Develop Reference

Java swing JScrollPane not scrollable

This is the add(main) version
This is the add(scroll) version
Im trying to get a window full of lables and make it scrollable, this is my code for that purpose:
public class JobHistoryListScreen extends JFrame implements View
{
#Override
public void showScreen()
{
setSize(800, 800);
setLayout(new BorderLayout());
setDefaultCloseOperation(EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
JPanel main = new JPanel();
main.setSize(500,500);
JScrollPane scroll = new JScrollPane(main,JScrollPane.VERTICAL_SCROLLBAR_ALWAYS,JScrollPane.HORIZONTAL_SCROLLBAR_NEVER);
scroll.setSize(500,500);
//Font
//Font david50 = new Font("David", Font.BOLD, 50);
for(int i=0; i<1000; i++)
{
JLabel empty = new JLabel("No jobs to display!");
empty.setBounds(0,i+250,400,100);
empty.setFont(david50);
main.add(empty);
}
add(main);
setVisible(true);
}
public static void main(String[] args) {
JobHistoryListScreen v = new JobHistoryListScreen();
v.showScreen();
}
}
For some reason the window gets filled with the labels but is not scrollable at all.

Learn about layout managers. Refer to Laying Out Components Within a Container. Default for JPanel is FlowLayout and because the JPanel is inside a JScrollPanel, the labels will not wrap. And since you set the horizontal scroll bar policy to NEVER, there is no horizontal scroll bar and hence you cannot scroll horizontally. Try using BoxLayout to display all the labels one under the other. Alternatively you could use a GridLayout with 0 (zero) rows and 1 (one) column. Refer to the tutorial for more details.
EDIT
Here is my modified version of your code. Explanatory notes appear after the code.
import java.awt.Dimension;
import java.awt.EventQueue;
import java.awt.Font;
import java.awt.GridLayout;
import javax.swing.JFrame;
import javax.swing.JLabel;
import javax.swing.JPanel;
import javax.swing.JScrollPane;
import javax.swing.WindowConstants;
public class JobHistoryListScreen implements Runnable {
private JFrame frame;
#Override // java.lang.Runnable
public void run() {
showScreen();
}
public void showScreen() {
frame = new JFrame("Jobs");
frame.setDefaultCloseOperation(WindowConstants.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
JPanel main = new JPanel(new GridLayout(0, 1));
JScrollPane scroll = new JScrollPane(main,
JScrollPane.VERTICAL_SCROLLBAR_ALWAYS,
JScrollPane.HORIZONTAL_SCROLLBAR_NEVER);
scroll.setPreferredSize(new Dimension(500, 500));
Font david50 = new Font("David", Font.BOLD, 50);
for(int i=0; i<1000; i++) {
JLabel empty = new JLabel("No jobs to display!");
empty.setFont(david50);
main.add(empty);
}
frame.add(scroll);
frame.pack();
frame.setLocationByPlatform(true);
frame.setVisible(true);
}
public static void main(String[] args) {
JobHistoryListScreen v = new JobHistoryListScreen();
// Launch Event Dispatch Thread (EDT)
EventQueue.invokeLater(v);
}
}
I don't know what interface View is so I removed that part.
No need to extend class JFrame.
No need to explicitly call setSize() on JFrame. Better to call pack().
Default content pane for JFrame is JPanel and default layout manager for that JPanel is BorderLayout so no need to explicitly set.
No need to call setSize() on JPanel.
Call setPreferredSize() rather than setSize() on JScrollPane.
Add the JScrollPane to the JFrame and not the JPanel.
No need to call setBounds() because GridLayout handles this.
Explicitly launch EDT (Event Dispatch Thread) by calling invokeLater().
Here is a screen capture of the running app. Note the vertical scroll bar.

