Develop Reference

Align label and combo box in vertical instead of horizontal in java

How do I get my label and combo box to appear vertical instead of horizontal in java? I tried setting the layout to null but it hides the label.
public PetrolApplication()
{
setLayout(new FlowLayout());
add(label);
add(label2);
Combo1 = new JComboBox(Arraycities);
Combo1.setBounds(50, 50, 100, 20);

Use a different layout manager - see A Visual Guide to Layout Managers
import java.awt.EventQueue;
import java.awt.GridBagConstraints;
import java.awt.GridBagLayout;
import java.awt.Insets;
import javax.swing.DefaultComboBoxModel;
import javax.swing.JComboBox;
import javax.swing.JFrame;
import javax.swing.JLabel;
import javax.swing.JPanel;
import javax.swing.border.EmptyBorder;
public class Test {
public static void main(String[] args) {
new Test();
}
public Test() {
EventQueue.invokeLater(new Runnable() {
#Override
public void run() {
JFrame frame = new JFrame();
frame.add(new TestPane());
frame.pack();
frame.setLocationRelativeTo(null);
frame.setVisible(true);
}
});
}
public class TestPane extends JPanel {
public TestPane() {
setBorder(new EmptyBorder(16, 16, 16, 16));
setLayout(new GridBagLayout());
GridBagConstraints gbc = new GridBagConstraints();
gbc.insets = new Insets(4, 4, 4, 4);
gbc.anchor = GridBagConstraints.LINE_START;
gbc.gridx = 0;
gbc.gridy = 0;
gbc.gridwidth = GridBagConstraints.REMAINDER;
add( new JLabel("I'm assuming you want something"), gbc);
gbc.anchor = GridBagConstraints.LINE_END;
gbc.gridy = 1;
gbc.gridwidth = 1;
add(new JLabel("Please make a selection"), gbc);
DefaultComboBoxModel<String> model = new DefaultComboBoxModel<String>();
model.addElement("This is not what you are looking for");
model.addElement("This is something else");
model.addElement("Not what you think");
gbc.anchor = GridBagConstraints.LINE_START;
gbc.gridx++;
add(new JComboBox<String>(model));
}
}
}

In Java, is there a way to center a group of buttons with variable size(Using Swing)?

I've been trying to make a GUI like this:
However, the difficult I've run into is that I need to make the text of the buttons variable- each button should present a different option, which can vary in text length. While this itself is not difficult, I've tried countless different things but I can't get the buttons to center despite their text length. Whatever I try, I always have one of these problems:
The buttons don't center (there's space left at the left but they exceed the window at the right)
For some reason, the Question and the Goodratio change location based on the button size
I have no clue left how to do this. Does anyone have some useful intuitions on what's the best way to do this? It would be much appreciated.
EDIT: Code of the constructor function(which doesn't center correctly), which I use to set the components, as requested:
public ButtonPannel(Test test)
{
super();
op1Button = new JButton("Option 1");
op2Button = new JButton("Option 2");
op3Button = new JButton("Option 3");
questionText = new JLabel("Question");
rightAndWrongAmount = new JLabel("rightAndWrongAmount");
GridBagLayout gridBagLayout = new GridBagLayout();
gridBagLayout.columnWidths = new int[]{30, 331, 0};
gridBagLayout.rowHeights = new int[]{16, 0, 134, 35, 16, 0};
gridBagLayout.columnWeights = new double[]{0.0, 0.0, Double.MIN_VALUE};
gridBagLayout.rowWeights = new double[]{0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 0.0, 0.0, Double.MIN_VALUE};
setLayout(gridBagLayout);
JPanel panel = new JPanel();
FlowLayout flowLayout = (FlowLayout) panel.getLayout();
op1Button.addActionListener(new ActionListener() {
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e) {
}
});
GridBagConstraints gbc_lblQuestion = new GridBagConstraints();
gbc_lblQuestion.insets = new Insets(0, 0, 5, 0);
gbc_lblQuestion.gridx = 1;
gbc_lblQuestion.gridy = 1;
add(questionText, gbc_lblQuestion);
panel.add(op1Button);
panel.add(op2Button);
panel.add(op3Button);
GridBagConstraints gbc_panel = new GridBagConstraints();
gbc_panel.insets = new Insets(0, 0, 5, 0);
gbc_panel.gridx = 1;
gbc_panel.gridy = 3;
add(panel, gbc_panel);
GridBagConstraints gbc_lblNewLabel_1 = new GridBagConstraints();
gbc_lblNewLabel_1.gridx = 1;
gbc_lblNewLabel_1.gridy = 4;
add(rightAndWrongAmount, gbc_lblNewLabel_1);
op1Button.addActionListener(new InputHandler(test));
op1Button.setActionCommand("1");
op2Button.addActionListener(new InputHandler(test));
op2Button.setActionCommand("2");
op3Button.addActionListener(new InputHandler(test));
op3Button.setActionCommand("3");
}
The code is generated using WindowBuilder. The problem isn't so much in the code, but more which Layout to use etc.

