Develop Reference

Jpanels with Gridbaglayout inside a JPanel with GridbagLayout problems

I'm trying to get the CardLayout working correctly. - I have the first "card" in my deck", which i've called firstPanel (Gridbaglayout). Inside that panel i want some other panels with the same layout (Gridbaglayout) which ofc has some components.
as example under here - I'm showing one of the JPanels with Gridbaglayout that i want inside my firstPanel (Jpanel) called textFieldForPlayers.
I hope you understand what i mean. if not i'll try to explain it more detailed. :)
public void run() {
deck.setLayout(cl);
c = new GridBagConstraints();
firstPanel.setLayout(new GridBagLayout());
secondPanel.setLayout(new GridBagLayout());
thirdPanel.setLayout(new GridBagLayout());
GamePanel gamePanel = new GamePanel();
c.gridx = 0;
c.gridy = 0;
firstPanel.add(textFieldForPlayers(humanPLayers), c);
c.gridx = 0;
c.gridy = 1;
firstPanel.add(botPreferences(), c);
c.gridx = 0;
c.gridy = 2;
firstPanel.add(next = new JButton("Next"), c);
c.gridx = 0;
c.gridy = 0;
secondPanel.add(new JLabel("Bot preferences"), c);
c.gridx = 0;
c.gridy = 0;
thirdPanel.add(gamePanel, c);
deck.add(firstPanel, "1");
deck.add(secondPanel, "2");
deck.add(thirdPanel, "3");
cl.show(deck, "1");
events();
}
private JPanel textFieldForPlayers(int hplayers) {
JPanel panel = new JPanel();
panel.setLayout(new GridBagLayout());
c = new GridBagConstraints();
JLabel text = new JLabel("Name of the human players");
c.gridx = 0;
c.gridy = 0;
panel.add(text, c);
boxes = new ArrayList<>();
boxes.add(new JTextField());
boxes.add(new JTextField());
boxes.add(new JTextField());
boxes.add(new JTextField());
boxes.add(new JTextField());
boxes.add(new JTextField());
for (int i = 1; i <= hplayers; i++) {
boxes.get(i).setPreferredSize(new Dimension(165, 18));
c.gridx = 1;
c.gridy = i;
panel.add(boxes.get(i), c);
c.gridx = 0;
c.gridy = i;
panel.add(new JLabel("Player " + i + ": "), c);
}
return panel;
}
Picture 3 - This is what it looks like now
Picture 4 - Should be - 1 in the top, 2 in the middle and 3 in the bottom. All of them centeret.

Your CardLayout, cl, is not behaving as a true CardLayout, suggesting something is wrong with code not shown. Myself, I try to modularize my gui creation, including using a separate utility method to help create gridbagconstraints if any complex constraints are needed.
For example:
import java.awt.BorderLayout;
import java.awt.CardLayout;
import java.awt.GridBagConstraints;
import java.awt.GridBagLayout;
import java.awt.Insets;
import java.awt.event.ActionEvent;
import java.util.ArrayList;
import java.util.List;
import javax.swing.*;
import javax.swing.border.Border;
#SuppressWarnings("serial")
public class GridBagEg extends JPanel {
public static final int PLAYER_COUNT = 5;
private CardLayout cardLayout = new CardLayout();
private JPanel deckPanel = new JPanel(cardLayout);
private NextAction nextAction = new NextAction("Next");
private PlayerPanel playerPanel = new PlayerPanel(PLAYER_COUNT);
private BotDifficultyPanel botDifficultyPanel = new BotDifficultyPanel();
public GridBagEg() {
deckPanel.add(playerPanel, PlayerPanel.NAME);
deckPanel.add(botDifficultyPanel, BotDifficultyPanel.NAME);
JPanel nextBtnPanel = new JPanel();
nextBtnPanel.add(new JButton(nextAction));
setLayout(new BorderLayout());
add(deckPanel, BorderLayout.CENTER);
add(nextBtnPanel, BorderLayout.PAGE_END);
}
private class NextAction extends AbstractAction {
public NextAction(String name) {
super(name);
int mnemonic = (int) name.charAt(0);
putValue(MNEMONIC_KEY, mnemonic);
}
#Override
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e) {
cardLayout.next(deckPanel);
}
}
private static void createAndShowGui() {
GridBagEg mainPanel = new GridBagEg();
JFrame frame = new JFrame("GridBagEg");
frame.setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.DISPOSE_ON_CLOSE);
frame.getContentPane().add(mainPanel);
frame.pack();
frame.setLocationByPlatform(true);
frame.setVisible(true);
}
public static void main(String[] args) {
SwingUtilities.invokeLater(() -> createAndShowGui());
}
}
#SuppressWarnings("serial")
class BotDifficultyPanel extends JPanel {
public static final String NAME = "bot difficulty panel";
public static final String[] LEVELS = {"Easy", "Mid-level", "Difficult", "Holy Mother of God Difficulty"};
private JComboBox<String> difficultyCombo = new JComboBox<>(LEVELS);
public BotDifficultyPanel() {
setLayout(new GridBagLayout());
GridBagConstraints gbc = new GridBagConstraints();
gbc.gridx = 0;
gbc.gridy = 0;
add(new JLabel("Bot Difficulty:"), gbc);
gbc.gridx = 1;
gbc.insets = new Insets(0, 10, 0, 0);
add(difficultyCombo, gbc);
}
public String getSelectedDifficulty() {
String selection = (String) difficultyCombo.getSelectedItem();
return selection;
}
}
#SuppressWarnings("serial")
class PlayerPanel extends JPanel {
public static final String NAME = "player panel";
private static final String TITLE = "Name of Human Players";
private static final int EB_GAP = 10;
private static final int FIELD_COLUMNS = 15;
private static final int INS_GAP = 5;
private int playerMaxCount = 0;
private List<JTextField> playerFields = new ArrayList<>();
public PlayerPanel(int playerMaxCount) {
this.playerMaxCount = playerMaxCount;
Border outsideBorder = BorderFactory.createTitledBorder(TITLE);
Border insideBorder = BorderFactory.createEmptyBorder(EB_GAP, EB_GAP, EB_GAP, EB_GAP);
setBorder(BorderFactory.createCompoundBorder(outsideBorder, insideBorder));
setLayout(new GridBagLayout());
for (int i = 0; i < playerMaxCount; i++) {
JTextField playerField = new JTextField(FIELD_COLUMNS);
playerFields.add(playerField);
add(new JLabel("Player " + i + ":"), createGbc(0, i));
add(playerField, createGbc(1, i));
}
}
public String getFieldName(int index) {
if (index < 0 || index >= playerFields.size()) {
String text = "for playerFields index of " + index;
throw new IllegalArgumentException(text);
} else {
return playerFields.get(index).getText();
}
}
public int getPlayerMaxCount() {
return playerMaxCount;
}
private GridBagConstraints createGbc(int x, int y) {
GridBagConstraints gbc = new GridBagConstraints();
gbc.gridx = x;
gbc.gridy = y;
gbc.weightx = 1.0;
gbc.weighty = 1.0;
// if x is 0, anchor to the left otherwise to the right
gbc.anchor = x == 0 ? GridBagConstraints.WEST : GridBagConstraints.EAST;
gbc.fill = GridBagConstraints.HORIZONTAL;
gbc.insets = new Insets(INS_GAP, INS_GAP, INS_GAP, INS_GAP);
if (x == 0) {
gbc.insets.right = 4 * INS_GAP; // increase gap in between
}
return gbc;
}
}