Set minimum width in side panel of Swing BorderLayout

I understand some parts of BorderLayout -- e.g., the EAST/WEST (or BEGINNING_OF_LINE/END_OF_LINE) panel component stays one width and its length is stretched with the length of the window.
I want to put a panel on the WEST side that itself has multiple components - a panel of buttons and a JList of things the buttons control, in this case. I would like to allocate a minimum width for the strings in that JList, but something (probably BorderLayout) prevents me from setting a minimum or preferred width.
When I run the code below, the list in the left panel is wide enough for "LongNameGame 3", but only because I added the string before rendering the list. I would like to set the width of that JList to accommodate strings of the width of my choice. Later I'll put it in a ScrollPane for strings wider than that, but that's a different problem.
My question is not answered by referring me to other layout managers -- I want to know how to do this with BorderLayout, if possible.
package comm;
import java.awt.BorderLayout;
import java.awt.Color;
import java.awt.Dimension;
import java.awt.FlowLayout;
import java.awt.GridLayout;
import java.util.Vector;
import javax.swing.BorderFactory;
import javax.swing.JButton;
import javax.swing.JFrame;
import javax.swing.JList;
import javax.swing.JPanel;
import javax.swing.JTextArea;
import javax.swing.JTextField;
import javax.swing.border.Border;
public class BLPlay
{
public static void main(String ... arguments)
{
JFrame frame = buildLoungeFrame();
frame.setVisible(true);
}
private static JFrame buildLoungeFrame()
{
JFrame loungeFrame = new JFrame("BLPlay");
loungeFrame.setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
loungeFrame.setLayout(new BorderLayout(10,10));
// left panel is another BorderLayout panel with buttons and a list of games
JPanel gameListControlPanel = new JPanel(new BorderLayout());
Border innerBorder = BorderFactory.createLineBorder(Color.BLACK, 2);
Border outerBorder = BorderFactory.createEmptyBorder(3,3,3,3);
gameListControlPanel.setBorder(BorderFactory.createCompoundBorder(outerBorder, innerBorder));
String[] gamePanelButtonLabels = { "New", "Join", "Leave", "End" };
JPanel gamePanelButtons = new JPanel(new GridLayout(gamePanelButtonLabels.length,1));
addButtons(gamePanelButtons, gamePanelButtonLabels);
JPanel gamePanelButtonsContainerPanel = new JPanel();
gamePanelButtonsContainerPanel.add(gamePanelButtons);
gameListControlPanel.add(gamePanelButtonsContainerPanel, BorderLayout.WEST);
Vector<String> gameList = new Vector<>();
gameList.add("Game 1");
gameList.add("Game 2");
gameList.add("LongNameGame 3");
JList<String> gameJList = new JList<>(gameList);
JPanel gameListPanel = new JPanel(new FlowLayout());
gameListPanel.setMinimumSize(new Dimension(600,600)); // <-- has no effect
gameListPanel.add(gameJList);
gameListControlPanel.add(gameListPanel, BorderLayout.EAST);
loungeFrame.add(gameListControlPanel, BorderLayout.WEST);
// center panel in the lounge is for chat messages; it has a separate border layout,
// center for accumulated messages, bottom for entering messages
JPanel chatMessagePanel = new JPanel(new BorderLayout());
// Border chatMessagePanelBorder = BorderFactory.createEmptyBorder(7,7,7,7);
// chatMessagePanel.setBorder(chatMessagePanelBorder);
JTextArea chatMessages = new JTextArea();
chatMessagePanel.add(chatMessages, BorderLayout.CENTER);
// debug
chatMessages.append("message one\n");
chatMessages.append("message two\n");
chatMessages.append("message three\n");
// and lower panel is for entering one's own chat messages
JPanel chatMessageEntryPanel = new JPanel(new FlowLayout(FlowLayout.LEFT));
JTextField chatMessageEntryField = new JTextField(35);
JButton chatMessageEntryButton = new JButton("Enter");
chatMessageEntryPanel.add(chatMessageEntryField);
chatMessageEntryPanel.add(chatMessageEntryButton);
chatMessagePanel.add(chatMessageEntryPanel, BorderLayout.SOUTH);
loungeFrame.add(chatMessagePanel, BorderLayout.CENTER);
loungeFrame.pack();
return loungeFrame;
}
private static void addButtons(JPanel panel, String ... labels)
{
for (String label : labels)
{
JButton button = new JButton(label);
panel.add(button);
}
}
}

Give the JList a prototype cell value that is wide enough to display what you need. e.g.,
gameJList.setPrototypeCellValue("xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx");
The prototype value (here a String because the list has been declared as a JList<String>) is used to set the list's preferred size, but is not displayed in the JList. You can use as large or small a list as you need. Also be sure to set visible row count for the same purpose in the horizontal dimension:
gameJList.setVisibleRowCount(20); // for example

How can I resolve these sizing issues with JToggleButtons, JPanels, and JScrollPanes?