Layouts are a little bit of black magic and trial and error. Very rarely will a single layout achieve exactly what you want, so you often need to resort to compound layouts (using multiple containers and layouts) to get what you want...
So, basically, this is made of a panel, with another panel holding the buttons (and another panel acting as the "pseudo" content to add space)
import java.awt.Dimension;
import java.awt.EventQueue;
import java.awt.Graphics;
import java.awt.Graphics2D;
import java.awt.GridBagConstraints;
import java.awt.GridBagLayout;
import java.awt.GridLayout;
import javax.swing.JButton;
import javax.swing.JFrame;
import javax.swing.JLabel;
import javax.swing.JPanel;
import javax.swing.UIManager;
import javax.swing.UnsupportedLookAndFeelException;
public class Test {
public static void main(String[] args) {
new Test();
}
public Test() {
EventQueue.invokeLater(new Runnable() {
#Override
public void run() {
try {
UIManager.setLookAndFeel(UIManager.getSystemLookAndFeelClassName());
} catch (ClassNotFoundException | InstantiationException | IllegalAccessException | UnsupportedLookAndFeelException ex) {
ex.printStackTrace();
}
JFrame frame = new JFrame("Testing");
frame.setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
frame.add(new TestPane());
frame.pack();
frame.setLocationRelativeTo(null);
frame.setVisible(true);
}
});
}
public class TestPane extends JPanel {
public TestPane() {
setLayout(new GridBagLayout());
GridBagConstraints gbc = new GridBagConstraints();
gbc.gridwidth = GridBagConstraints.REMAINDER;
add(new JLabel("Question"), gbc);
gbc.fill = GridBagConstraints.BOTH;
gbc.weightx = 1;
gbc.weighty = 1;
// This is just to act as some psudo context
add(new FillerPane(), gbc);
gbc.fill = GridBagConstraints.NONE;
gbc.weightx = 0;
gbc.weighty = 0;
add(makeButtonPane(), gbc);
add(new JLabel("Goodratio"), gbc);
}
public JPanel makeButtonPane() {
JPanel panel = new JPanel(new GridBagLayout());
GridBagConstraints gbc = new GridBagConstraints();
gbc.weightx = 1;
panel.add(new JButton("Short"));
panel.add(new JButton("Long, long, long and lobng"));
panel.add(new JButton("In the middle"));
return panel;
}
}
public class FillerPane extends JPanel {
#Override
public Dimension getPreferredSize() {
return new Dimension(200, 200);
}
}
}
"But I want the buttons to be the same size" I hear you ask, sure, change layouts...
import java.awt.Dimension;
import java.awt.EventQueue;
import java.awt.Graphics;
import java.awt.Graphics2D;
import java.awt.GridBagConstraints;
import java.awt.GridBagLayout;
import java.awt.GridLayout;
import javax.swing.JButton;
import javax.swing.JFrame;
import javax.swing.JLabel;
import javax.swing.JPanel;
import javax.swing.UIManager;
import javax.swing.UnsupportedLookAndFeelException;
public class Test {
public static void main(String[] args) {
new Test();
}
public Test() {
EventQueue.invokeLater(new Runnable() {
#Override
public void run() {
try {
UIManager.setLookAndFeel(UIManager.getSystemLookAndFeelClassName());
} catch (ClassNotFoundException | InstantiationException | IllegalAccessException | UnsupportedLookAndFeelException ex) {
ex.printStackTrace();
}
JFrame frame = new JFrame("Testing");
frame.setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
frame.add(new TestPane());
frame.pack();
frame.setLocationRelativeTo(null);
frame.setVisible(true);
}
});
}
public class TestPane extends JPanel {
public TestPane() {
setLayout(new GridBagLayout());
GridBagConstraints gbc = new GridBagConstraints();
gbc.gridwidth = GridBagConstraints.REMAINDER;
add(new JLabel("Question"), gbc);
gbc.fill = GridBagConstraints.BOTH;
gbc.weightx = 1;
gbc.weighty = 1;
// This is just to act as some psudo context
add(new FillerPane(), gbc);
gbc.fill = GridBagConstraints.NONE;
gbc.weightx = 0;
gbc.weighty = 0;
add(makeButtonPane(), gbc);
add(new JLabel("Goodratio"), gbc);
}
public JPanel makeButtonPane() {
JPanel panel = new JPanel(new GridLayout(1, 0));
panel.add(new JButton("Short"));
panel.add(new JButton("Long, long, long and lobng"));
panel.add(new JButton("In the middle"));
return panel;
}
}
public class FillerPane extends JPanel {
#Override
public Dimension getPreferredSize() {
return new Dimension(200, 200);
}
}
}
You have to look at the layout and think about how each element relates to the others, in terms of what you want them to do, then find the layout managers which are going to help you achieve the end results and combine them together