Like:
CardLayout cl = new CardLayout();
JPanel contentPane = new JPanel();
JPanel firstPanel = new JPanel();
JPanel secondPanel = new JPanel();
contentPane.setlayout(cl);
firstPanel.add(new JButton("1"));
secondPanel.add(new JButton("2"));
contentPane.add(firstPanel, "1");
contentPane.add(secondPanel, "2");
cl.show(contentPane, "1");
So now the contentPane contains 2 JPanels inside it. and now we would be seeing everything on firstPanel right? :)

Resize and placement of elements

public class InputURL {
public InputURL() {
input();
}
private static JFrame mainFrame = Launcher.returnFrame();
private static JPanel mainPanel;
private void input(){
//Defining a Panel on which everything will be set
mainPanel = new JPanel();
mainPanel.setLayout(new GridBagLayout());
//To put the GridBagLayout Constraints
GridBagConstraints c = new GridBagConstraints();
//Set Panel Size
mainPanel.setSize(Constants.windowWidth,Constants.windowHeight);
//Setting the Input Box
JTextField inputURL = new JTextField();
c.fill = GridBagConstraints.CENTER;
c.ipady = 50;
c.weightx = 0.0;
c.gridwidth = 3;
c.gridx = 0;
c.gridy = 1;
mainPanel.add(inputURL, c);
//Adding the start button
JButton submitURL = new JButton(Constants.SUBMIT_URL_BUTTON);
submitURL.addActionListener(new ActionListener() {
//The action performed by the start button
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e)
{
//Execute when button is pressed
}
});
//The placement of the button
c.fill = GridBagConstraints.VERTICAL;
c.ipady = 50;
c.weightx = 0.0;
c.gridwidth = 3;
c.gridx = 0;
c.gridy = 2;
mainPanel.add(submitURL, c);
//Adding the components on Panel to Frame
mainFrame.add(mainPanel);
}
}
The ouput and expected output can be viewed here. Need help regarding the Output. E.G.:
I've tried using GridBagConstraints and for some reason I cannot play much with the UI.

A lot will come down to you final needs, for example, this just makes use of some of the basic properties of GridBagConstraints
import java.awt.EventQueue;
import java.awt.GridBagConstraints;
import java.awt.GridBagLayout;
import java.awt.Insets;
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 TestLayout {
public static void main(String[] args) {
new TestLayout();
}
public TestLayout() {
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 {
private JTextField inputURL;
private JButton submitURL ;
public TestPane() {
inputURL = new JTextField(20);
submitURL = new JButton("Submit the URL");
submitURL.setMargin(new Insets(10, 10, 10, 10));
setLayout(new GridBagLayout());
GridBagConstraints gbc = new GridBagConstraints();
gbc.gridx = 0;
gbc.gridy = 0;
gbc.insets = new Insets(10, 10, 10, 10);
add(new JLabel("Header"), gbc);
gbc.gridy++;
gbc.insets = new Insets(0, 10, 20, 10);
add(inputURL, gbc);
gbc.gridy++;
gbc.insets = new Insets(0, 0, 0, 0);
gbc.weighty = 1.0;
add(submitURL, gbc);
}
}
}
A more complex solution might make use of compound layouts, using a mixture of BorderLayout, GridLayout and GridBagLayout
For example...
public class TestPane extends JPanel {
private JTextField inputURL;
private JButton submitURL ;
public TestPane() {
setLayout(new BorderLayout());
JLabel header = new JLabel("Header");
header.setHorizontalAlignment(JLabel.CENTER);
header.setBorder(new EmptyBorder(10, 10, 10, 10));
add(header, BorderLayout.NORTH);
inputURL = new JTextField(20);
submitURL = new JButton("Submit the URL");
submitURL.setMargin(new Insets(10, 10, 10, 10));
JPanel content = new JPanel(new GridLayout(2, 1));
JPanel field = new JPanel(new GridBagLayout());
field.add(inputURL);
content.add(field);
JPanel actions = new JPanel(new GridBagLayout());
actions.add(submitURL);
content.add(actions);
add(content);
}
}
While it might sound stupid, spend more time focusing on the actual workflow of the user, this will lead you to the best layout decisions, rather then focus on the physical layout itself

