Java vertical layout hugging left edge - java

I am having some issues with layout in Java, the below image represents what I am trying to accomplish. Currently I am using;
Box vBox = Box.createVerticalBox();
to vertically separate the items but they tend to group in the centre rather than
hug the left edge. What is the best way of accomplishing this?
EDIT: Setting the alignment as such;
JComboBox combo = new JComboBox<Integer>(numPlayers);
combo.setMaximumSize(new Dimension(100, 30));
combo.setAlignmentX(JComponent.RIGHT_ALIGNMENT );
vBox.add(combo);
Does not seem to align the component correctly, instead it aligns the components left edge to the centre line of the panel.

You can use a vertical box. Now you need to set the alignment of the components that you add to the box:
component.setAlignmentX( JComponent.LEFT_ALIGNMENT );
box.add( component );
...
Edit:
You can use a GridBagLayout. The components will remain at there preferred size when the space is increased. But if you shrink the frame too small the components will revert to (0, 0) which is thee minimum size. If you don't like this behaviour, then you will need to set minimum size on all the components:
import java.awt.*;
import java.awt.event.*;
import java.util.*;
import javax.swing.*;
public class SSCCE extends JPanel
{
public SSCCE()
{
setLayout( new BorderLayout() );
JComponent component;
JPanel vBox = new JPanel( new GridBagLayout() );
GridBagConstraints gbc = new GridBagConstraints();
gbc.gridx = GridBagConstraints.REMAINDER;
component = new JTextField(10);
gbc.anchor = GridBagConstraints.LINE_START;
vBox.add(component, gbc);
component = new JTextField(10);
gbc.anchor = GridBagConstraints.LINE_END;
vBox.add(component, gbc);
component = new JTextField(30);
gbc.anchor = GridBagConstraints.CENTER;
vBox.add(component, gbc);
}
private static void createAndShowGUI()
{
JFrame frame = new JFrame("SSCCE");
frame.setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
frame.add( new SSCCE() );
frame.setLocationByPlatform( true );
frame.pack();
frame.setVisible( true );
}
public static void main(String[] args)
{
EventQueue.invokeLater(new Runnable()
{
public void run()
{
createAndShowGUI();
}
});
}
}

Related

JLabel automatically centers it self inside GridBagLayout

I'm trying to make a custom JTextField that hosts a JLabel, So I have wrapped the JTextField and the JLabel in a custom Class that extends JPanel
The JPanel layout is set to GridBagLayout since I only need place 2 components vertically. Here is how it looks like
This is the code, I can't spot where I have instructed the GridBagLayout to center the JLabel.
setLayout(new GridBagLayout());
jLabel = new JLabel();
GridBagConstraints gbc = new GridBagConstraints();
gbc.fill = GridBagConstraints.VERTICAL;
gbc.gridy = 1;
add(jLabel, gbc);
I want to have the JLabel the same position at shown in the GIF. How can I achieve this? Would also be nice if anyone can point what the exact text size would look good on the JLabel.
the JLabel does not start from line start, nor is it center. It's kinda in between
I'm not sure what your exact code is and how you nest the custom panel in another panel.
But as I mentioned above when you have weird alignment you need to make sure each component has the same x alignment so they can be aligned the same way.
I can't reproduce your problem using the simple example below:
import java.awt.*;
import javax.swing.*;
import javax.swing.border.*;
public class SSCCE extends JPanel
{
SSCCE()
{
JPanel box = new JPanel();
box.setLayout( new BoxLayout(box, BoxLayout.Y_AXIS) );
box.setBorder( new LineBorder(Color.RED) );
JTextField textField = new JTextField(10);
//textField.setAlignmentX(JComponent.LEFT_ALIGNMENT);
System.out.println( textField.getAlignmentX() );
box.add( textField );
JLabel label = new JLabel("Some text");
System.out.println( label.getAlignmentX() );
box.add( label );
add( box );
}
private static void createAndShowGUI()
{
JFrame frame = new JFrame("SSCCE");
frame.setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
frame.add(new SSCCE());
frame.pack();
frame.setLocationByPlatform( true );
frame.setVisible( true );
}
public static void main(String[] args) throws Exception
{
java.awt.EventQueue.invokeLater( () -> createAndShowGUI() );
/*
EventQueue.invokeLater(new Runnable()
{
public void run()
{
createAndShowGUI();
}
});
*/
}
}
But as you can see from the output by default a text field has center alignment and the label left alignment. Try making them both left aligned.
Thanks to VGR in the comments, I have solved this issue by setting the anchor to LINE_STARTS
gbc.anchor = GridBagConstraints.LINE_STARTS;
Edit: Ended up using BoxLayout thanks to camickr for answering with an example.