Use a JButton to add new panels at runtime

I feel as beginner I may have bitten off too much in regards to application building. That said, I am working on developing an application for a friend that will have prompts where each JPanel will provide fields to create an object to be used later. What I would like to have happen is that when the panel loads, it displays one object creation panel and a button to dynamically add a new panel if the user wants to make multiples (the plus button would add the new panel).
I have drawn up something in paint to illustrate this:
By my very limited understanding, I can create a panel to hold these sub-panels, and then add a action listener to the '+' button to create new panels. The only way I could think to implement this is to create a constructor for the panel I want to add. Is this possible? Let me show you what I have:
package com.company;
import java.awt.*;
import javax.swing.*;
/**
* Created by Travis on 3/1/2015.
*/
public class MainSnakeGui extends JFrame{
protected int panelCount;
//row 1
JPanel row1 = new JPanel();
JLabel splitSnakeLabel = new JLabel("Create a Split Snake", JLabel.CENTER);
//row 2
JPanel row2 = new JPanel();
JButton addButton = new JButton("+");
public MainSnakeGui() {
super("Snake Channels");
setSize(550, 400);
setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
GridLayout layout = new GridLayout(5, 1, 10, 10);
setLayout(layout);
FlowLayout layout1 = new FlowLayout(FlowLayout.CENTER, 10, 10);
row1.setLayout(layout1);
row1.add(splitSnakeLabel);
add(row1);
GridLayout layout2 = new GridLayout(1, 2, 10, 10);
row2.setLayout(layout2);
row2.add(addButton);
MainSnakeConstructor snakePanel = new MainSnakeConstructor();
row2.add(snakePanel);
add(row2);
setVisible(true);
}
public static void setLookAndFeel () {
try {
UIManager.setLookAndFeel("com.sun.java.swing.plaf.nimbus.NimbusLookAndFeel");
} catch (Exception e) {
}
}
public static void main(String[] arg) {
MainSnakeGui.setLookAndFeel();
MainSnakeGui frame = new MainSnakeGui();
}
}
Here is the constructor:
package com.company;
import javax.swing.*;
import java.awt.*;
/**
* Created by Travis on 3/1/2015.
*/
public class MainSnakeConstructor extends JFrame {
public MainSnakeConstructor () {
JPanel splitSnakeRow = new JPanel();
JLabel snakeNameLabel = new JLabel("Snake Name");
JLabel channelCountLabel = new JLabel("Channel Count");
JCheckBox artistSuppliedCheckBox = new JCheckBox("Artist Supplied?");
JTextField snakeNameTextField = new JTextField(30);
JTextField channelCountTextField = new JTextField(3);
GridLayout layout = new GridLayout(3,2,10,10);
splitSnakeRow.setLayout(layout);
splitSnakeRow.add(snakeNameLabel);
splitSnakeRow.add(channelCountLabel);
splitSnakeRow.add(artistSuppliedCheckBox);
splitSnakeRow.add(snakeNameTextField);
splitSnakeRow.add(channelCountTextField);
add(splitSnakeRow);
}
}

