Instantiations has announced the release of WindowBuilder Pro 5.0, an Eclipse tool for creating graphical user-interfaces (GUIs) for Microsoft Windows, Linux and Macintosh applications. Version 5 of WindowBuilder Pro is the first product to support GroupLayout in Eclipse for both SWT and Swing Java GUI frameworks.

By supporting both SWT and Swing GroupLayout as an Eclipse plug-in, WindowBuilder Pro aims to enable designers quickly create forms, position and size widgets using all the popular layout managers. It offers the flexibility to position and size widgets using sophisticated GroupLayout constraints. WindowBuilder Pro also supports bidirectional code generation so all changes made manually in code are reflected in the visual design of the user interface.

With support for Swing and SWT GroupLayout, designers can:

• Select GroupLayout from the Swing Layouts or SWT Layouts palette
• Position and size widgets using GroupLayout constraints
• Align widgets horizontally and vertically
• Indent widgets intelligently
• Insert widgets intelligently
• Align widgets along text baselines
• Align widgets to margins
• Anchor widgets to the left, right or both sides
• Anchor widgets to the top, bottom or both sides
• Set anchors via popup context menus
• Set widget anchoring and resizing via context menu
• Align and center widgets using toolbar
• Set preferences to control feedback colors, popup alignment menus and code generation
• Port SWT GroupLayout from Swing GroupLayout

“WindowBuilder Pro is one of the leading products for creating user interfaces in Eclipse,” said Mike Milinkovich, executive director of the Eclipse foundation. “Providing GroupLayout support for SWT brings very useful and important technology to the growing Eclipse ecosystem of application developers.”

Like previous versions, WindowBuilder Pro 5.0 provides developers with WYSIWYG GUI editing. Developers simply drag-and-drop composites, layouts and controls. The product creates pure SWT or Swing Java code so there are no special libraries or runtime needed to deploy the GUIs. Developers can focus on creating applications without worrying about low-level coding, the company says.

WindowBuilder Pro 5.0 is available immediately for USD 299  with a traditional software license. The products two main parts, Swing Designer and SWT Designer, are also available separately for USD 199  each. A risk-free trial copy is also available for download.