Develop Reference

Setting a label text in Swing undos all button location movements

I have the weirdest bug ever.
I have this puzzle game that moves puzzle pieces (which really are buttons with images attached to them).
Everything worked fine until I tried to change the text of some label (to indicate how many steps the player has done).
Everytime I call someControl.setText("text");, the puzzle pieces that moved are set back to the their first position. I have no idea why, but they just do.
Here's my window:
It consists of two panels, each uses a GridBagLayout.
The main frame uses a gridBagLayout as well, which consists of the two panels.
I know it's weird as hell, but I can't figure out what may cause this GUI bug. Any idea?
The pieces of code:
increaseSteps which is called everytime I click a puzzle button
void increaseSteps() {
_steps++;
_lblSteps.setText("Steps: " + _steps);
}
Creation of the puzzle panel (the left panel)
private JPanel puzzlePanel() {
JPanel panel = new JPanel(new GridBagLayout());
GridBagConstraints gbc = new GridBagConstraints();
for (int i = 0; i < _splitImage.getSize(); i++)
for (int j = 0; j < _splitImage.getSize(); j++) {
int valueAtPos = _board.getMatrix()[i][j];
if (valueAtPos == 0)
continue;
int imageRow = _board.getImageRowFromValue(valueAtPos);
int imageCol = _board.getImageColFromValue(valueAtPos);
ImageIcon imageIcon = new ImageIcon(_splitImage.getImages()[imageRow][imageCol]);
JButton btn = new JButton(imageIcon);
_tileButtons[i][j] = new TileButton(btn, i, j);
btn.setPreferredSize(new Dimension(_splitImage.getImages()[i][j].getWidth(null),
_splitImage.getImages()[i][j].getHeight(null)));
// add action listener
btn.addActionListener(this);
btn.addKeyListener(this);
gbc.gridx = j;
gbc.gridy = i;
panel.add(_tileButtons[i][j].getButton(), gbc);
}
return panel;
}
actionPerformed:
#Override
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e) {
if (!(e.getSource() instanceof JButton))
return;
JButton btn = (JButton) e.getSource();
TileButton tile = getTileButtonFromBtn(btn);
if (tile == null)
return;
// check if we can move the tile
String moveDir = _board.canMoveTile(tile.getRow(), tile.getCol());
if (moveDir.equals("no"))
return;
increaseSteps();
int dirx = 0;
int diry = 0;
if (moveDir.equals("left")) {
dirx = -1;
_board.move("left", true);
tile.setCol(tile.getCol() - 1);
} else if (moveDir.equals("right")) {
dirx = 1;
_board.move("right", true);
tile.setCol(tile.getCol() + 1);
} else if (moveDir.equals("up")) {
diry = -1;
_board.move("up", true);
tile.setRow(tile.getRow() - 1);
} else { // down
diry = 1;
_board.move("down", true);
tile.setRow(tile.getRow() + 1);
}
moveButton(btn, dirx, diry, MOVE_SPEED);
if (_board.hasWon())
win();
}
moveButton: (moves the button in a seperate thread, calling btn.setLocation())
private void moveButton(JButton btn, int dirx, int diry, int speed) {
Point loc = btn.getLocation();
// get start ticks, calculate distance etc...
StopWatch stopper = new StopWatch();
int distance;
if (dirx != 0)
distance = _splitImage.getImages()[0][0].getWidth(null) * dirx;
else
distance = _splitImage.getImages()[0][0].getHeight(null) * diry;
if (speed > 0) {
// run the animation in a new thread
Thread thread = new Thread() {
public void run() {
int currentTicks;
int elapsed;
do {
int newX = loc.x;
int newY = loc.y;
elapsed = stopper.getElapsed();
int moved = (int) ((double) distance * (double) (elapsed / (double) speed));
if (dirx != 0)
newX += moved;
else
newY += moved;
btn.setLocation(newX, newY);
} while (elapsed <= MOVE_SPEED);
// make sure the last location is exact
btn.setLocation(loc.x + (dirx == 0 ? 0 : distance), loc.y + (diry == 0 ? 0 : distance));
}
};
thread.start();
}
else
btn.setLocation(loc.x + (dirx == 0 ? 0 : distance), loc.y + (diry == 0 ? 0 : distance));
}