I'm trying to develop a form of an accordion menu. There are a small number (2-12) options that can be toggled on/off. When toggled on, there will be a JPanel with additional settings that become visible. When toggled off, the additional settings will not be visible.
I've created a SelectableExpandablePanel class that extends JPanel and implements ActionListener and ComponentListener. The panel holds two things - a JToggleButton and a child Component (which will typically be a JPanel, but I don't want to limit myself for future reuse of this concept) in a BoxLayout to enforce one column. When the toggle button is selected, the child becomes visible. When the toggle is deselected, the child is hidden.
When I use this component, I intend to put it on a JPanel inside of a JScrollPane, as demonstrated in the sample main method.
There appear to be two problems that I'm having trouble overcoming:
If I don't specify a JFrame size, it's only large enough for the width of each child and tall enough for three buttons. When I click on the button, I would expect the JScrollPane to do its thing and generate a vertical scroll bar. This isn't happening.
I'd like the toggle buttons to be the full width of the JPanel that contains them. I thought what I did in the constructor plus the Component Listener would handle that, but it doesn't.
What is provided below compiles and has a main method. If compiled and executed, it drives the component I'm building to provide a test frame and the ability to reproduce the issues I'm talking about.
import javax.swing.BoxLayout;
import javax.swing.JComponent;
import javax.swing.JFrame;
import javax.swing.JLabel;
import javax.swing.JPanel;
import javax.swing.JScrollPane;
import javax.swing.JToggleButton;
import java.awt.Dimension;
import java.awt.event.ActionEvent;
import java.awt.event.ActionListener;
import java.awt.event.ComponentEvent;
import java.awt.event.ComponentListener;
public class SelectableExpandablePanel extends JPanel implements
ActionListener, ComponentListener {
private JToggleButton titleButton;
private JComponent childComponent;
public SelectableExpandablePanel(JComponent child) {
this(child, null, null);
}
public SelectableExpandablePanel(JComponent child, String title) {
this(child, title, null);
}
public SelectableExpandablePanel(JComponent child, String title,
String tooltip) {
super();
if (child == null) {
throw new IllegalArgumentException("Child component cannot be null");
}
childComponent = child;
titleButton = new JToggleButton();
titleButton.setText(title);
titleButton.addActionListener(this);
titleButton.setPreferredSize(new Dimension(getSize().width, titleButton
.getPreferredSize().height));
titleButton.setToolTipText(tooltip);
setLayout(new BoxLayout(this, BoxLayout.Y_AXIS));
setPreferredSize(new Dimension(childComponent.getPreferredSize().width,
titleButton.getPreferredSize().height));
setSize(new Dimension(childComponent.getPreferredSize().width,
titleButton.getPreferredSize().height));
add(titleButton);
this.addComponentListener(this);
}
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e) {
if (titleButton.isSelected()) {
add(childComponent);
setSize(new Dimension(childComponent.getPreferredSize().width,
titleButton.getPreferredSize().height
+ childComponent.getPreferredSize().height));
} else {
remove(childComponent);
setSize(new Dimension(childComponent.getPreferredSize().width,
titleButton.getPreferredSize().height));
}
invalidate();
revalidate();
}
public void componentHidden(ComponentEvent arg0) {
// Do nothing
}
public void componentMoved(ComponentEvent arg0) {
// Do nothing
}
public void componentResized(ComponentEvent arg0) {
titleButton.setSize(this.getWidth(),
titleButton.getPreferredSize().height);
}
public void componentShown(ComponentEvent arg0) {
// Do nothing
}
public static void main(String[] args) {
JScrollPane scrollPane = new JScrollPane();
// These panels simulates a complex, multi-line configuration panel.
JPanel testPanel = new JPanel();
testPanel.setLayout(new BoxLayout(testPanel, BoxLayout.Y_AXIS));
testPanel.add(new JLabel("Test JLabel"));
testPanel.add(new JLabel("Test JLabel 2"));
testPanel.add(new JLabel("Test JLabel 3"));
JPanel testPanel2 = new JPanel();
testPanel2.setLayout(new BoxLayout(testPanel2, BoxLayout.Y_AXIS));
testPanel2.add(new JLabel("Test JLabel"));
testPanel2.add(new JLabel("Test JLabel 2"));
testPanel2.add(new JLabel("Test JLabel 3"));
JPanel testPanel3 = new JPanel();
testPanel3.setLayout(new BoxLayout(testPanel3, BoxLayout.Y_AXIS));
testPanel3.add(new JLabel("Test JLabel"));
testPanel3.add(new JLabel("Test JLabel 2"));
testPanel3.add(new JLabel("Test JLabel 3"));
// This panel simulates the panel that will contain each of the
// SelectableExpandablePanels.
JPanel testHolder = new JPanel();
testHolder.setLayout(new BoxLayout(testHolder, BoxLayout.Y_AXIS));
testHolder.add(new SelectableExpandablePanel(testPanel, "Test"));
testHolder.add(new SelectableExpandablePanel(testPanel2, "Test 2"));
testHolder.add(new SelectableExpandablePanel(testPanel3, "Test 3"));
// We add the test holder to the scroll pane. The intention is that if
// the expansion is too big to fit, the holding JFrame won't expand, but
// the scroll pane will get scroll bars to let the user scroll up and
// down through the toggle buttons and any enabled items.
scrollPane.setViewportView(testHolder);
JFrame testFrame = new JFrame("Expandable Panel Test");
testFrame.getContentPane().add(scrollPane);
testFrame.setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
testFrame.pack();
testFrame.setVisible(true);
}
}