Java GUI: How do I have more than one button on a row using GridBagLayout

I'm fairly new to java and I'm having a problem trying to put more than one button on a row,
at the moment I'm adding both buttons to the panel, but I don't know how to separate their x locations, i.e. they are both being added directly on to of each other.
Do I need to create a new layout or can I find a solution using what I have at the moment?
public class Question1 {
public static void main (String[] args){
MyFrame f = new MyFrame("Simple Submit Cancel Form");
f.init();
}
}
class MyFrame extends JFrame{
MyFrame(String title){
super(title);
}
private JPanel mainPanel;
private GridBagConstraints cText = new GridBagConstraints();
private GridBagConstraints cButton = new GridBagConstraints();
private GridBagLayout gbLayout = new GridBagLayout();
void init(){
mainPanel = new JPanel();
mainPanel.setLayout(gbLayout);
mainPanel.setBorder(BorderFactory.createEmptyBorder(10,20,10,20));
this.setContentPane(mainPanel);
cText.anchor = GridBagConstraints.WEST;
cText.weightx = 0.0;
cText.gridx = 0;
cText.gridy = 0;
JTextField tf = new JTextField(20);
gbLayout.setConstraints(tf,cText);
mainPanel.add(tf);
cButton.gridwidth = 4;
cButton.weightx = 0.0;
cButton.gridx = 0;
cButton.gridy = 1;
JButton b = new JButton("Submit");
gbLayout.setConstraints(b,cButton);
mainPanel.add(b);
b = new JButton("Cancel");
gbLayout.setConstraints(b,cButton);
mainPanel.add(b);
this.pack();
this.setDefaultCloseOperation( JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE) ;
this.setVisible(true);
}

Just increment the gridx value:
JButton b = new JButton("Submit");
// gbLayout.setConstraints(b,cButton);
mainPanel.add(b, cButton);
b = new JButton("Cancel");
cButton.gridx++;
// gbLayout.setConstraints(b,cButton);
mainPanel.add(b, cButton);
Also you need to use the constraints created when adding your component to the grid bag layout using container.
e.g.,
import java.awt.*;
import javax.swing.*;
public class Question1 {
public static void main(String[] args) {
MyFrame f = new MyFrame("Simple Submit Cancel Form");
f.init();
}
}
class MyFrame extends JFrame {
private static final int GAP = 2;
MyFrame(String title) {
super(title);
}
private JPanel mainPanel;
private GridBagLayout gbLayout = new GridBagLayout();
void init() {
mainPanel = new JPanel();
mainPanel.setLayout(gbLayout);
mainPanel.setBorder(BorderFactory.createEmptyBorder(10, 20, 10, 20));
this.setContentPane(mainPanel);
GridBagConstraints gbc = new GridBagConstraints();
gbc.anchor = GridBagConstraints.WEST;
gbc.fill = GridBagConstraints.HORIZONTAL;
gbc.insets = new Insets(GAP, GAP, GAP, GAP);
gbc.gridwidth = 2;
gbc.weightx = 1.0;
gbc.weighty = 1.0;
gbc.gridx = 0;
gbc.gridy = 0;
JTextField tf = new JTextField(20);
mainPanel.add(tf, gbc);
gbc.gridwidth = 1;
gbc.gridx = 0;
gbc.gridy = 1;
JButton b = new JButton("Submit");
mainPanel.add(b, gbc);
b = new JButton("Cancel");
gbc.gridx++;
mainPanel.add(b, gbc);
this.pack();
this.setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
this.setVisible(true);
}
}

Try the following code:
import java.awt.GridBagConstraints;
import java.awt.GridBagLayout;
import javax.swing.BorderFactory;
import javax.swing.JButton;
import javax.swing.JFrame;
import javax.swing.JPanel;
import javax.swing.JTextField;
public class Question1 {
public static void main(String[] args) {
MyFrame f = new MyFrame("Simple Submit Cancel Form");
f.init();
}
}
class MyFrame extends JFrame {
MyFrame(String title) {
super(title);
}
private JPanel mainPanel;
private GridBagConstraints cText = new GridBagConstraints();
private GridBagConstraints cButton = new GridBagConstraints();
private GridBagLayout gbLayout = new GridBagLayout();
void init() {
mainPanel = new JPanel();
mainPanel.setLayout(gbLayout);
mainPanel.setBorder(BorderFactory.createEmptyBorder(10, 20, 10, 20));
this.setContentPane(mainPanel);
cText.anchor = GridBagConstraints.WEST;
cText.weightx = 0.0;
cText.gridx = 0;
cText.gridy = 0;
JTextField tf = new JTextField(20);
gbLayout.setConstraints(tf, cText);
mainPanel.add(tf);
cButton.gridwidth = 4;
cButton.weightx = 0.0;
cButton.gridx = 0;
cButton.gridy = 1;
JPanel demoPanel = new JPanel();
JButton b = new JButton("Submit");
gbLayout.setConstraints(demoPanel, cButton);
demoPanel.add(b);
b = new JButton("Cancel");
// gbLayout.setConstraints(b,cButton);
demoPanel.add(b);
mainPanel.add(demoPanel);
this.pack();
this.setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
this.setVisible(true);
}
}
I have just put the two buttons inside a JPanel and put the JPanel inside the GridBagLayout Panel !