You're trying to set the absolute position of a component via setLocation(...) or setBounds(...), one that is held by a container that uses a layout manager. This may work temporarily, but will fail if the container's layout manager is triggered to re-do the layout of its contained components. When that happens, the GridBagConstraints will take over and the components will move to their gridbag constraints assigned location.
The solution is to not do this, and instead to place the location of your components in concert with the layout managers used.
Another problem is that your current code is not Swing thread-safe since you're making Swing state changes from within a background thread. This won't always cause problems, but since it's a threading issue, risks causing intermittent hard to debug problems (ones that usually only occur when your boss or instructor are trying to run your code).
Possible solutions:
For a grid of images, you could use a grid of JLabels (or JButtons if you must) held in a container that uses GridLayout. When you need to reposition components, remove all components held by that JPanel, and then re-add, using the order of addition to help you position the components.
Easiest though would be to use a grid of non-moving JLabels, give them MouseListeners, and instead of moving the JLabels, remove and add Icons to them, including a blank Icon.
If you need to do Swing animation, use a Swing Timer to drive the animation. This will allow your code to make repetitive calls with delay between the calls, and with these calls being made on the Swing event thread, the EDT (event dispatch thread).
Demo proof of concept example code that shows swapping icons, but without animation, and without test of solution yet:
import java.awt.GridLayout;
import java.awt.event.MouseAdapter;
import java.awt.event.MouseEvent;
import java.awt.image.BufferedImage;
import java.io.IOException;
import java.net.URL;
import java.util.ArrayList;
import java.util.Collections;
import java.util.List;
import javax.imageio.ImageIO;
import javax.swing.*;
#SuppressWarnings("serial")
public class ImageShuffle extends JPanel {
private static final int SIDES = 3;
public static final String IMG_PATH = "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/"
+ "thumb/5/5a/Hurricane_Kiko_Sep_3_1983_1915Z.jpg/"
+ "600px-Hurricane_Kiko_Sep_3_1983_1915Z.jpg";
private List<Icon> iconList = new ArrayList<>(); // shuffled icons
private List<Icon> solutionList = new ArrayList<>(); // in order
private List<JLabel> labelList = new ArrayList<>(); // holds JLabel grid
private Icon blankIcon;
public ImageShuffle(BufferedImage img) {
setLayout(new GridLayout(SIDES, SIDES, 1, 1));
fillIconList(img); // fill array list with icons and one blank one
Collections.shuffle(iconList);
MyMouseListener myMouse = new MyMouseListener();
for (Icon icon : iconList) {
JLabel label = new JLabel(icon);
label.addMouseListener(myMouse);
add(label);
labelList.add(label);
}
}
private class MyMouseListener extends MouseAdapter {
#Override
public void mousePressed(MouseEvent e) {
JLabel selectedLabel = (JLabel) e.getSource();
if (selectedLabel.getIcon() == blankIcon) {
return; // don't want to move the blank icon
}
// index variables to hold selected and blank JLabel's index location
int selectedIndex = -1;
int blankIndex = -1;
for (int i = 0; i < labelList.size(); i++) {
if (selectedLabel == labelList.get(i)) {
selectedIndex = i;
} else if (labelList.get(i).getIcon() == blankIcon) {
blankIndex = i;
}
}
// get row and column of selected JLabel
int row = selectedIndex / SIDES;
int col = selectedIndex % SIDES;
// get row and column of blank JLabel
int blankRow = blankIndex / SIDES;
int blankCol = blankIndex % SIDES;
if (isMoveValid(row, col, blankRow, blankCol)) {
Icon selectedIcon = selectedLabel.getIcon();
labelList.get(selectedIndex).setIcon(blankIcon);
labelList.get(blankIndex).setIcon(selectedIcon);
// test for win here by comparing icons held by labelList
// with the solutionList
}
}
private boolean isMoveValid(int row, int col, int blankRow, int blankCol) {
// has to be on either same row or same column
if (row != blankRow && col != blankCol) {
return false;
}
// if same row
if (row == blankRow) {
// then columns must be off by 1 -- they're next to each other
return Math.abs(col - blankCol) == 1;
} else {
// or else rows off by 1 -- above or below each other
return Math.abs(row - blankRow) == 1;
}
}
public void shuffle() {
Collections.shuffle(iconList);
for (int i = 0; i < labelList.size(); i++) {
labelList.get(i).setIcon(iconList.get(i));
}
}
}
private void fillIconList(BufferedImage img) {
// get the width and height of each individual icon
// which is 1/3 the image width and height
int w = img.getWidth() / SIDES;
int h = img.getHeight() / SIDES;
for (int row = 0; row < SIDES; row++) {
int y = (row * img.getWidth()) / SIDES;
for (int col = 0; col < SIDES; col++) {
int x = (col * img.getHeight()) / SIDES;
// create a sub image
BufferedImage subImg = img.getSubimage(x, y, w, h);
// create icon from the image
Icon icon = new ImageIcon(subImg);
// add to both icon lists
iconList.add(icon);
solutionList.add(icon);
}
}
// create a blank image and corresponding icon as well.
BufferedImage blankImg = new BufferedImage(w, h, BufferedImage.TYPE_INT_ARGB);
blankIcon = new ImageIcon(blankImg);
iconList.remove(iconList.size() - 1); // remove last icon from list
iconList.add(blankIcon); // and swap in the blank one
solutionList.remove(iconList.size() - 1); // same for the solution list
solutionList.add(blankIcon);
}
private static void createAndShowGui(BufferedImage img) {
JFrame frame = new JFrame("ImageShuffle");
frame.setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
frame.getContentPane().add(new ImageShuffle(img));
frame.pack();
frame.setLocationRelativeTo(null);
frame.setVisible(true);
}
public static void main(String[] args) {
URL imgUrl = null;
BufferedImage img;
try {
imgUrl = new URL(IMG_PATH);
img = ImageIO.read(imgUrl);
SwingUtilities.invokeLater(() -> createAndShowGui(img));
} catch (IOException e) {
e.printStackTrace();
}
}
}
If I wanted animation, again, I'd raise the icon into the JFrame's glasspane, animate it to the new position using a Swing Timer, and then place the icon into the new JLabel. I'd also disable the MouseListener using a boolean field, a "flag", until the animation had completed its move.