Think about it differently. You want a button that allows you to add new panels, so you really only need a single button.
From there, you need some kind common panel which provides the functionality you want to the user (the creation panel). Then, when the user clicks the add button, you create a new creation panel and add it to the container been used to display them, for example...
import java.awt.BorderLayout;
import java.awt.Color;
import java.awt.Dimension;
import java.awt.EventQueue;
import java.awt.FlowLayout;
import java.awt.GridBagConstraints;
import java.awt.GridBagLayout;
import java.awt.event.ActionEvent;
import java.awt.event.ActionListener;
import javax.swing.JButton;
import javax.swing.JFrame;
import javax.swing.JLabel;
import javax.swing.JPanel;
import javax.swing.JScrollPane;
import javax.swing.UIManager;
import javax.swing.UnsupportedLookAndFeelException;
import javax.swing.border.CompoundBorder;
import javax.swing.border.EmptyBorder;
import javax.swing.border.LineBorder;
public class Test {
public static void main(String[] args) {
new Test();
}
public Test() {
EventQueue.invokeLater(new Runnable() {
#Override
public void run() {
try {
UIManager.setLookAndFeel(UIManager.getSystemLookAndFeelClassName());
} catch (ClassNotFoundException | InstantiationException | IllegalAccessException | UnsupportedLookAndFeelException ex) {
ex.printStackTrace();
}
JFrame frame = new JFrame("Testing");
frame.setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
frame.add(new TestPane());
frame.pack();
frame.setLocationRelativeTo(null);
frame.setVisible(true);
}
});
}
public class TestPane extends JPanel {
public TestPane() {
JButton btnAdd = new JButton("+");
setLayout(new BorderLayout());
JPanel buttons = new JPanel(new FlowLayout(FlowLayout.LEFT));
buttons.add(btnAdd);
add(buttons, BorderLayout.NORTH);
JPanel content = new JPanel(new GridBagLayout());
GridBagConstraints gbc = new GridBagConstraints();
gbc.gridwidth = GridBagConstraints.REMAINDER;
gbc.weighty = 1;
content.add(new JPanel(), gbc);
add(new JScrollPane(content));
btnAdd.addActionListener(new ActionListener() {
#Override
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e) {
CreationPane pane = new CreationPane();
int insertAt = Math.max(0, content.getComponentCount() - 1);
GridBagConstraints gbc = new GridBagConstraints();
gbc.gridwidth = GridBagConstraints.REMAINDER;
gbc.fill = GridBagConstraints.HORIZONTAL;
gbc.weightx = 1;
content.add(pane, gbc, insertAt);
content.revalidate();
content.repaint();
}
});
}
#Override
public Dimension getPreferredSize() {
return new Dimension(200, 200);
}
}
public static class CreationPane extends JPanel {
private static int count;
public CreationPane() {
setLayout(new GridBagLayout());
add(new JLabel("Make it so " + (count++)));
setBorder(new CompoundBorder(new LineBorder(Color.BLACK), new EmptyBorder(10, 10, 10, 10)));
}
}
}
Now having done all that, I prefer the VerticalLayout manager from SwingLabs, SwingX library, which basically does the same thing...