Aligning panels with GridBagLayout

I'm not exactly new to java (I've been using it for a year now) but this is my first go at swing. I'm trying to make a very simple chat client to learn both socket and swing at once. My question is "What must I do to align my panels correctly?". I've tried a lot of things (Though I don't have it in my code). Usually I work something like this out on my own, but I'm to the point I need to ask for help. Do I need to change the wieghtx, weighty? What I want the client to look like is something like this.
This is what it currently looks like.
Here is my code.
package com.client.core;
import java.awt.*;
import java.awt.event.*;
import javax.swing.*;
public class Window extends JFrame{
private int screenWidth = 800;
private int screenHeight = 600;
public Window(){
//Initial Setup
super("NAMEHERE - Chat Client Alpha v0.0.1");
setResizable(true);
setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
setSize(screenWidth,screenHeight);
GridBagConstraints c = new GridBagConstraints();
//Main Panel
JPanel window = new JPanel();
window.setLayout(new GridBagLayout());
window.setBackground(Color.black);
//Panels
JPanel display = new JPanel();
JPanel chat = new JPanel();
chat.setLayout(new GridBagLayout());
JPanel users = new JPanel();
display.setBackground(Color.blue);
c.gridx = 0;
c.gridy = 0;
c.insets= new Insets(5,5,5,5);
window.add(display, c);
chat.setBackground(Color.red);
c.gridx = 0;
c.gridy = 3;
c.gridheight = 2;
c.gridwidth = 1;
c.insets= new Insets(5,5,5,5);
window.add(chat, c);
users.setBackground(Color.green);
c.gridx = 2;
c.gridy = 0;
c.insets= new Insets(5,5,5,5);
window.add(users, c);
//Buttons
//Text fields
JTextArea text = new JTextArea("DEREADFADSFEWFASDFSADFASDF");
c.gridx = 0;
c.gridy = 0;
chat.add(text);
JTextField input = new JTextField("type here to chat", 50);
c.gridx = 0;
c.gridy = 1;
c.insets= new Insets(5,5,5,5);
chat.add(input);
add(window);
}
static class ActLis implements ActionListener{
#Override
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e) {
// TODO Auto-generated method stub
}
}
}

If you wanted something like this as an output :
You can take help from this code example, though you can remove the last ButtonPanel if you don't need that :
package to.uk.gagandeepbali.swing.messenger.gui;
import java.awt.BorderLayout;
import java.awt.GridLayout;
import java.awt.GridBagConstraints;
import java.awt.GridBagLayout;
import java.awt.Color;
import javax.swing.BorderFactory;
import javax.swing.JButton;
import javax.swing.JPanel;
import javax.swing.JScrollPane;
import javax.swing.JTextPane;
import javax.swing.JTextField;
public class ChatPanel extends JPanel
{
private JButton backButton;
private JButton exitButton;
private JButton sendButton;
private JTextPane chatPane;
private JTextPane namePane;
private JTextField chatField;
private GridBagConstraints gbc;
private final int GAP = 10;
private final int SMALLGAP = 1;
public ChatPanel()
{
gbc = new GridBagConstraints();
}
protected void createGUI()
{
setOpaque(true);
setBackground(Color.WHITE);
setLayout(new BorderLayout(5, 5));
JPanel centerPanel = new JPanel();
centerPanel.setOpaque(true);
centerPanel.setBackground(Color.WHITE);
centerPanel.setBorder(BorderFactory.createEmptyBorder(GAP, GAP, 0, GAP));
centerPanel.setLayout(new GridBagLayout());
gbc.gridx = 0;
gbc.gridy = 0;
gbc.gridwidth = 5;
gbc.weightx = 0.8;
gbc.weighty = 1.0;
gbc.fill = GridBagConstraints.BOTH;
gbc.anchor = GridBagConstraints.FIRST_LINE_START;
chatPane = new JTextPane();
JScrollPane scrollerChat = new JScrollPane();
scrollerChat.setBorder(BorderFactory.createTitledBorder("Chat"));
scrollerChat.setViewportView(chatPane);
centerPanel.add(scrollerChat, gbc);
gbc.gridx = 5;
gbc.gridwidth = 2;
gbc.weightx = 0.2;
namePane = new JTextPane();
JScrollPane scrollerName = new JScrollPane(namePane);
scrollerName.setBorder(BorderFactory.createTitledBorder("Names"));
centerPanel.add(scrollerName, gbc);
gbc.gridx = 0;
gbc.gridy = 5;
gbc.gridwidth = 5;
gbc.weightx = 0.8;
gbc.weighty = 0.1;
gbc.fill = GridBagConstraints.HORIZONTAL;
chatField = new JTextField();
chatField.setOpaque(true);
chatField.setBorder(BorderFactory.createCompoundBorder(
BorderFactory.createTitledBorder("")
, BorderFactory.createEmptyBorder(SMALLGAP, SMALLGAP, SMALLGAP, SMALLGAP)));
centerPanel.add(chatField, gbc);
gbc.gridx = 5;
gbc.gridwidth = 2;
gbc.weightx = 0.2;
sendButton = new JButton("Send");
sendButton.setBorder(BorderFactory.createTitledBorder(""));
centerPanel.add(sendButton, gbc);
JPanel bottomPanel = new JPanel();
bottomPanel.setOpaque(true);
bottomPanel.setBackground(Color.WHITE);
bottomPanel.setBorder(
BorderFactory.createTitledBorder(""));
bottomPanel.setLayout(new BorderLayout());
JPanel buttonPanel = new JPanel();
buttonPanel.setOpaque(true);
buttonPanel.setBackground(Color.WHITE);
buttonPanel.setBorder(BorderFactory.createEmptyBorder(GAP, GAP, 0, GAP));
backButton = new JButton("Back");
exitButton = new JButton("Exit");
buttonPanel.add(backButton);
buttonPanel.add(exitButton);
bottomPanel.add(buttonPanel, BorderLayout.CENTER);
add(centerPanel, BorderLayout.CENTER);
add(bottomPanel, BorderLayout.PAGE_END);
}
public JTextPane getChatPane()
{
return chatPane;
}
public JTextPane getNamePane()
{
return namePane;
}
public JTextField getChatField()
{
return chatField;
}
public JButton getExitButton()
{
return exitButton;
}
public JButton getBackButton()
{
return backButton;
}
public JButton getSendButton()
{
return sendButton;
}
}