Which Swing layout should i use for moving JButtons

I have a Board 14x14 which has JButtons and every Jbutton has a different color. When you click one of those buttons, it checks the neighbors with the same color and removes them. When it removes them, theres a blank space between the board so the above buttons, should move down to fill the blank space. I tried with GridLayout but I don't know how to move the above buttons.

This actually is a case where you can hardly use a layout manager at all.
A LayoutManager is supposed to compute the layout of all components at once. It is triggered by certain events (e.g. when the parent component is resized). Then it computes the layout and arranges the child components accordingly.
In your case, the situation is quite different. There is no layout manager that can sensibly represent the "intermediate" state that appears while the upper buttons are falling down. While the components are animated, they cannot be part of a proper layout.
The animation itself may also be a bit tricky, but can fortunately be solved generically. But you still have to keep track of the information about where each component (i.e. each button) is currently located in the grid. When one button is removed, you have to compute the buttons that are affected by that (namely, the ones directly above it). These have to be animated. After the animation, you have to assign the new grid coordinates to these buttons.
The following is a MCVE that shows one basic approach. It simply removes the button that was clicked, but it should be easy to generalize it to remove other buttons, based on other conditions.
import java.awt.Point;
import java.awt.Rectangle;
import java.awt.event.ComponentAdapter;
import java.awt.event.ComponentEvent;
import java.util.ArrayList;
import java.util.List;
import javax.swing.JButton;
import javax.swing.JComponent;
import javax.swing.JFrame;
import javax.swing.JPanel;
import javax.swing.SwingUtilities;
public class FallingButtons
{
public static void main(String[] args)
{
SwingUtilities.invokeLater(() -> createAndShowGui());
}
private static void createAndShowGui()
{
JFrame f = new JFrame();
f.setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
int rows = 8;
int cols = 8;
GridPanel gridPanel = new GridPanel(rows, cols);
for (int r=0; r<rows; r++)
{
for (int c=0; c<cols; c++)
{
JButton button = new JButton(r+","+c);
gridPanel.addComponentInGrid(r, c, button);
button.addActionListener(e ->
{
Point coordinates = gridPanel.getCoordinatesInGrid(button);
if (coordinates != null)
{
gridPanel.removeComponentInGrid(
coordinates.x, coordinates.y);
}
});
}
}
f.getContentPane().add(gridPanel);
f.setSize(500, 500);
f.setLocationRelativeTo(null);
f.setVisible(true);
}
}
class GridPanel extends JPanel
{
private final int rows;
private final int cols;
private final JComponent components[][];
GridPanel(int rows, int cols)
{
super(null);
this.rows = rows;
this.cols = cols;
this.components = new JComponent[rows][cols];
addComponentListener(new ComponentAdapter()
{
#Override
public void componentResized(ComponentEvent e)
{
layoutGrid();
}
});
}