GUI: JButton Covering almost the entire screen

I have encountered a problem whilst working the JFrame's, and JButtons. I am trying to center my JButton, however when I do so, it covers almost the entire screen. Any idea's on what's causing this?
Here is a picture on how it looks :
And here is my code :
package character;
import javax.imageio.ImageIO;
import javax.swing.*;
import java.awt.*;
import java.io.IOException;
/**
* Created by Niknea on 6/28/14.
*/
public class characterSelector{
JFrame cselectorButtons, clogo;
JLabel logo, characterName, label;
JButton male, female;
public characterSelector(){
this.createCharacterSelector();
}
public void createCharacterSelector() {
try {
label = new JLabel(new ImageIcon(ImageIO.read(getClass()
.getResource("/resources/Grass_Background.jpg"))));
cselectorButtons = new JFrame("SupremeSoccer");
logo = new JLabel(new ImageIcon(ImageIO.read(this.getClass().getResource("/resources/Character_Selector_Image.png"))));
characterName = new JLabel("<Character Name>");
characterName.setFont(new Font(characterName.getFont().getName(),
Font.HANGING_BASELINE, 50));
/*
Buttons
*/
male = new JButton("Male");
////******************////
//// END OF BUTTONS ////
////****************////
cselectorButtons.add(logo);
cselectorButtons.setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
cselectorButtons.setContentPane(label);
cselectorButtons.setLayout(new BorderLayout());
cselectorButtons.add(logo, BorderLayout.NORTH);
cselectorButtons.add(male, BorderLayout.CENTER);
cselectorButtons.pack();
cselectorButtons.setLocationRelativeTo(null);
cselectorButtons.setVisible(true);
} catch (IOException exp) {
exp.printStackTrace();
}
}
}
Thanks again.