Setting Size is not overriding on Java

I am having issue where my JPanel is not setting up the size. I am not sure if is something to do with my JTab or JFrame. I am using GridBagLayout layout management. And for some reason are not able to set the size.
Here is a dummy code, following the same logic to my original source code:
FirstPanel.java
import javax.swing.*;
import java.awt.*;
public class FirstPanel extends JPanel {
private JLabel label1 = new JLabel("Label 1");
private JTextField textField1 = new JTextField();
private GridBagConstraints c = new GridBagConstraints();
public FirstPanel() {
//Size is not overriding
Dimension size = getPreferredSize();
size.width = 100;
setPreferredSize(size);
setBorder(BorderFactory.createTitleBorder("Border Title");
setLayout(new GridBagLayout());
addComponents();
}
private void addComponents() {
c.gridx = 0;
c.gridy = 0;
c.anchor = GridBagConstraints.NORTHWEST;
c.insets = new Insets(5, 0, 0, 0);
add(label1, c);
c.gridx = 1;
add(textField1, c);
c.weightx = 1;
c.weighty = 1;
add(new JLabel(""), c);
}
}
MainPanel.java
import javax.swing.*;
import java.awt.*;
public class MainPanel {
private JFrame frame = new JFrame("App");
private JPanel panel1 = new JPanel(new GridBagLayout());
private GridBagConstraints c = new GridBagConstraints();
private JTabbedPane tabPane = new JTabbedPane();
public MainPanel() {
addComponents();
frame.add(tabPane);
frame.setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
frame.setSize(500, 350);
frame.setVisible(true);
frame.setLocationRelativeTo(null);
frame.setResizable(false);
}
private void addComponents() {
tabPane.addTab("Tab 1", new FirstPanel());
}
}
Main.java
public class Main {
public static void main(String[] args) {
new MainPanel();
}
}
Or at least have two JPanels,
Exactly.
Frist you create a main panel using a BorderLayout that you add to the tabbed pane.
Then you have a second panel for your labels and text fields (using whatever layout manager you want). Then you add this panel to the BorderLayout.LINE_START.
Then you add your scrollpane containing the JTable to the BorderLayout.CENTER of the main panel.
Read the tutorial on Layout Manager. Nest panels with different layout managers as required.
want to have JTable taking 50% of the other side.
Picking a random number like 50% is not the way to design a GUI. What happens if the frame is made smaller/larger. What happens to the space? Design the layout with flexibility in mind, just like your browser window is designed. There are always fixed areas where the size is determined by the components added and there is a flexible area that grows/shrinks as desired.