What you could do, and probably gives the desired result
JPanel somethingHere = ...;
JPanel chat = ...;
JPanel userList = ...;
JPanel leftPanel = new JPanel( new BorderLayout() );
leftPanel.add( somethingHere, BorderLayout.CENTER );
leftPanel.add( chat, BorderLayout.SOUTH );
JPanel total = new JPanel( new BorderLayout() );
total.add( leftPanel, BorderLayout.CENTER );
total.add( userList, BorderLayout.EAST );
Way simpler then messing with GridBagLayout

Here is what I came out with thus far. The red box is where I plan to add a simple 2D avatar interface with LWJGL.
Here is the code for it
package com.client.core;
import java.awt.*;
import java.awt.event.*;
import javax.swing.*;
import javax.swing.event.DocumentEvent;
import javax.swing.event.DocumentListener;
public class Window extends JFrame{
private int screenWidth = 800;
private int screenHeight = 600;
public Window(){
//Initial Setup
super("NAMEHERE - Chat Client Alpha v0.0.1");
setResizable(true);
setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
setSize(screenWidth,screenHeight);
//Main Panels
JPanel window = new JPanel(new BorderLayout());
JPanel center = new JPanel(new BorderLayout());
JPanel right = new JPanel(new BorderLayout());
//Panels
JPanel display = new JPanel( new BorderLayout());
display.setBackground(Color.red);
JPanel chat = new JPanel();
chat.setLayout(new BoxLayout(chat, BoxLayout.Y_AXIS));
chat.setBackground(Color.blue);
JPanel users = new JPanel(new BorderLayout());
users.setBackground(Color.green);
//TextFields
JTextArea chatBox = new JTextArea("Welcome to the chat!", 7,50);
chatBox.setEditable(false);
JTextField chatWrite = new JTextField();
JScrollPane userList = new JScrollPane();
JTextField userSearch = new JTextField(10);
userList.setVerticalScrollBarPolicy(JScrollPane.VERTICAL_SCROLLBAR_ALWAYS);
users.add(userList);
users.add(userSearch, BorderLayout.NORTH);
chat.add(chatBox);
chat.add(chatWrite);
chat.setBorder(BorderFactory.createEmptyBorder(1, 1, 1, 1));
//Menu bar
JMenuBar menu = new JMenuBar();
JMenu file = new JMenu("File");
JMenuItem exit = new JMenuItem("Exit");
JMenuItem ipconnect = new JMenuItem("Connect to IP");
file.add(ipconnect);
file.add(exit);
menu.add(file);
//Main window adding
right.add(users);
center.add(display, BorderLayout.CENTER);
center.add(chat, BorderLayout.SOUTH);
window.add(center, BorderLayout.CENTER);
window.add(right, BorderLayout.EAST);
window.add(menu, BorderLayout.NORTH);
add(window);
//Listeners
chatWrite.addKeyListener(new KeyLis());
ipconnect.addActionListener(new ActLis());
exit.addActionListener(new ActLis());
}
static class KeyLis implements KeyListener{
#Override
public void keyPressed(KeyEvent e) {
if(e.getKeyCode() == KeyEvent.VK_ENTER){
System.out.println("Message recieved.");
}
}
#Override
public void keyReleased(KeyEvent e) {
// TODO Auto-generated method stub
}
#Override
public void keyTyped(KeyEvent e) {
// TODO Auto-generated method stub
}
}
static class ActLis implements ActionListener{
#Override
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e) {
if(e.getActionCommand() == "Exit"){
System.exit(0);
} else if(e.getActionCommand() == "Connect to IP"){
System.out.println("Connecting....");
JFrame frameip = new JFrame();
JPanel panelip = new JPanel();
JButton buttonip = new JButton("Hello");
frameip.add(panelip);
panelip.add(buttonip);
JDialog ippop = new JDialog(frameip, "Enter IP", false);
}
}
}
}