Any idea's on what's causing this?
This is the default behaviour of BorderLayout. The component at the CENTER position will occupy the maximum amount of space the is available from the parent component, when the other (NORTH, SOUTH, EAST, WEST) positions have been taken into account
Depending on what you are trying to achieve you might consider creating another JPanel (set it's opaque state to false so it's transparent) and use something like GridLayout or GridBagLayout instead.
Take a look at A Visual Guide to Layout Managers for some more ideas
Updated
So based on your linked code, I changed
part2 = new JPanel();
to
part2 = new JPanel(new java.awt.GridBagLayout());
And got...
Updated with additional example
Start by breaking down your requirements into individual containers and focus on the layout requirements for each individual, then build them all back into a single container.
This will make changing them later much easier and also make controlling them much easier...
import java.awt.BorderLayout;
import java.awt.Color;
import java.awt.EventQueue;
import java.awt.Font;
import java.awt.GridBagConstraints;
import java.awt.GridBagLayout;
import java.awt.Insets;
import java.awt.image.BufferedImage;
import java.io.IOException;
import javax.imageio.ImageIO;
import javax.swing.ImageIcon;
import javax.swing.JButton;
import javax.swing.JFrame;
import javax.swing.JLabel;
import javax.swing.JPanel;
import javax.swing.JTextField;
import javax.swing.UIManager;
import javax.swing.UnsupportedLookAndFeelException;
public class ExampleLayout {
public static void main(String[] args) {
new ExampleLayout();
}
public ExampleLayout() {
EventQueue.invokeLater(new Runnable() {
#Override
public void run() {
try {
UIManager.setLookAndFeel(UIManager.getSystemLookAndFeelClassName());
} catch (ClassNotFoundException | InstantiationException | IllegalAccessException | UnsupportedLookAndFeelException ex) {
}
JFrame frame = new JFrame("Testing");
frame.setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
frame.setLayout(new BorderLayout());
frame.add(new TestPane());
frame.pack();
frame.setLocationRelativeTo(null);
frame.setVisible(true);
}
});
}
public class TestPane extends JPanel {
private HeaderPane header;
private ScorePane score;
private CharacterSelectionPane characterSelection;
public TestPane() {
setLayout(new BorderLayout());
JLabel background = new JLabel();
try {
BufferedImage img = ImageIO.read(getClass().getResource("/Grass.jpg"));
background.setIcon(new ImageIcon(img));
} catch (IOException ex) {
ex.printStackTrace();
}
add(background);
background.setLayout(new GridBagLayout());
header = new HeaderPane();
score = new ScorePane();
characterSelection = new CharacterSelectionPane();
GridBagConstraints gbc = new GridBagConstraints();
gbc.gridwidth = GridBagConstraints.REMAINDER;
gbc.weightx = 1;
gbc.fill = GridBagConstraints.BOTH;
background.add(header, gbc);
background.add(score, gbc);
gbc.weighty = 1;
background.add(characterSelection, gbc);
}
}
public class HeaderPane extends JPanel {
public HeaderPane() {
setLayout(new BorderLayout());
JLabel label = new JLabel("Character Selection");
label.setForeground(Color.WHITE);
label.setFont(label.getFont().deriveFont(Font.BOLD, 48f));
label.setHorizontalAlignment(JLabel.CENTER);
add(label);
setOpaque(false);
}
}
public class ScorePane extends JPanel {
public ScorePane() {
JLabel label = new JLabel("[-][-[]-][-]");
label.setForeground(Color.YELLOW);
add(label);
setOpaque(false);
}
}
public class CharacterSelectionPane extends JPanel {
private JButton btMale;
private JButton btFemale;
private JTextField tfName;
private JButton btContinue;
public CharacterSelectionPane() {
setOpaque(false);
setLayout(new GridBagLayout());
btMale = new JButton("Male");
btFemale = new JButton("Female");
btContinue = new JButton("Continue");
tfName = new JTextField(10);
GridBagConstraints gbc = new GridBagConstraints();
gbc.gridx = 0;
gbc.gridy = 0;
gbc.insets = new Insets(4, 4, 4, 4);
gbc.fill = GridBagConstraints.HORIZONTAL;
add(btMale, gbc);
gbc.gridx++;
add(btFemale, gbc);
gbc.gridx = 0;
gbc.gridy++;
add(new JLabel("Name:"), gbc);
gbc.gridx++;
add(tfName, gbc);
gbc.gridx = 0;
gbc.gridy++;
gbc.gridwidth = GridBagConstraints.REMAINDER;
add(btContinue, gbc);
}
}
}

Use a BoxLayout or (easier) GridBagLayout for the bottom area, as seen in this answer.