private void layoutGrid()
{
int cellWidth = getWidth() / cols;
int cellHeight = getHeight() / rows;
for (int r=0; r<rows; r++)
{
for (int c=0; c<cols; c++)
{
JComponent component = components[r][c];
if (component != null)
{
component.setBounds(
c * cellWidth, r * cellHeight, cellWidth, cellHeight);
}
}
}
}
Point getCoordinatesInGrid(JComponent component)
{
for (int r=0; r<rows; r++)
{
for (int c=0; c<cols; c++)
{
if (components[r][c] == component)
{
return new Point(r, c);
}
}
}
return null;
}
void addComponentInGrid(int row, int col, JComponent component)
{
add(component);
components[row][col] = component;
layoutGrid();
}
JComponent getComponentInGrid(int row, int col)
{
return components[row][col];
}
void removeComponentInGrid(int row, int col)
{
remove(components[row][col]);
components[row][col] = null;
List<Runnable> animations = new ArrayList<Runnable>();
for (int r=row-1; r>=0; r--)
{
JComponent component = components[r][col];
if (component != null)
{
Runnable animation =
createAnimation(component, r, col, r + 1, col);
animations.add(animation);
}
}
for (Runnable animation : animations)
{
Thread t = new Thread(animation);
t.setDaemon(true);
t.start();
}
repaint();
}
private Runnable createAnimation(JComponent component,
int sourceRow, int sourceCol, int targetRow, int targetCol)
{
int cellWidth = getWidth() / cols;
int cellHeight = getHeight() / rows;
Rectangle sourceBounds = new Rectangle(
sourceCol * cellWidth, sourceRow * cellHeight,
cellWidth, cellHeight);
Rectangle targetBounds = new Rectangle(
targetCol * cellWidth, targetRow * cellHeight,
cellWidth, cellHeight);
Runnable movement = createAnimation(
component, sourceBounds, targetBounds);
return () ->
{
components[sourceRow][sourceCol] = null;
movement.run();
components[targetRow][targetCol] = component;
repaint();
};
}
private static Runnable createAnimation(JComponent component,
Rectangle sourceBounds, Rectangle targetBounds)
{
int delayMs = 10;
int steps = 20;
Runnable r = () ->
{
int x0 = sourceBounds.x;
int y0 = sourceBounds.y;
int w0 = sourceBounds.width;
int h0 = sourceBounds.height;
int x1 = targetBounds.x;
int y1 = targetBounds.y;
int w1 = targetBounds.width;
int h1 = targetBounds.height;
int dx = x1 - x0;
int dy = y1 - y0;
int dw = w1 - w0;
int dh = h1 - h0;
for (int i=0; i<steps; i++)
{
double alpha = (double)i / (steps - 1);
int x = (int)(x0 + dx * alpha);
int y = (int)(y0 + dy * alpha);
int w = (int)(w0 + dw * alpha);
int h = (int)(h0 + dh * alpha);
SwingUtilities.invokeLater(() ->
{
component.setBounds(x, y, w, h);
});
try
{
Thread.sleep(delayMs);
}
catch (InterruptedException e)
{
Thread.currentThread().interrupt();
return;
}
}
SwingUtilities.invokeLater(() ->
{
component.setBounds(x1, y1, w1, h1);
});
};
return r;
}
}

You could try using a 2-dimensional array of JButtons
JButton[][] buttons = new JButton[14][14];
for (int i=0; i < buttons.length; i++) {
for (int j=0; j < buttons[i].length; j++) {
buttons[i][j] = new JButton("Button [" + i + "][" + j + "]");
}
}
// Then do whatever,remove,change color,check next element in array
// and compare colors etc
buttons[2][3].setText("changed text");