I had to build a similar layout using a GridBagLayout. The code below shows how I achieved it.
import java.awt.Color;
import java.awt.FlowLayout;
import java.awt.GridBagConstraints;
import java.awt.GridBagLayout;
import javax.swing.JFrame;
import javax.swing.JPanel;
public class GridBagLayoutTest {
public GridBagLayoutTest() {
JFrame jframe = new JFrame();
jframe.setLayout(new GridBagLayout());
jframe.setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
jframe.setSize(800, 600);
jframe.setVisible(true);
// Left
JPanel leftPanel = new JPanel(new GridBagLayout());
leftPanel.setBackground(Color.YELLOW);
GridBagConstraints gridBagConstraints = new GridBagConstraints();
gridBagConstraints.fill = GridBagConstraints.BOTH;
gridBagConstraints.weightx = .7f;
gridBagConstraints.weighty = 1f;
gridBagConstraints.gridx = 0;
gridBagConstraints.gridy = 0;
jframe.add(leftPanel, gridBagConstraints);
JPanel leftTopPanel = new JPanel(new FlowLayout());
leftTopPanel.setBackground(Color.RED);
GridBagConstraints gridBagConstraints0 = new GridBagConstraints();
gridBagConstraints0.fill = GridBagConstraints.BOTH;
gridBagConstraints0.weightx = 1f;
gridBagConstraints0.weighty = .7f;
gridBagConstraints0.gridx = 0;
gridBagConstraints0.gridy = 0;
leftPanel.add(leftTopPanel, gridBagConstraints0);
JPanel leftMiddlePanel = new JPanel(new FlowLayout());
leftMiddlePanel.setBackground(Color.BLACK);
gridBagConstraints0 = new GridBagConstraints();
gridBagConstraints0.fill = GridBagConstraints.BOTH;
gridBagConstraints0.weightx = 1f;
gridBagConstraints0.weighty = .2f;
gridBagConstraints0.gridx = 0;
gridBagConstraints0.gridy = 1;
leftPanel.add(leftMiddlePanel, gridBagConstraints0);
JPanel leftBottomBottomPanel = new JPanel(new FlowLayout());
leftBottomBottomPanel.setBackground(Color.PINK);
gridBagConstraints0 = new GridBagConstraints();
gridBagConstraints0.fill = GridBagConstraints.BOTH;
gridBagConstraints0.weightx = 1f;
gridBagConstraints0.weighty = .1f;
gridBagConstraints0.gridx = 0;
gridBagConstraints0.gridy = 2;
leftPanel.add(leftBottomBottomPanel, gridBagConstraints0);
// Right
JPanel rightPanel = new JPanel();
rightPanel.setBackground(Color.GREEN);
gridBagConstraints = new GridBagConstraints();
gridBagConstraints.fill = GridBagConstraints.BOTH;
gridBagConstraints.weightx = .3f;
gridBagConstraints.weighty = 1f;
gridBagConstraints.gridx = 1;
gridBagConstraints.gridy = 0;
jframe.add(rightPanel, gridBagConstraints);
}
public static void main (String args[]) {
new GridBagLayoutTest();
}

I want to add a JLabel and Text box dynamically by clicking add button

When i create the text and label box dynamically it should sit in the format of "Textbox: Labelbox" then when i click on add button again the same pattern should repeat on next line and so on... Which layout should i use and how ?
This is the code i used
if(field_name.getText().equals("")){
error.setForeground(Color.red);
error.setText("Enter the Field name first");
} else {
JLabel l = new JLabel(field_name.getText(), JLabel.RIGHT);
JTextField textField = new JTextField();
Dimension dim = new Dimension(20,30);
textField.setPreferredSize(dim);
field_layer.add(l);
field_layer.add(textField);
SpringUtilities.makeCompactGrid(field_layer,
numPairs, 2, //rows, cols
6, 6, //initX, initY
6, 6); //xPad, yPad
numPairs++;
field_layer.invalidate();
this.pack();
}

One option is GridBagLayout. In order to use this layout properly, you'll need to understand GridBagConstraints. Here's a tutorial to help you get started.
Here's a quick example:
import java.awt.Dimension;
import java.awt.GridBagConstraints;
import java.awt.GridBagLayout;
import java.awt.event.ActionEvent;
import java.awt.event.ActionListener;
import java.util.ArrayList;
import java.util.List;
import javax.swing.JButton;
import javax.swing.JFrame;
import javax.swing.JLabel;
import javax.swing.JPanel;
import javax.swing.JTextField;
import javax.swing.border.LineBorder;
public class MyExample
{
// Field members
static JPanel panel = new JPanel();
static Integer indexer = 1;
static List<JLabel> listOfLabels = new ArrayList<JLabel>();
static List<JTextField> listOfTextFields = new ArrayList<JTextField>();
public static void main(String[] args)
{
// Construct frame
JFrame frame = new JFrame();
frame.setLayout(new GridBagLayout());
frame.setPreferredSize(new Dimension(300, 300));
frame.setTitle("My Example");
frame.setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
// Frame constraints
GridBagConstraints frameConstraints = new GridBagConstraints();
// Construct button
JButton addButton = new JButton("Add");
addButton.addActionListener(new ButtonListener());
// Add button to frame
frameConstraints.gridx = 0;
frameConstraints.gridy = 0;
frame.add(addButton, frameConstraints);
// Construct panel
panel.setPreferredSize(new Dimension(200, 200));
panel.setLayout(new GridBagLayout());
panel.setBorder(LineBorder.createBlackLineBorder());
// Add panel to frame
frameConstraints.gridx = 0;
frameConstraints.gridy = 1;
frameConstraints.weighty = 1;
frame.add(panel, frameConstraints);
// Pack frame
frame.pack();
// Make frame visible
frame.setVisible(true);
}
static class ButtonListener implements ActionListener
{
#Override
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent arg0)
{
// Clear panel
panel.removeAll();
// Create label and text field
listOfTextFields.add(new JTextField());
listOfLabels.add(new JLabel("Label " + indexer));
// Create constraints
GridBagConstraints textFieldConstraints = new GridBagConstraints();
GridBagConstraints labelConstraints = new GridBagConstraints();
// Add labels and text fields
for(int i = 0; i < indexer; i++)
{
// Text field constraints
textFieldConstraints.gridx = 0;
textFieldConstraints.gridy = i;
// Label constraints
labelConstraints.gridx = 1;
labelConstraints.gridy = i;
// Add them to panel
panel.add(listOfTextFields.get(i), textFieldConstraints);
panel.add(listOfLabels.get(i), labelConstraints);
}
// Align components top-to-bottom
GridBagConstraints c = new GridBagConstraints();
c.gridx = 0;
c.gridy = indexer;
c.weighty = 1;
panel.add(new JLabel(), c);
// Increment indexer
indexer++;
}
}
}
Note: don't limit yourself to this particular layout manager. That is, you should explore other Layout Managers too.

