Look And Feel

The Look and Feel (LAF) feature in Anteater’s Desktop module allows you to customize the visual appearance of the application to improve usability and provide visual cues for different configurations. By leveraging LAF, you can make Anteater more intuitive for users and visually distinguish between environments such as Development, Stage, and Production.

Using Look and Feel for Environment Separation

Benefits:

  • Reduces the risk of executing tasks in the wrong environment.
  • Provides visual context for the environment you are currently working in.
  • Enhances user confidence and workflow safety.

How to Set Up Look and Feel

  1. Default LAF:

    • Anteater comes with a default LAF configuration that provides a clean and functional interface.
    • If no customization is applied, the default theme will be used across all environments.
  2. Customizing LAF for Environments:

    • You can assign specific LAF settings for each environment (e.g., Development, Stage, Production) by defining them in the configuration file (ae.xml).

    • Example configuration:

      <Environment>
          <Configuration name="Dev-env">
              <Var name="LOOK_AND_FEEL" value="com.formdev.flatlaf.FlatLightLaf" />
              ...
          </Configuration>
          <Configuration name="Stage-env">
              <Var name="LOOK_AND_FEEL" value="com.formdev.flatlaf.FlatDarkLaf" />
              ...
          </Configuration>
          <Configuration name="Production-env">
              <Var name="LOOK_AND_FEEL" value="com.formdev.flatlaf.FlatIntelliJLaf" />
              ...
          </Configuration>
      </Environment>
      

Best Practices

  1. Define LAF Per Environment:
    • Ensure each environment has a distinct LAF configuration for clarity and safety.
  2. Test LAF Compatibility:
    • Before applying custom LAF, verify that the library is compatible with Anteater and your Java version.
  3. Use Visual Cues for Critical Tasks:
    • Highlight production environments with distinct colors or themes to ensure users are aware of the risks.
  4. Keep It Simple:
    • Avoid overly complex or distracting themes that may hinder usability.

3rd Party LAF

https://www.formdev.com/flatlaf/themes/ https://github.com/JFormDesigner/FlatLaf/tree/main/flatlaf-intellij-themes#how-to-use

Conclusion

The Look and Feel feature in Anteater is a powerful tool for enhancing usability and providing visual separation between environments. By customizing LAF for Development, Stage, and Production, you can create a safer and more intuitive workflow for users, ensuring tasks are executed in the correct context with minimal risk.