If you want the above buttons to take more space to fill the empty space when you remove a component well, this is not possible using GridLayout, but you can add some empty components like JLabels to fill the space.
You can add a component in a container at a specific index for this purpose, by using Container's add (Component comp, int index) method.
This code snippet will replace a button at a specified index (45, just for example) with a blank component in a panel which has a GridLayout set:
JPanel boardPanel = new JPanel (new GridLayout (14, 14));
// ... add your buttons ...
// This code could be invoked inside an ActionListener ...
boardPanel.remove (45);
boardPanel.add (new JLabel (""), 45);
boardPanel.revalidate ();
boardPanel.repaint ();
This way, the rest of the components will not move, and you will just see a blank space replacing your button.
You can achieve more: if you add the empty label at index = 0, all the buttons will move to the right (remember that the number of components should not change, else the components will resize and you could obtain bad behaviour), and so on, you can "move" a single component by simply removing it and adding it at a different index.
Another way to go would be to store a 2-dimensional array of objects representing your model logic (you can store color and all the stuff you need), and painting them on your own by overriding paintComponent method.
For an example of a custom painting approach, take a look at this MadProgrammer's answer, where he shows how to highlight a specific cell in a grid (in this case he uses a List to store objects, but a 2d array will work as well).

Double dimensional array with colours doesn't paint in paintComponent

I've been working on a dots look-a-like, but I'm having trouble painting the dots on the board. The array seems to work but it doesn't want to paint it.
Sorry, some of my variables are in Dutch but that shouldn't really pose too many confusion.
public class Bord extends JFrame{
Slang slang = new Slang();
Tile[][] tile = new Tile[6][6];
private JPanel menuPanel;
private JPanel gridPanel;
private JLabel levelTitel;
private JLabel levelNummer;
private JLabel scoreTitel;
private JLabel scoreNummer;
private JLabel targetTitel;
private JLabel targetNummer;
private JLabel timeTitel;
private JLabel timeNummer;
private JLabel pauzeKnop;
public Bord() {
super("Dots");
//setLocationRelativeTo(this);
setDefaultCloseOperation(WindowConstants.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
maakAttributen();
maakListeners();
maakLayout();
pack();
setSize(650, 750);
setVisible(true);
getContentPane();
repaint();
//TODO automatic size
}
public void maakAttributen() {
levelTitel = new JLabel("level");
levelNummer = new JLabel("1");
scoreTitel = new JLabel("score");
scoreNummer = new JLabel("2");
targetTitel = new JLabel("target");
targetNummer = new JLabel("3");
timeTitel = new JLabel("time");
timeNummer = new JLabel("4");
//TODO image in knop zetten
pauzeKnop = new JLabel("PAUZE");
}
public void maakListeners() {
}
public void maakLayout() {
JPanel menuPanel = new JPanel(new GridLayout(0, 5, 5, 5));
JPanel gridPanel = new JPanel(new GridLayout(0, 7, 5, 5));
add(menuPanel, BorderLayout.PAGE_START);
add(gridPanel, BorderLayout.CENTER);
//menu attributen aan menu toevoegen
menuPanel.add(levelTitel);
menuPanel.add(scoreTitel);
menuPanel.add(targetTitel);
menuPanel.add(timeTitel);
menuPanel.add(pauzeKnop);
menuPanel.add(levelNummer);
menuPanel.add(scoreNummer);
menuPanel.add(targetNummer);
menuPanel.add(timeNummer);
//grid met dots toevoegen
for (int x = 0; x < 6; x++) {
for (int y = 0; y < 6; y++) {
RandomKleur kleur = new RandomKleur();
tile[x][y] = new Tile(kleur.getKleur());
gridPanel.add(new myDots());
}
}
}
private class myDots extends JPanel {
#Override
protected void paintComponent(Graphics g) {
int h = getHeight();
int w = getWidth();
super.paintComponent(g);
for (int x = 0; x < 6; x++) {
for (int y =0; y < 6; y++) {
g.setColor(tile[x][y].getKleur());
g.fillOval(h / 2, w / 2, 33, 33);
}
}
}
}
}
I've tried debugging it and it gives some kind of null pointer exception sometimes.