Don't try to manage the sizes yourself:
//titleButton.setPreferredSize(new Dimension(getSize().width, titleButton.getPreferredSize().height));
titleButton.setToolTipText(tooltip);
setLayout(new BoxLayout(this, BoxLayout.Y_AXIS));
//setPreferredSize(new Dimension(childComponent.getPreferredSize().width, titleButton.getPreferredSize().height));
//setSize(new Dimension(childComponent.getPreferredSize().width, titleButton.getPreferredSize().height));
Also, get rid of the setSize() code in the ActionListener. This will be ignored anyway as the layout manager will determine the size.
The scrollbars will appear when the preferred size of the panel is greater than the size of the scrollpane. If you hardcode the preferred size then you default the purpose of the layout manager and the preferred size won't change as you add/remove components.
Note for something like this I generally use a BorderLayout. Put the button in the PAGE_START and the other panel in the CENTER. The components will automatically fill the space available.

Remove all the setSize/setPreferredSize calls and let the LayoutManager do its thing.
To allow the JButtons to fill the width of the panel, you can use a BorderLayout (for instance, add the button to CENTER, and the child container to SOUTH and remove all those setSize values to let the LayoutManager handle it).

JLabel alignment in JPanel

I'm trying to align a JLabel to the right in a JPanel. I'm adding a JTabbedPane, a JPanel which contains my JLabel and JTextArea to a main JPanel.
I have searched SO and tried some methods like setAlignmentX, setHorizontalAlignment(SwingConstants.LEFT) and nested containers to no avail.
Here's my code:
import java.awt.*;
import java.awt.event.*;
import javax.swing.*;
class LabelProblem
{
public static void main(String[] args)
{
JFrame frame = new JFrame("Label Problem");
frame.setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
JPanel Main = new JPanel();
Main.setLayout(new BoxLayout(Main, BoxLayout.Y_AXIS));
JPanel ComponentPanel = new JPanel();
JLabel label = new JLabel("Sample Text");
label.setHorizontalAlignment(SwingConstants.LEFT);
label.setBorder(BorderFactory.createLineBorder(Color.BLACK));
label.setAlignmentX(Component.RIGHT_ALIGNMENT);
ComponentPanel.add(label);
JTabbedPane Tab = new JTabbedPane();
Tab.add("Document 1", new JPanel());
Main.add(Tab);
Main.add(ComponentPanel);
JTextArea Area = new JTextArea(10,10);
JScrollPane Scroll = new JScrollPane(Area);
frame.add(Main);
frame.add(Scroll, BorderLayout.SOUTH);
frame.setSize(450,450);
frame.setVisible(true);
}
}
How can I align my JLabel to the right?
Thanks!