Adding elements (i.e. JLabels) outside of the set layout

As part of a project we've got to have 9 boxes, here I've just implemented alternating colors as an example in place of the images we should be using. But whilst I want these 9 JLabels in this grid layout (3,3), I also want to have a message at the top (a JLabel) that I can just centralize, like a welcoming message as well as having around four JButtons underneath? Can somebody please point me in the right direction as to how to achieve this?
Thank you!
import java.awt.*;
import javax.swing.*;
import java.awt.event.*;
class HomeController extends JPanel implements MouseListener
{
HomeController()
{
setLayout(new GridLayout(3,3));
JLabel apl1 = new JLabel("");
apl1.setBackground(Color.WHITE);
apl1.setOpaque(true);
this.add(apl1);
JLabel apl2 = new JLabel("");
apl2.setBackground(Color.BLACK);
apl2.setOpaque(true);
this.add(apl2);
JLabel apl3 = new JLabel("");
apl3.setBackground(Color.WHITE);
apl3.setOpaque(true);
this.add(apl3);
JLabel apl4 = new JLabel("");
apl4.setBackground(Color.BLACK);
apl4.setOpaque(true);
this.add(apl4);
JLabel apl5 = new JLabel("");
apl5.setBackground(Color.WHITE);
apl5.setOpaque(true);
this.add(apl5);
JLabel apl6 = new JLabel("");
apl6.setBackground(Color.BLACK);
apl6.setOpaque(true);
this.add(apl6);
JLabel apl7 = new JLabel("");
apl7.setBackground(Color.WHITE);
apl7.setOpaque(true);
this.add(apl7);
JLabel apl8 = new JLabel("");
apl8.setBackground(Color.BLACK);
apl8.setOpaque(true);
this.add(apl8);
JLabel apl9 = new JLabel("");
apl9.setBackground(Color.WHITE);
apl9.setOpaque(true);
this.add(apl9);
JLabel message = new JLabel("hello world");
this.add(message);
}
}
You can combine multiple panels with different layouts. For details take a look at A Visual Guide to Layout Managers.
For example, default layout of JFrame is BorderLayout. Using BorderLayout, you can place the title at BorderLayout.NORTH, panel with buttons at BorderLayout.SOUTH and panel with grid of labels at BorderLayout.CENTER. Each panel may have its own more complex layout. For example, grid of labels is using GridLayout, and buttons panel is using FlowLayout.
Here is a very simple example based on the posted code that demonstrates this approach:
import java.awt.*;
import javax.swing.*;
public class TestGrid {
public TestGrid() {
final JFrame frame = new JFrame("Grid");
frame.setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
JPanel mainPanel = new JPanel(new GridLayout(3, 3));
for (int idx = 0; idx < 9; idx++) {
JLabel label = new JLabel();
label.setBackground(idx % 2 == 0 ? Color.WHITE : Color.BLACK);
label.setOpaque(true);
mainPanel.add(label);
}
mainPanel.setPreferredSize(new Dimension(200, 200));
frame.add(mainPanel, BorderLayout.CENTER);
frame.add(new JLabel("Title", JLabel.CENTER), BorderLayout.NORTH);
JPanel buttonsPanel = new JPanel();
buttonsPanel.add(new JButton("Start"));
buttonsPanel.add(new JButton("Stop"));
frame.add(buttonsPanel, BorderLayout.SOUTH);
frame.pack();
frame.setVisible(true);
}
public static void main(String[] args) {
try {
UIManager.setLookAndFeel(UIManager.getSystemLookAndFeelClassName());
} catch (Exception e) {
e.printStackTrace();
}
SwingUtilities.invokeLater(new Runnable() {
#Override
public void run() {
new TestGrid();
}
});
}
}

GridBagLayout within JScrollPane not resizing properly

I have a JPanel with a GridBagLayout inside of a JScrollPane. I also have an 'add' button within the JPanel which, when clicked, will be removed from the JPanel, adds a new instance of a separate component to the JPanel, then adds itself back to the JPanel. This sort of makes a growing list of components, followed by the 'add' button.
Adding new components works fine, the JPanel stretches to accommodate the new components, and the JScrollPane behaves as expected, allowing you to scroll through the entire length of the JPanel.
This is how the add works:
jPanel.remove(addButton);
GridBagConstraints c = new GridBagConstraints();
c.gridx = 0;
c.gridy = GridBagConstraints.RELATIVE;
jPanel.add(new MyComponent(), c);
jPanel.add(addButton, c);
jPanel.validate();
jPanel.repaint();`
Removal works by clicking a button inside the added components themselves. They remove themselves from the JPanel just fine. However, the JPanel keeps it's stretched-out size, re-centering the list of components.
This is how removal works:
Container parent = myComponent.getParent();
parent.remove(myComponent);
parent.validate();
parent.repaint();`
The question is, why does my GridBagLayout JPanel resize when adding components, but not when removing components?
You have to revalidate and repaint the JScrollPane, here is an example:
import java.awt.*;
import java.awt.event.*;
import javax.swing.*;
public class SwingTest {
public static void main(String[] args) {
final JPanel panel = new JPanel(new GridBagLayout());
for (int i = 0; i < 25; i++) {
JTextField field = new JTextField("Field " + i, 20);
GridBagConstraints constraints = new GridBagConstraints();
constraints.gridy = i;
panel.add(field, constraints);
}
final JScrollPane scrollPane = new JScrollPane(panel);
JButton removeButton = new JButton("Remove Field");
removeButton.addActionListener(new ActionListener() {
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e) {
if (panel.getComponentCount() >= 1) {
panel.remove(panel.getComponentCount() - 1);
scrollPane.revalidate();
scrollPane.repaint();
}
}
});
JFrame frame = new JFrame("Swing Test");
frame.setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.DISPOSE_ON_CLOSE);
frame.setSize(640, 480);
frame.setLocation(200, 200);
frame.getContentPane().add(scrollPane);
frame.getContentPane().add(removeButton, BorderLayout.SOUTH);
frame.setVisible(true);
}
}