I have made slight change to the above code.....
import java.awt.Dimension;
import java.awt.GridBagConstraints;
import java.awt.GridBagLayout;
import java.awt.Insets;
import java.awt.event.ActionEvent;
import java.awt.event.ActionListener;
import java.util.ArrayList;
import java.util.List;
import javax.swing.JButton;
import javax.swing.JFrame;
import javax.swing.JLabel;
import javax.swing.JPanel;
import javax.swing.JTextField;
import javax.swing.border.LineBorder;
public class MyExample
{
// Field members
static JPanel panel = new JPanel();
static Integer indexer = 1;
static List<JLabel> listOfLabels = new ArrayList<JLabel>();
static List<JTextField> listOfTextFields = new ArrayList<JTextField>();
public static void main(String[] args)
{
// Construct frame
JFrame frame = new JFrame();
frame.setLayout(new GridBagLayout());
frame.setPreferredSize(new Dimension(990, 990));
frame.setTitle("My Example");
frame.setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
// Frame constraints
GridBagConstraints frameConstraints = new GridBagConstraints();
// Construct button
JButton addButton = new JButton("Add");
addButton.addActionListener(new ButtonListener());
// Add button to frame
frameConstraints.gridx = 0;
frameConstraints.gridy = 0;
frame.add(addButton, frameConstraints);
// Construct panel
panel.setPreferredSize(new Dimension(600, 600));
panel.setLayout(new GridBagLayout());
panel.setBorder(LineBorder.createBlackLineBorder());
// Add panel to frame
frameConstraints.gridx = 0;
frameConstraints.gridy = 1;
frameConstraints.weighty = 1;
frame.add(panel, frameConstraints);
// Pack frame
frame.pack();
// Make frame visible
frame.setVisible(true);
}
static class ButtonListener implements ActionListener
{
#Override
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent arg0)
{
// Clear panel
panel.removeAll();
// Create label and text field
JTextField jTextField = new JTextField();
jTextField.setSize(100, 200);
listOfTextFields.add(jTextField);
listOfLabels.add(new JLabel("Label " + indexer));
// Create constraints
GridBagConstraints textFieldConstraints = new GridBagConstraints();
GridBagConstraints labelConstraints = new GridBagConstraints();
// Add labels and text fields
for(int i = 0; i < indexer; i++)
{
// Text field constraints
textFieldConstraints.gridx = 1;
textFieldConstraints.fill = GridBagConstraints.HORIZONTAL;
textFieldConstraints.weightx = 0.5;
textFieldConstraints.insets = new Insets(10, 10, 10, 10);
textFieldConstraints.gridy = i;
// Label constraints
labelConstraints.gridx = 0;
labelConstraints.gridy = i;
labelConstraints.insets = new Insets(10, 10, 10, 10);
// Add them to panel
panel.add(listOfLabels.get(i), labelConstraints);
panel.add(listOfTextFields.get(i), textFieldConstraints);
}
// Align components top-to-bottom
GridBagConstraints c = new GridBagConstraints();
c.gridx = 0;
c.gridy = indexer;
c.weighty = 1;
panel.add(new JLabel(), c);
// Increment indexer
indexer++;
panel.updateUI();
}
}
}

I would recommend a GridBagLayout. You can use:
JPanel pan = new JPanel(); // For Swing
//or Panel pan = new Panel(); for AWT
pan.setLayout(new GridBagLayout());
GridBagConstraints textC = new GridBagConstraints();
textC.gridx = 0;
GridBagConstraints labelC= new GridBagConstraints();
labelC.gridx = 1;
// For Every (J)TextField
pan.add(text,textC);
// For Every (J)Label
label.add(label,labelC);