So, the place of that label is determined by the layout of ComponentPanel. Since you didn't specify any layout it is using the default FlowLayout with a CENTER alignment. Assuming that you are ok with a FlowLayout it is a mere question of setting the alignment of the LEFT since this is possible with this layout.
Here's the code with the fix, however I suspect that as you put more elements to the ComponentPanel you will want to use another layout since FlowLayout is more adequate for menus and the like and not for displaying the main content.
import java.awt.BorderLayout;
import java.awt.Color;
import java.awt.Component;
import java.awt.FlowLayout;
import javax.swing.BorderFactory;
import javax.swing.BoxLayout;
import javax.swing.JFrame;
import javax.swing.JLabel;
import javax.swing.JPanel;
import javax.swing.JScrollPane;
import javax.swing.JTabbedPane;
import javax.swing.JTextArea;
import javax.swing.SwingUtilities;
class LabelProblem
{
public static void main(String[] args)
{
SwingUtilities.invokeLater(new Runnable()
{
public void run()
{
initGUI();
}
});
}
public static void initGUI()
{
JFrame frame = new JFrame("Label Problem");
frame.setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
JPanel main = new JPanel();
main.setLayout(new BoxLayout(main, BoxLayout.Y_AXIS));
JPanel componentPanel = new JPanel(new FlowLayout(FlowLayout.LEFT));
JLabel label = new JLabel("Sample Text");
label.setBorder(BorderFactory.createLineBorder(Color.BLACK));
componentPanel.add(label);
JTabbedPane Tab = new JTabbedPane();
Tab.add("Document 1", new JPanel());
main.add(Tab);
main.add(componentPanel);
JTextArea area = new JTextArea(10, 10);
JScrollPane scroll = new JScrollPane(area);
frame.add(main);
frame.add(scroll, BorderLayout.SOUTH);
frame.setSize(450, 450);
frame.setVisible(true);
}
}
Result:
Note: I also changed the variable names to follow the java style convention: variable names should start with lower case to differenciate them from clases names, starting in upper case.

One simple approach is to set the label's horizontalAlignment to JLabel.RIGHT in the constructor.
import java.awt.*;
import javax.swing.*;
class LabelProblem {
public static void main(String[] args) {
JFrame frame = new JFrame("Label Problem");
frame.setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
frame.setLayout(new GridLayout(0, 1));
JTabbedPane tab = new JTabbedPane();
tab.add("Document 1", new JPanel());
frame.add(tab);
JLabel label = new JLabel("Sample Text", JLabel.RIGHT);
frame.add(label);
JTextArea area = new JTextArea(10, 10);
JScrollPane scroll = new JScrollPane(area);
frame.add(scroll);
frame.pack();
frame.setSize(450, 450);
frame.setVisible(true);
}
}

I think it may be a matter of you not actually setting layouts where you imagine you're setting layouts.
You have a JPanel with a vertically oriented BoxLayout (Main) enclosing another JPanel with default layout (ComponentPanel), finally enclosing your label. The reason why your label can't be pushed to the right is because is already is pushed to the right within it's enclosing container. If you set a colored border around ComponentPanel, you'll see what I mean -- it only occupies the same amount of space as the JLabel, giving the JLabel nowhere to move.
You need to set a layout and constraints for your intermediate ComponentPanel, allowing it to horizontally fill its parent container so that the label has someplace to go.
You haven't really specified how your layout is supposed to look, but if you change the layout on Main to X_AXIS, your label will pop over to the left (as will its parent container). Without knowing what you're really trying to do, I can't say much more.
I would however, suggest you throw your BoxLayout away entirely and look into using GridBagLayout, which gives you a high level control over your UI. GridBagLayout isn't the most concise construct, but that's the price of control.

