Embedding Java components in .NET applications, when using Java 7 or 8, doesn’t work the same way it previously did with Java 5 or 6, as the focus handling has changed.

When Java components are embedded in .NET applications, and Java 7 or 8 is being used, focus-related events like keyboard events and mouse wheel events are no longer handled properly — they are no longer directed to the appropriate component, but rather are directed to the wrong place and dropped. (Other mouse events, including clicks, which are not focus-related, still function properly.)

Starting with Java 7, the Windows implementation of the AWT focus subsystem was changed.  Previously, every AWT and Swing component was mapped to an underlying Windows component (a “focus proxy”) that handled focus-related events and dispatched them to the appropriate AWT/Swing component. With Java 7 (and continuing into Java 8), the owning frame acts as the focus proxy for all components that are contained within it. Oracle claims that “the mechanism is transparent for a user,” but the change does dramatically affect the behavior of Java AWT and Swing components that are embedded inside Windows Forms and WPF applications. Our research indicates that the AWT focus subsystem is choosing the wrong Windows component as the focus proxy.

We are currently working on a fix to this problem, but we have no estimate on when that fix will be ready. In the meantime, if you are embedding Java components in .NET applications, we recommend using Java 6 for the moment. Note that if your embedded Java component does not depend on focus-related events (for example, it does not take text input or use keyboard shortcuts or respond to mouse wheel events), then you should be able to use Java 7 or 8.

Also note that embedding .NET UI components inside Java applications still works fine as before, whether Java 5, 6, 7, or 8 is being used.

We thank you for your patience while we work on this issue, and we apologize for the inconvenience.