FTP Text Editor Applet

IS 2470

The Whitehouse Group 5/18/19

INTRODUCTION

For our applet we decided to work on an FTP text editor utility. The idea is that this applet would run in a user's browser and allow them to access files on FTP servers, edit them, and save them back to the server. We were interested in doing this task because it allowed us to try a wide variety of Java text functions. Since the primary purpose of this assignment is to learn to build an applet, we decided to base the interface on a common Windows-style text editor.

MAJOR FUNCTIONS

The behavior of this applet models standard text editor features:

1. File Handling:

New:Opens a blank file.

Status:Not implemented. There is an explanation of how this might work that is displayed in the text area when the user clicks on this button.

Open:Opens a file through a connection to an FTP server.

Status:Not implemented The FTP connection dialog opens, then an explanation of how the rest of this might work is displayed in the text area.

Save:Saves a file to an FTP server.

Status:Not implemented. There is an explanation of how this might work that is displayed in the text area when the user clicks on the save button.

2. Text Navigation:

Undo:Allows the user to undo their last action.

Status:Not Implemented. A dialog informs the user of this.

Cut:This function copies the selected text in the text area to the clipboard and deletes it simultaneously.

Status:Implemented.

Copy:Copies the selected text in the text area to the clipboard.

Status:Implemented.

Paste:Pastes text from the clipboard into the text area.

Status:Implemented.

Find:The purpose of this class is to allow the user to find a text string in the text area of the editor. When the Find button is pushed, a window appears in which the user types the text to be found. To start and repeat the search the user clicks on the Find Next button. A “Cancel” button to return the main screen.

Status:Implemented, known bug. The function currently only finds the first instance of the search text.

3. Text Formatting: If a piece of text is selected on the main screen, these functions will act upon it. If no text is selected, they will affect the format of the text that is typed in.

Font:This combo box allows the user to choose from the fonts available on their computer.

Status: Implemented, known bug. After selecting this, if the user enters a return, the font reverts back to its’ default setting.

Size:The user can use this combo box to pick from a handful of standard font sizes.

Status: Implemented, known bug. After selecting this, if the user enters a return, the font size reverts back to its’ default setting.

Bold, Italics and Underlined: These buttons allow the user to change the weight of the text, whether it is italicized or not, and whether it is underlined or not.

Status: Implemented, known bug. After selecting any of these, if the user enters a return, the font reverts back to its’ default setting.

Font Color:This Combo box enables the user to select one of the following font colors: Black, Red, Blue, or Green.
Status:Not Implemented. A dialog informs the user of this.

Align Left, Center and Align Right: These buttons allow the user to select the alignment of the text. They act like radio buttons in that only one can be pressed at once.

Status: Implemented, known bug. After selecting any of these, if the user enters a return, the alignment reverts back to its’ default setting.

4. Help: Allows the user to look up useful information about how to use the editor functions.

Status: Not Implemented.

TEAM MEMBERS

Arden Bartlett:

Programming and testing the open, close, and save interfaces and functions.
Xiaoli Lu:

Programming: cut, copy, paste functions.
Jane Vadnal:

Documentation and editing.
Robert Whitehouse:

Preliminary interface design.

Implementing the preliminary “skeleton” interface design.

Programming and testing all of the text editing functions, and the find class.

Put all of the parts together for the final Applet.

Worked on the final version of the paper.