How can I size a Java Swing JTextArea

I am trying to put a text area onto a dialog box using Java Swing. I have a problem of setting the size of this JTextArea. The width of the text area is always equal to the whole width of the window and stretches with the window if I resize it.
private void arrangeComponents() {
JTextArea textArea = new JTextArea();
JPanel outerPanel = new JPanel();
outerPanel.setLayout(new BoxLayout(outerPanel, BoxLayout.PAGE_AXIS));
JScrollPane scrollPane = new JScrollPane(textArea);
outerPanel.add(scrollPane, BorderLayout.CENTER);
Container contentPane = getContentPane();
contentPane.add(outerPanel, BorderLayout.CENTER);
}
I want the JTextArea to be horizontally aligned to the centre of the window and does not change its size.
What did I do wrong?

Use the JTextArea(int rows, int columns) constructor that specifies rows and columns, as shown here, and don't neglect to pack() the enclosing Window.

outerPanel.add(scrollPane, BorderLayout.CENTER);
A BoxLayout doesn't take constraints, so the BorderLayout.CENTER is unnecessary.
The problem is that a BoxLayout respects the maximum size of the component which for a scrollpane is set very large.
Instead of using a BoxLayout, just use a panel with a FlowLayout.
Run the example below to see what you are currently doing. Then comment out the setLayout(...) statement and run again. By default the panel uses a FlowLayout so you will get what you want.
import java.awt.*;
import javax.swing.*;
import javax.swing.text.*;
public class SSCCE extends JPanel
{
public SSCCE()
{
setLayout( new BoxLayout(this, BoxLayout.PAGE_AXIS));
JTextArea textArea = new JTextArea(5, 30);
JScrollPane scrollPane = new JScrollPane(textArea);
//scrollPane.setMaximumSize( scrollPane.getPreferredSize() );
add(scrollPane);
}
private static void createAndShowUI()
{
JFrame frame = new JFrame("SSCCE");
frame.setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
frame.add( new SSCCE() );
frame.pack();
frame.setLocationRelativeTo( null );
frame.setVisible( true );
}
public static void main(String[] args)
{
EventQueue.invokeLater(new Runnable()
{
public void run()
{
createAndShowUI();
}
});
}
}
Or if you really want to keep the BoxLayout then leave keep the setLayout(...) statement and then set the maximum size equal to the preffered size. Many people will say you should never invoke a "setXXX()" method directly and instead you should override the setMaximumSize() method of the scrollpane to just return the preferred size.
Note, when testing these two solutions make sure you make the window smaller than the scrollpane to see how each layout works differently.

i found this from a simple coding site. This code sample may be useful for you.
import java.awt.Dimension;
import java.awt.FlowLayout;
import javax.swing.JFrame;
import javax.swing.JScrollPane;
import javax.swing.JTextArea;
public class JTextAreaTest {
public static void main(String[] args) {
JFrame.setDefaultLookAndFeelDecorated(true);
JFrame frame = new JFrame("JTextArea Test");
frame.setLayout(new FlowLayout());
frame.setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
String text = "A JTextArea object represents a multiline area for displaying text. "
+ "You can change the number of lines that can be displayed at a time, "
+ "as well as the number of columns. You can wrap lines and words too. "
+ "You can also put your JTextArea in a JScrollPane to make it scrollable.";
JTextArea textAreal = new JTextArea(text, 5, 10);
textAreal.setPreferredSize(new Dimension(100, 100));
JTextArea textArea2 = new JTextArea(text, 5, 10);
textArea2.setPreferredSize(new Dimension(100, 100));
JScrollPane scrollPane = new JScrollPane(textArea2,
JScrollPane.VERTICAL_SCROLLBAR_ALWAYS,
JScrollPane.HORIZONTAL_SCROLLBAR_ALWAYS);
textAreal.setLineWrap(true);
textArea2.setLineWrap(true);
frame.add(textAreal);
frame.add(scrollPane);
frame.pack();
frame.setVisible(true);
}
}

Just call that method for ur text area: setLineWrap(true);

If JTextArea is initializated
JTextArea text = new JTextArea(int rows, int columns)
you just call the method text.setLineWrap(true)
then text'size is fixed.