You basic painting logic is wrong. You are adding 36 Dot panels to the frame, but then in the painting logic you are repainting all 36 dots on top of one another so only the last dot painted will display. The paintComponent() method should only be painting a single dot.
You need to change your MyDots class to accept a Tile as a parameter and then save the Tile object as an instance variable of the class. Then the code would be something like:
for (int x = 0; x < 6; x++) {
for (int y = 0; y < 6; y++) {
RandomKleur kleur = new RandomKleur();
tile[x][y] = new Tile(kleur.getKleur());
//gridPanel.add(new myDots());
gridPanel.add(new myDots(tile[x][y]));
}
}
I don't know if you even need the tile array, because now the MyDots class has the tile information.
Then Your painting logic should be something like:
//for (int x = 0; x < 6; x++) {
//for (int y =0; y < 6; y++) {
//g.setColor(tile[x][y].getKleur());
g.setColor(tile.getKleur()); // where "tile" is the instance variable
g.fillOval(h / 2, w / 2, 33, 33);
//}
//}
Who knows why you get the NPE, because the exception is not related to the code you posted.
By the way class name should start with an upper case character. It should be "MyDot".
Edit:
Do I have to create a new method in MyDots?
You need to create a constructor for your class:
public class MyDots
{
private Tile tile;
public MyDots(Tile tile)
{
this.tile = tile;
}
#Override
protectect paintComponent(Graphics g)
...
}

FlowLayout does not use multiple lines within GridBagLayout

Normally, FlowLayout uses more than one line if needed. Apparently this doesn't happen if the component with the FlowLayout is itself part of a GridBagLayout.
Consider this code:
import java.awt.*;
import javax.swing.*;
public class Xyzzy extends JFrame{
public static void main(String[] args) {
javax.swing.SwingUtilities.invokeLater(new Runnable() {
public void run() {
Xyzzy frame = new Xyzzy();
frame.setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
frame.setLayout(new GridBagLayout());
JPanel top = new JPanel();
top.setLayout(new FlowLayout());
for (int i=1; i<=30; ++i)
top.add(new JLabel(String.format("Label #%d",i)));
GridBagConstraints c = new GridBagConstraints();
c.weightx = 1.0;
c.gridwidth = GridBagConstraints.REMAINDER;
c.anchor = GridBagConstraints.CENTER;
frame.add(top,c);
frame.add(new JLabel("Bottom"),c);
//top.setPreferredSize(new Dimension(500,300));
frame.setSize(600, 600);
frame.setVisible(true);
}
});
}
}
This code is intended to display the JLabels "Label #1", "Label #2" etc. on multiple lines, but in fact it only uses one line.
I can force it to use multiple lines by removing the '//' before the call to setPreferredSize in the above code, but this requires me to set both a width and a height, and I don't know what height to use. (I cannot use FontMetrics to calculate the height, because in my actual case the JLabels are in reality small JPanels of varying size.)
So is there a way to force FlowLayout to use multiple lines? (Or, alternatively, is there a way to calculate the required height of a component when its width is known?)

Try to add constraint parameters:
c.weighty = 1.0;
c.fill = GridBagConstraints.VERTICAL;
It should allow growing of panel with FlowLayout in vertical direction.

To the best of my knowledge, FlowLayout does require a preferred size in order to actually wrap anything. I've created a subclass which works out the preferred size as the parent container's width, and then whatever height is required:
public class WrappingFlowLayout extends FlowLayout {
#Override
public Dimension preferredLayoutSize(Container target) {
synchronized (target.getTreeLock()) {
Dimension result;
int w = target.getWidth();
if (w == 0) {
// The container hasn't been assigned any size yet; just behave like a regular flow layout.
result = super.preferredLayoutSize(target);
} else {
Insets insets = target.getInsets();
int wrapW = w - insets.left - insets.right;
int maxW = 0; // Width of the widest row.
int rowH = 0; // Current row height.
int x = 0;
int y = 0;
boolean firstVisibleComponent = true;
for (Component c : target.getComponents()) {
if (c.isVisible()) {
Dimension d = c.getPreferredSize();
if (firstVisibleComponent) {
x = d.width + (getHgap() * 2);
y = getVgap();
rowH = d.height;
firstVisibleComponent = false;
} else if (x + d.width + getHgap() <= wrapW) {
// Add to current row.
x += d.width + getHgap();
rowH = Math.max(rowH, d.height);
} else {
// New row.
x = d.width + (getHgap() * 2);
y += rowH + getVgap();
rowH = d.height;
}
maxW = Math.max(maxW, x);
}
}
y += rowH + getVgap();
result = new Dimension(maxW + insets.left + insets.right, y + insets.top + insets.bottom);
}
return result;
}
}
}
Note that you'll need to listen for resize events on the parent component (top in your code) and trigger an update of the preferred size. Your best bet for doing this is probably a ComponentListener.