Working with nested Panels

Trying to build out a GUI for my game but no matter what layout I work with I can't get the nest of panels to do what I like
My goal is this
http://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x202/NekoLLX/CharGenmockup-1.jpg
http://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x202/NekoLLX/CharGenmockup2.jpg
And Building off the Mad ones excelent revision I've got my left side as i like it but now the right eludes me
The general idea is that clicking on the title bars of the left menu will colapase (set visible to false) the content panes associated with them
//http://docs.oracle.com/javase/7/docs/api/java/awt/Color.html
//http://stackoverflow.com/questions/16430922/working-with-nested-panels
import java.awt.BorderLayout;
import java.awt.Color;
import java.awt.EventQueue;
import java.awt.GridBagConstraints;
import java.awt.GridBagLayout;
import java.awt.GridLayout;
import javax.swing.JFrame;
import javax.swing.JLabel;
import javax.swing.JPanel;
import javax.swing.JScrollPane;
import javax.swing.UIManager;
import javax.swing.UnsupportedLookAndFeelException;
import javax.swing.border.EmptyBorder;
import javax.swing.border.LineBorder;
import java.awt.*;
import javax.swing.*;
import javax.swing.text.*;
import java.awt.Graphics;
import java.awt.Point;
import java.awt.event.*;
public class JaGCharCreation {
//set inital size of window
Dimension screenSize = Toolkit.getDefaultToolkit().getScreenSize();
int initalWidth = (int) screenSize.width - 50;
int initalHeight = (int) screenSize.height - 50;
public static void main(String[] args) {
new JaGCharCreation ();
}
//set up thread safe invoking for GUI
public JaGCharCreation () {
EventQueue.invokeLater(new Runnable() {
#Override
public void run() {
try {
UIManager.setLookAndFeel(UIManager.getSystemLookAndFeelClassName());
} catch (ClassNotFoundException | InstantiationException | IllegalAccessException | UnsupportedLookAndFeelException ex) {
}
JFrame frame = new JFrame("Testing");
frame.setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
frame.setLayout(new BorderLayout());
frame.add(new TestPane());
frame.pack();
//frame.setLocationRelativeTo(null);
frame.setVisible(true);
// Give the frame an initial size.
frame.setSize(initalWidth, initalHeight);
}
});
}
//main panel to hold all others
public class TestPane extends JPanel {
public TestPane() {
setLayout(new GridLayout(0, 2));
add(createLeftPane());
add(createRightPane());
}//end of class for master frame
protected JPanel createLeftPane() {
JLabel CharName = new JLabel("Character Name");
CharName.setFont(new Font("Impact", Font.BOLD, 30));
CharName.setBorder(new EmptyBorder(0, 81,0, 00));
JPanel panel = new JPanel(new BorderLayout());
panel.setBorder(new EmptyBorder(10, 10, 10, 10));
panel.setBackground(Color.RED);
JPanel content = new JPanel(new GridBagLayout());
content.setOpaque(false);
JPanel view3D = new JPanel();
view3D.setBackground(Color.DARK_GRAY);
JPanel view2D = new JPanel();
view2D.setBackground(Color.PINK);
JPanel viewIsometric = new JPanel();
viewIsometric.setBackground(Color.YELLOW);
JPanel viewData = new JPanel();
viewData.setBackground(Color.MAGENTA);
JPanel top = new JPanel(new GridLayout(0, 2));
top.setBorder(new EmptyBorder(0, 80,0, 80));
top.setBackground(Color.GREEN);
top.add(view3D);
top.add(view2D);
JPanel bottom = new JPanel(new GridLayout(2, 0));
bottom.setBorder(new EmptyBorder(0, 80,0, 80));
bottom.setBackground(Color.GREEN);
bottom.add(viewIsometric);
bottom.add(new JScrollPane(viewData));
GridBagConstraints gbc = new GridBagConstraints();
gbc.gridwidth = GridBagConstraints.REMAINDER;
gbc.weighty = 0.5f;
gbc.weightx = 1f;
gbc.fill = GridBagConstraints.BOTH;
content.add(top, gbc);
content.add(bottom, gbc);
panel.add(content);
panel.add(CharName, BorderLayout.NORTH);
return panel;
}//end left pane
protected JPanel createRightPane() {
JPanel panel = new JPanel(new BorderLayout());
panel.setBackground(Color.BLUE);
//set up our image for the title bars
ImageIcon icon = new ImageIcon("GradientDetail.png");
Image img = icon.getImage();
img = img.getScaledInstance(initalWidth/2, 40, java.awt.Image.SCALE_SMOOTH);
final ImageIcon iconSM = new ImageIcon(img);
JPanel name_panel = new JPanel(new BorderLayout())
{
protected void paintComponent(Graphics g)
{
// Dispaly image at full size
g.drawImage(iconSM.getImage(), 0, 0, null);
super.paintComponent(g);
}
};
name_panel.setOpaque( false );
JLabel label = new JLabel(" Character Name");
label.setFont(new Font("Impact", Font.BOLD, 30));
label.setForeground(Color.white);
label.setOpaque(false);
JPanel name_panel_text = new JPanel(new BorderLayout());
name_panel_text.setBackground(Color.WHITE);
name_panel.add(label, BorderLayout.NORTH);
panel.add(name_panel_text);
panel.add(name_panel);
return panel;
}//end right pane
//bassed from http://stackoverflow.com/questions/7340001/determine-clicked-jpanel-component-in-the-mouselistener-event-handling
public class MouseAdapterMod extends MouseAdapter {
// usually better off with mousePressed rather than clicked
public void mousePressed(MouseEvent e) {
if (e.getSource() == "name_panel"){
}
}
}
}//end master panel set
}//end master class

