JetBrains/intellij-community · error · UnexpectedFormElementException

unknown type: {name}

Error message

unknown type: {name}

What it means

Error "unknown type: {name}" thrown in JetBrains/intellij-community.

Source

Thrown at java/compiler/forms-compiler/src/com/intellij/uiDesigner/shared/BorderType.java:86

  @Override
  public boolean equals(final Object o){
    if (o instanceof BorderType){
      return myId.equals(((BorderType)o).myId);
    }
    return false;
  }

  @Override
  public int hashCode(){
    return 0;
  }

  public static BorderType valueOf(final String name){
    BorderType[] allTypes = getAllTypes();
    for (BorderType type : allTypes) {
      if (type.getId().equals(name)) return type;
    }
    throw new UnexpectedFormElementException("unknown type: "+name);
  }

  public static BorderType[] getAllTypes() {
    return new BorderType[]{
          NONE,
          EMPTY,
          BEVEL_LOWERED,
          BEVEL_RAISED,
          ETCHED,
          LINE
        };
  }
}

View on GitHub (pinned to be881553f2)

Solutions

1. Use only the border type names supported by UI Designer: none, line, bevel-in, bevel-out, etched, titled, empty.
2. Check the 'border type' attribute in the .form XML and replace the unknown value with a valid one.

Example fix

<border type="etched"/>

When it happens

Trigger: A .form file contains a border element whose type attribute is not one of the recognized BorderType constants.

Common situations: Hand-edited or externally generated .form files with a misspelled or unsupported border type attribute.

AI-assisted analysis of JetBrains/intellij-community@be881553f2 (2026-08-14). Data as JSON: /api/errors/4735d2aded7be752. Report an issue: GitHub.