convert String to InputStream

byte[] bytes = str.getBytes();

ByteArrayInputStream bais = new ByteArrayInputStream(bytes);

How to have a page start from the top of the browser window, and occupy entire height of the browser

Using XTHML and CSS:

html, body {
height: 100%;
margin: 0;
padding: 0;
}
table {
height: 100%;
width: 100%;
background-color: #CCC;
}

avoid JDialog from being hidden when user switches to another application window

Common frustration with Java. Your child dialogs seem to disappear if you switch to another application window and come back. The only way to switch to the dialog box seems to be thru the task switching function ( Alt+Tab )


Actually, that only happens when you pass null to the constructor of JDialog. If you pass the parent frame's reference to the JDialog constructor, the jdialog is automatically made visibile when the user returns to your application.

Setting cursor for entire application

The secret is that you have to change the cursor on theoriginating component AND on its frame!Here's a little code snippet (part of a static utility class) that does the job :

public class Util {

public static void doWaitCursor (Component component) {
setCursor(Cursor.WAIT_CURSOR, component);
}

public static void noWaitCursor (Component component) {
setCursor(Cursor.DEFAULT_CURSOR, component);
}

public static void setCursor (int cursor, Component component) {
component.setCursor(Cursor.getPredefinedCursor(cursor));
Frame frame = getFrame(component);
if (frame != null)
frame.setCursor(Cursor.getPredefinedCursor(cursor));
}

public static Frame getFrame (Component c) {
if (c instanceof Frame)
return (Frame) c;
while ((c = c.getParent()) != null)
if (c instanceof Frame)
return (Frame) c;

return null;
}
}

Source: http://forum.java.sun.com/thread.jspa?threadID=111793&messageID=296338