JPanel inside a JScrollPane

I have a JPanel and I create, dynamically, JCheckBoxes inside.
These have to be added JCheckBoxes always a side by side. In case there is more space to be inserted in the side, a new line of JCheckBoxes is created, as in a simple text editor.
This is happening perfectly. But ...
I set the layout on this JPanel to FlowLayout, exactly what I want.
The obvious problem is that a window has limited space. So a good solution to this is: Insertion of this JPanel in a JScrollPane,l and making that happen only in the vertical scrolling.
But I have problems. Although you can make only a vertical scroll bar to appear, the items are always added "forever" side by side. And the vertical scroll simply does not work, only horizontally.
I've tried many ways to make the scroll only vertically, but nothing worked (if it had worked I would not be here:]).
So, has anyone had any similar problem, and can help me?
I shall be very grateful to those who help me.
No more.

I dealt with the same issue with ScrollPanes and FlowLayouts. I found the best solution is to use a modified version of FlowLayout that takes into account vertical changes. Here is the code for such a layout. You can include it in your project and call it just like a FlowLayout, however it will actually work nice with a scrollpane.
import java.awt.*;
/**
* A modified version of FlowLayout that allows containers using this
* Layout to behave in a reasonable manner when placed inside a
* JScrollPane
* #author Babu Kalakrishnan
* Modifications by greearb and jzd
*/
public class ModifiedFlowLayout extends FlowLayout {
public ModifiedFlowLayout() {
super();
}
public ModifiedFlowLayout(int align) {
super(align);
}
public ModifiedFlowLayout(int align, int hgap, int vgap) {
super(align, hgap, vgap);
}
public Dimension minimumLayoutSize(Container target) {
// Size of largest component, so we can resize it in
// either direction with something like a split-pane.
return computeMinSize(target);
}
public Dimension preferredLayoutSize(Container target) {
return computeSize(target);
}
private Dimension computeSize(Container target) {
synchronized (target.getTreeLock()) {
int hgap = getHgap();
int vgap = getVgap();
int w = target.getWidth();
// Let this behave like a regular FlowLayout (single row)
// if the container hasn't been assigned any size yet
if (w == 0) {
w = Integer.MAX_VALUE;
}
Insets insets = target.getInsets();
if (insets == null){
insets = new Insets(0, 0, 0, 0);
}
int reqdWidth = 0;
int maxwidth = w - (insets.left + insets.right + hgap * 2);
int n = target.getComponentCount();
int x = 0;
int y = insets.top + vgap; // FlowLayout starts by adding vgap, so do that here too.
int rowHeight = 0;
for (int i = 0; i < n; i++) {
Component c = target.getComponent(i);
if (c.isVisible()) {
Dimension d = c.getPreferredSize();
if ((x == 0) || ((x + d.width) <= maxwidth)) {
// fits in current row.
if (x > 0) {
x += hgap;
}
x += d.width;
rowHeight = Math.max(rowHeight, d.height);
}
else {
// Start of new row
x = d.width;
y += vgap + rowHeight;
rowHeight = d.height;
}
reqdWidth = Math.max(reqdWidth, x);
}
}
y += rowHeight;
y += insets.bottom;
return new Dimension(reqdWidth+insets.left+insets.right, y);
}
}
private Dimension computeMinSize(Container target) {
synchronized (target.getTreeLock()) {
int minx = Integer.MAX_VALUE;
int miny = Integer.MIN_VALUE;
boolean found_one = false;
int n = target.getComponentCount();
for (int i = 0; i < n; i++) {
Component c = target.getComponent(i);
if (c.isVisible()) {
found_one = true;
Dimension d = c.getPreferredSize();
minx = Math.min(minx, d.width);
miny = Math.min(miny, d.height);
}
}
if (found_one) {
return new Dimension(minx, miny);
}
return new Dimension(0, 0);
}
}
}