample in the Project Name field. Change the Project Location to a directory on your system. This directory is called $PROJECTHOME.
Uncheck the Create Hello MIDlet checkbox. Click Next.
Leave the Sun Java Wireless Toolkit 2.52 as the selected Emulator Platform. Click Finish.

Adding Packages and a Visual MIDlet to the Project

Choose SplashScreenExample project in the Project Window, then choose File > New File (Ctrl-N) . Under Categories, select Java. Under File Types, select Java Package. Click Next.
Enter splashscreenexample in the Package Name field. Click Finish.
Choose the splashscreenexample package in the Project window, then choose File > New File (Ctrl-N). Under Categories, select MIDP. Under File Types, select Visual MIDlet. Click Next.
Enter MySplashScreenMIDlet into MIDlet Name and MIDP Class Name fields. Click Finish.

Adding Components to MySplashScreenMidlet

Switch your Visual MIDlet to the Flow window. Drag the following Screen components from the Palette and drop them in the Flow Designer:
- Splash Screen
- Form
The Splash Screen component when viewed in the Flow Designer:
Select the splashScreen1 component. In the Properties of this component, change the Title to Splash Screen and enter Wait for 10 sec. or press a key to close it into the Text property.
Select the form component to and change its Title property to Form.
Double-click the form component in the Flow window to switch to the Screen Designer
Select the StringItem component from the Form Items section of the Palette, then drag and drop it into form1.
Double-click stringItem1 inside Screen Designer. Delete the title("stringItem1") and change <Enter Text> to Press Exit to close application.

Changing the Timeout Property of the SplashScreen Component

Choose Flow at the top of the Visual Mobile Designer window to re-open the Flow Design view.
Select the Splash Screen component.
In the Properties Window find the Timeout property and change it from 5000 to 10000 milliseconds.

Adding Exit and Back Commands to the Form Component

Choose the Exit Command from the Commands section in the Palette, and drag it into the form1 component.

Adding an Image Resource

Copy the splash.png file to the $PROJECTHOME/src/splashscreenexample folder.
Right-click the Resources in the Project Window and choose Add > Image.
Choose Add option from popup menu and then Image.
Select image1 in the Project Window.
In the Properties Window, choose the Resource Path and then choose splash.png.

Binding an Image to a Component

Select the splashScreen1[SplashScreen] component.
In the Properties Window, use the drop-down menu to change the Image property to image1. Double-click the component to open the splash screen in the Screen Designer. It should look like the folowing screen.

Connecting Components

In the Flow view, click on the Start Point and drag the arrow to the splashscreen1 component. In the same manner, connect the components as shown in the following graphic.