SetVisible(false) changes the layout of my components within my Panel

How do I make the subpanels within my main panel stay where they are when I set one of the subpanels to be invisible?
What I have looks like:
[ (Panel1) (Panel2) (Panel3) (Panel4) ]
When I do panel3.setVisible(false) it then looks like:
[ (Panel1) (Panel2) (Panel4) ]
I would like it to look like:
[ (Panel1) (Panel2) (Panel4) ]
I am using the GridBagLayout and my mainPanel declaration looks like:
final JPanel panel = new JPanel(new GridBagLayout());
GridBagConstraints c = new GridBagConstraints();
and I add an new panel like:
final JTextField valueTextField = new JTextField();
valueTextField.setPreferredSize(new Dimension(80, 25));
valueTextField.setName("Value");
c.gridx =0;
panel.add(valueTextField, c);
I'll provide more code if needed and I don't care which layout I use as long as it gets me what I want.
I suggest using a CardLayout within the individual cells, and instead of setting it to invisible, switch to an empty panel instead.
The code below demonstrates this. Within hidePanel() there are two options to hide the cell with the CardLayout route currently enabled.
import javax.swing.*;
import java.awt.*;
import java.awt.event.ActionEvent;
import java.awt.event.ActionListener;
public class InvisiblePanels {
public static void main(String... args) throws Exception {
JFrame frame = new JFrame();
frame.setLayout(new GridBagLayout());
frame.setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
GridBagConstraints c = new GridBagConstraints();
c.gridx = 0;
frame.add(new MyPanel(), c);
c.gridx = 1;
frame.add(new MyPanel(), c);
c.gridx = 2;
frame.add(new MyPanel(), c);
frame.pack();
frame.setVisible(true);
}
private static class MyPanel extends JPanel {
CardLayout layout;
public MyPanel() {
layout = new CardLayout();
setLayout(layout);
JButton button = new JButton("Click me");
button.addActionListener(new ActionListener() {
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e) {
hidePanel();
}
});
add(button, "visible");
add(new JPanel(), "invisible");
layout.show(this, "visible");
}
public void hidePanel() {
// setVisible(false);
layout.show(this, "invisible");
}
}
}
I believe all the layout manager respect the visibility of a component and don't include invisible components in the preferred size and layout calculations.
One solution might be to wrap all your panels in a panel using the OverlayLayout:
import java.awt.*;
import java.awt.event.*;
import javax.swing.*;
public class OverlayLayoutInvisible
{
public static void main(String[] args)
{
JPanel panel = new JPanel();
panel.add( createPanel("Button 1") );
panel.add( createPanel("Button 2") );
panel.add( createPanel("Button 3") );
panel.add( createPanel("Button 4") );
panel.add( createPanel("Button 5") );
JFrame frame = new JFrame();
frame.setDefaultCloseOperation( JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE );
frame.add( panel );
frame.pack();
frame.setLocationRelativeTo( null );
frame.setVisible(true);
}
public static JPanel createPanel(String text)
{
JButton button = new JButton( text );
button.addActionListener( new ActionListener()
{
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e)
{
Component c = (Component)e.getSource();
c.setVisible(false);
}
});
InvisibleComponent ic = new InvisibleComponent( button );
JPanel panel = new JPanel();
panel.setLayout( new OverlayLayout(panel) );
panel.add( ic );
panel.add( button );
return panel;
}
public static class InvisibleComponent extends JComponent
{
private Component master;
public InvisibleComponent(Component master)
{
this.master = master;
setAlignmentX( master.getAlignmentX() );
setAlignmentY( master.getAlignmentY() );
}
public Dimension getPreferredSize()
{
return master.getPreferredSize();
}
}
}
You might be able to tweak GridLayout (do you have an SSCCE?)
Otherwise:
Put Panel3 and Panel4 together in a single panel that you add to the GridBagLayout. Then setup the new Panel in a Layout like FlowLayout (aligned Left with a preferred size), BorderLayout, GridLayout, etc.

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