i modify some code and
see this
package formbuilder;
import java.awt.Dimension;
import java.awt.GridBagConstraints;
import java.awt.GridBagLayout;
import java.awt.Insets;
import java.awt.event.ActionEvent;
import java.awt.event.ActionListener;
import java.util.ArrayList;
import java.util.List;
import javax.swing.JButton;
import javax.swing.JFrame;
import javax.swing.JLabel;
import javax.swing.JPanel;
import javax.swing.JTextField;
import javax.swing.border.LineBorder;
public class CreateFormFields {
// Field members
static JPanel panel = new JPanel();
static Integer indexer = 1;
static List<JLabel> listOfLabels = new ArrayList<JLabel>();
static List<JTextField> listOfTextFields = new ArrayList<JTextField>();
static List<JTextField> listDataType = new ArrayList<JTextField>();
static List<JTextField> listRange = new ArrayList<JTextField>();
static List<JTextField> listLable = new ArrayList<JTextField>();
public static void main(String[] args) {
// Construct frame
JFrame frame = new JFrame();
frame.setLayout(new GridBagLayout());
frame.setPreferredSize(new Dimension(990, 990));
frame.setTitle("Form Creator");
frame.setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
// Frame constraints
GridBagConstraints frameConstraints = new GridBagConstraints();
// Construct button
JButton addButton = new JButton("Add");
JButton createButton = new JButton("Create Form");
addButton.addActionListener(new ButtonListener());
createButton.addActionListener(new CreateForm());
// Add button to frame
frameConstraints.gridx = 0;
frameConstraints.gridy = 0;
frame.add(addButton, frameConstraints);
frameConstraints.gridx = 0;
frameConstraints.gridy = 1;
frame.add(createButton, frameConstraints);
// Construct panel
panel.setPreferredSize(new Dimension(900, 900));
panel.setLayout(new GridBagLayout());
panel.setBorder(LineBorder.createBlackLineBorder());
// Add panel to frame
frameConstraints.gridx = 0;
frameConstraints.gridy = 2;
frameConstraints.weighty = 1;
frame.add(panel, frameConstraints);
// Pack frame
frame.pack();
// Make frame visible
frame.setVisible(true);
}
static class ButtonListener implements ActionListener {
#Override
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent arg0) {
// Clear panel
panel.removeAll();
// Create label and text field
JTextField jTextField = new JTextField();
jTextField.setSize(5, 20);
JTextField jTextField2 = new JTextField();
jTextField2.setSize(6, 20);
JTextField jTextField3 = new JTextField();
jTextField3.setSize(7, 20);
JTextField jTextField4 = new JTextField();
jTextField4.setSize(8, 20);
listOfTextFields.add(jTextField);
listDataType.add(jTextField2);
listRange.add(jTextField3);
listLable.add(jTextField4);
listOfLabels.add(new JLabel("LableName | FieldName | DataType | Range "));
// Create constraints
GridBagConstraints textFieldConstraints = new GridBagConstraints();
GridBagConstraints labelConstraints = new GridBagConstraints();
GridBagConstraints gridlistDataType = new GridBagConstraints();
GridBagConstraints gridlistRange = new GridBagConstraints();
GridBagConstraints gridlistLable = new GridBagConstraints();
// Add labels and text fields
for (int i = 0; i < indexer; i++) {
// Label constraints
labelConstraints.gridx = 0;
labelConstraints.gridy = i;
labelConstraints.insets = new Insets(10, 10, 10, 10);
// Text field constraints
textFieldConstraints.gridx = 1;
textFieldConstraints.fill = 1;//GridBagConstraints.HORIZONTAL;
textFieldConstraints.weightx = 0.5;
textFieldConstraints.insets = new Insets(10, 10, 10, 10);
textFieldConstraints.gridy = i;
gridlistDataType.gridx = 2;
gridlistDataType.fill = 1;//GridBagConstraints.HORIZONTAL;
gridlistDataType.weightx = 0.5;
gridlistDataType.insets = new Insets(10, 10, 10, 10);
gridlistDataType.gridy = i;
gridlistRange.gridx = 3;
gridlistRange.fill = 1;//GridBagConstraints.HORIZONTAL;
gridlistRange.weightx = 0.5;
gridlistRange.insets = new Insets(10, 10, 10, 10);
gridlistRange.gridy = i;
gridlistLable.gridx = 4;
gridlistLable.fill = 1;//GridBagConstraints.HORIZONTAL;
gridlistLable.weightx = 0.5;
gridlistLable.insets = new Insets(10, 10, 10, 10);
gridlistLable.gridy = i;
// Add them to panel
panel.add(listOfLabels.get(i), labelConstraints);
panel.add(listOfTextFields.get(i), textFieldConstraints);
panel.add(listDataType.get(i), gridlistDataType);
panel.add(listRange.get(i), gridlistRange);
panel.add(listLable.get(i), gridlistLable);
}
// Align components top-to-bottom
GridBagConstraints c = new GridBagConstraints();
c.gridx = 0;
c.gridy = indexer;
c.weighty = 1;
panel.add(new JLabel(), c);
// Increment indexer
indexer++;
panel.updateUI();
}
}
static class CreateForm implements ActionListener {
#Override
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent arg0) {
// Clear panel
panel.removeAll();
// Create label and text field
JTextField jTextField = new JTextField();
jTextField.setSize(5, 20);
JTextField jTextField2 = new JTextField();
jTextField2.setSize(6, 20);
JTextField jTextField3 = new JTextField();
jTextField3.setSize(7, 20);
JTextField jTextField4 = new JTextField();
jTextField4.setSize(8, 20);
listOfTextFields.add(jTextField);
listDataType.add(jTextField2);
listRange.add(jTextField3);
listLable.add(jTextField4);
listOfLabels.add(new JLabel("LableName | FieldName | DataType | Range "));
// Create constraints
GridBagConstraints textFieldConstraints = new GridBagConstraints();
GridBagConstraints labelConstraints = new GridBagConstraints();
GridBagConstraints gridlistDataType = new GridBagConstraints();
GridBagConstraints gridlistRange = new GridBagConstraints();
GridBagConstraints gridlistLable = new GridBagConstraints();
// Add labels and text fields
for (int i = 0; i < indexer; i++) {
// Label constraints
labelConstraints.gridx = 0;
labelConstraints.gridy = i;
labelConstraints.insets = new Insets(10, 10, 10, 10);
// Text field constraints
textFieldConstraints.gridx = 1;
textFieldConstraints.fill = 1;//GridBagConstraints.HORIZONTAL;
textFieldConstraints.weightx = 0.5;
textFieldConstraints.insets = new Insets(10, 10, 10, 10);
textFieldConstraints.gridy = i;
gridlistDataType.gridx = 2;
gridlistDataType.fill = 1;//GridBagConstraints.HORIZONTAL;
gridlistDataType.weightx = 0.5;
gridlistDataType.insets = new Insets(10, 10, 10, 10);
gridlistDataType.gridy = i;
gridlistRange.gridx = 3;
gridlistRange.fill = 1;//GridBagConstraints.HORIZONTAL;
gridlistRange.weightx = 0.5;
gridlistRange.insets = new Insets(10, 10, 10, 10);
gridlistRange.gridy = i;
gridlistLable.gridx = 4;
gridlistLable.fill = 1;//GridBagConstraints.HORIZONTAL;
gridlistLable.weightx = 0.5;
gridlistLable.insets = new Insets(10, 10, 10, 10);
gridlistLable.gridy = i;
// Add them to panel
panel.add(listOfLabels.get(i), labelConstraints);
panel.add(listOfTextFields.get(i), textFieldConstraints);
panel.add(listDataType.get(i), gridlistDataType);
panel.add(listRange.get(i), gridlistRange);
panel.add(listLable.get(i), gridlistLable);
}
// Align components top-to-bottom
GridBagConstraints c = new GridBagConstraints();
c.gridx = 0;
c.gridy = indexer;
c.weighty = 1;
panel.add(new JLabel(), c);
// Increment indexer
indexer++;
panel.updateUI();
}
}
}