Styling JavaFX applications with CSS

Are you tired of your JavaFX applications looking bland and unappealing? Do you want to make your applications stand out with beautiful and modern designs? Look no further than CSS styling for JavaFX!

CSS (Cascading Style Sheets) is a powerful tool for styling web pages, and it can also be used to style JavaFX applications. With CSS, you can easily change the look and feel of your JavaFX application without having to modify any Java code. This makes it easy to experiment with different designs and iterate quickly.

In this article, we will explore the basics of styling JavaFX applications with CSS. We will cover how to apply CSS styles to JavaFX nodes, how to use CSS selectors to target specific nodes, and how to use CSS properties to change the appearance of nodes.

Applying CSS styles to JavaFX nodes

To apply CSS styles to JavaFX nodes, you first need to create a CSS file and load it into your JavaFX application. You can do this using the Scene class's getStylesheets() method, which returns a list of the CSS files that are currently loaded.

Scene scene = new Scene(root);
scene.getStylesheets().add("styles.css");

Once you have loaded your CSS file, you can apply styles to JavaFX nodes using the setStyle() method. This method takes a string argument that contains the CSS styles you want to apply.

Button button = new Button("Click me!");
button.setStyle("-fx-background-color: #00ff00;");

In this example, we are setting the background color of the button to green using the -fx-background-color property. You can use any valid CSS property to style JavaFX nodes.

Using CSS selectors to target specific nodes

CSS selectors allow you to target specific nodes in your JavaFX application. This makes it easy to apply styles to multiple nodes at once or to apply different styles to different nodes.

Type selectors

Type selectors target nodes based on their type. For example, you can target all buttons in your application using the Button selector.

Button {
    -fx-background-color: #00ff00;
}

In this example, we are setting the background color of all buttons to green.

ID selectors

ID selectors target nodes based on their ID. You can assign an ID to a node using the setId() method, and then target that node using the # symbol followed by the ID.

Button button = new Button("Click me!");
button.setId("myButton");

#myButton {
    -fx-background-color: #00ff00;
}

In this example, we are setting the background color of the button with the ID myButton to green.

Class selectors

Class selectors target nodes based on their class. You can assign a class to a node using the getStyleClass() method, and then target that node using the . symbol followed by the class name.

Button button = new Button("Click me!");
button.getStyleClass().add("myButtonClass");

.myButtonClass {
    -fx-background-color: #00ff00;
}

In this example, we are setting the background color of all nodes with the class myButtonClass to green.

Pseudo-class selectors

Pseudo-class selectors target nodes based on their state. For example, you can target all buttons that are currently being hovered over using the :hover pseudo-class.

Button:hover {
    -fx-background-color: #00ff00;
}

In this example, we are setting the background color of all buttons that are being hovered over to green.

Using CSS properties to change the appearance of nodes

CSS properties allow you to change the appearance of JavaFX nodes. There are many CSS properties available for styling JavaFX nodes, including properties for colors, fonts, borders, and more.

Color properties

Color properties allow you to change the color of various parts of a node. For example, you can change the background color of a button using the -fx-background-color property.

Button {
    -fx-background-color: #00ff00;
}

In this example, we are setting the background color of all buttons to green.

Font properties

Font properties allow you to change the font of text nodes. For example, you can change the font of a label using the -fx-font-family property.

Label {
    -fx-font-family: "Arial";
}

In this example, we are setting the font of all labels to Arial.

Border properties

Border properties allow you to add borders to nodes. For example, you can add a border to a button using the -fx-border-color and -fx-border-width properties.

Button {
    -fx-border-color: #000000;
    -fx-border-width: 2px;
}

In this example, we are adding a black border with a width of 2 pixels to all buttons.

Conclusion

CSS styling is a powerful tool for styling JavaFX applications. With CSS, you can easily change the look and feel of your application without having to modify any Java code. By using CSS selectors and properties, you can target specific nodes and change their appearance in a variety of ways.

So what are you waiting for? Start experimenting with CSS styling in your JavaFX applications today and make your applications stand out with beautiful and modern designs!

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