Something along the lines of ...
To be honest, I tried following your code, but got lost, so I re-wrote it...
Basically, you relying on setSize which is going to be ignored and changed by the layout managers as they see fit.
This example uses GridBagLayout and weighty to adjust the space allocated to the top (2D/3D) views and the bottom views, but you should also take a look at overriding the getPreferredSize of the final components, to provide better hints to the layout managers.
import java.awt.BorderLayout;
import java.awt.Color;
import java.awt.EventQueue;
import java.awt.GridBagConstraints;
import java.awt.GridBagLayout;
import java.awt.GridLayout;
import javax.swing.JFrame;
import javax.swing.JLabel;
import javax.swing.JPanel;
import javax.swing.JScrollPane;
import javax.swing.UIManager;
import javax.swing.UnsupportedLookAndFeelException;
import javax.swing.border.EmptyBorder;
import javax.swing.border.LineBorder;
public class Test {
public static void main(String[] args) {
new Test();
}
public Test() {
EventQueue.invokeLater(new Runnable() {
#Override
public void run() {
try {
UIManager.setLookAndFeel(UIManager.getSystemLookAndFeelClassName());
} catch (ClassNotFoundException | InstantiationException | IllegalAccessException | UnsupportedLookAndFeelException ex) {
}
JFrame frame = new JFrame("Testing");
frame.setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
frame.setLayout(new BorderLayout());
frame.add(new TestPane());
frame.pack();
frame.setLocationRelativeTo(null);
frame.setVisible(true);
}
});
}
public class TestPane extends JPanel {
public TestPane() {
setLayout(new GridLayout(0, 2));
add(createLeftPane());
add(createRightPane());
}
protected JPanel createLeftPane() {
JPanel panel = new JPanel(new BorderLayout());
panel.setBorder(new EmptyBorder(10, 10, 10, 10));
panel.setBackground(Color.RED);
JPanel content = new JPanel(new GridBagLayout());
content.setOpaque(false);
JPanel view3D = new JPanel();
view3D.setBackground(Color.DARK_GRAY);
JPanel view2D = new JPanel();
view2D.setBackground(Color.PINK);
JPanel viewIsometric = new JPanel();
viewIsometric.setBackground(Color.YELLOW);
JPanel viewData = new JPanel();
viewData.setBackground(Color.MAGENTA);
JPanel top = new JPanel(new GridLayout(0, 2));
top.setBorder(new LineBorder(Color.GREEN, 2));
top.add(view3D);
top.add(view2D);
JPanel bottom = new JPanel(new GridLayout(2, 0));
bottom.add(viewIsometric);
bottom.add(new JScrollPane(viewData));
GridBagConstraints gbc = new GridBagConstraints();
gbc.gridwidth = GridBagConstraints.REMAINDER;
gbc.weighty = 0.5f;
gbc.weightx = 1f;
gbc.fill = GridBagConstraints.BOTH;
content.add(top, gbc);
content.add(bottom, gbc);
panel.add(content);
panel.add(new JLabel("Character name"), BorderLayout.NORTH);
return panel;
}
protected JPanel createRightPane() {
JPanel panel = new JPanel();
panel.setBackground(Color.BLUE);
return panel;
}
}
}