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.

Using FlowLayout manager to keep 3 panels in distinct rows

I used a GridLayout mananger to create my gui, but I don't like the extra space that makes my buttons look tiny.
My GUI
I want it to look more like this one.
Good GUI
I have tried placing the first two rows in another gridlayout and putting it all together in a flow layout, but it did not work. They just end up being side by side, unless the window gets really small, as it should since it is a flowlayout. Any Ideas?
Standard Services Panel constructor
public StandardServices()
{
// Create GridLayout manager with 5 rows and 1 column
setLayout(new GridLayout(5,1));
// Create the check boxes.
iHardDrive = new JCheckBox("Install Hard Drive ($25.00)");
ram = new JCheckBox("Install Ram ($15.00)");
virus = new JCheckBox("Remove Virus ($50.00)");
fHardDrive = new JCheckBox("Format Hard Drive ($80.00)");
labourQuote = new JCheckBox("Hourly Labour Qoute ($10.00)");
//Add a border around the panel.
setBorder(BorderFactory.createTitledBorder("Standard Services"));
// Add the checkboxes to the panel.
add(iHardDrive);
add(ram);
add(virus);
add(fHardDrive);
add(labourQuote);
}
Hourly Services Panel constructor
public HourlyService()
{
// Created grid layout with 2 rows, 1 column
setLayout(new GridLayout(2,1));
// Create labels to display instructions.
cost = new JLabel("Parts Cost:");
labour = new JLabel("Hours of Labour:");
// Create two text fields 10 characters wide.
costTextField = new JTextField(10);
labourTextField = new JTextField(10);
// Place a 0 in the text fields.
costTextField.setText("0");
labourTextField.setText("0");
// Add a border around the layout
setBorder(BorderFactory.createTitledBorder("Hourly Service"));
// Add labels and text fields to the panel.
add(cost);
add(costTextField);
add(labour);
add(labourTextField);
}
LU Store GUI constructor
public MyStoreGui()
{
//Display a title
setTitle("LU Computer Store");
//Specify a default action for the close button
setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
// Set the size of the window
setSize(WINDOW_WIDTH, WINDOW_HEIGHT);
// Create a GridLayout manager
setLayout(new GridLayout(3,1));
//setLayout(new FlowLayout());
// create custom panels
standard = new StandardServices();
hourly = new HourlyService();
//Create the button panel
buildButtonPanel();
add(standard);
add(hourly);
add(buttonPanel);
// Display the window
setVisible(true);
}

Instead of using a GridLayout which will give equal spacing to all the components based on the largest component, use a GridBagLayout which will not only provide you with more control, but which will honour the preferred size of the individual components
import java.awt.GridBagConstraints;
import java.awt.GridBagLayout;
import java.awt.GridLayout;
import javax.swing.BorderFactory;
import javax.swing.JButton;
import javax.swing.JCheckBox;
import javax.swing.JFrame;
import javax.swing.JLabel;
import javax.swing.JPanel;
import javax.swing.JTextField;
import javax.swing.SwingUtilities;
public class Test {
public static void main(String[] args) {
new Test();
}
public Test() {
SwingUtilities.invokeLater(new Runnable() {
#Override
public void run() {
JFrame frame = new JFrame();
frame.add(new MyStoreGui());
frame.pack();
frame.setVisible(true);
}
});
}
public final class MyStoreGui extends JPanel {
public MyStoreGui() {
setLayout(new GridBagLayout());
//setLayout(new FlowLayout());
// create custom panels
StandardServices standard = new StandardServices();
HourlyService hourly = new HourlyService();
GridBagConstraints gbc = new GridBagConstraints();
gbc.gridwidth = GridBagConstraints.REMAINDER;
gbc.fill = GridBagConstraints.HORIZONTAL;
//Create the button panel
JPanel buttonPanel = buildButtonPanel();
add(standard, gbc);
add(hourly, gbc);
add(buttonPanel, gbc);
// Display the window
setVisible(true);
}
protected JPanel buildButtonPanel() {
JPanel panel = new JPanel();
panel.add(new JButton("Calclate Changes"));
panel.add(new JButton("Exit"));
return panel;
}
}
public class StandardServices extends JPanel {
public StandardServices() {
// Create GridLayout manager with 5 rows and 1 column
setLayout(new GridLayout(5, 1));
// Create the check boxes.
JCheckBox iHardDrive = new JCheckBox("Install Hard Drive ($25.00)");
JCheckBox ram = new JCheckBox("Install Ram ($15.00)");
JCheckBox virus = new JCheckBox("Remove Virus ($50.00)");
JCheckBox fHardDrive = new JCheckBox("Format Hard Drive ($80.00)");
JCheckBox labourQuote = new JCheckBox("Hourly Labour Qoute ($10.00)");
//Add a border around the panel.
setBorder(BorderFactory.createTitledBorder("Standard Services"));
// Add the checkboxes to the panel.
add(iHardDrive);
add(ram);
add(virus);
add(fHardDrive);
add(labourQuote);
}
}
public class HourlyService extends JPanel {
public HourlyService() {
// Created grid layout with 2 rows, 1 column
setLayout(new GridLayout(2, 1));
// Create labels to display instructions.
JLabel cost = new JLabel("Parts Cost:");
JLabel labour = new JLabel("Hours of Labour:");
// Create two text fields 10 characters wide.
JTextField costTextField = new JTextField(10);
JTextField labourTextField = new JTextField(10);
// Place a 0 in the text fields.
costTextField.setText("0");
labourTextField.setText("0");
// Add a border around the layout
setBorder(BorderFactory.createTitledBorder("Hourly Service"));
// Add labels and text fields to the panel.
add(cost);
add(costTextField);
add(labour);
add(labourTextField);
}
}
}

Use the method pack() to remove unnecessary spaces..
Use it at as the last line.

How do I resize a button?

How do you resize the button? I've tried various methods like setSize and setPreferredSize but they aren't workng.
package tests;
import javax.swing.JFrame;
import javax.swing.JPanel;
import javax.swing.JLabel;
import javax.swing.JButton;
public class RPS extends JPanel{
public static void main(String[] args) {
JFrame frame = new JFrame("Rock Paper Scissors");
JPanel panel = new JPanel();
JLabel label = new JLabel("<html>Will you choose <i>rock,</i> <i>paper,</i> or <i>scissors?</i></html>");
JButton button = new JButton("I am a button.");
label.setHorizontalAlignment(0);
label.setVerticalAlignment(1);
frame.pack();
frame.getContentPane();
frame.setTitle("Rock Paper Scissors");
frame.setSize(640, 480);
frame.setVisible(true);
frame.setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
frame.add(panel);
frame.add(label);
frame.add(button);
button.setToolTipText("Y U no click me?");;
}
}

There is generally no need to resize a button. The button will determine its own size based on the text and Font used by the button. The layout manager will then use this information to give the components a size and location based on the rules of the layout manager.
If you want extra space around the text then you can use:
button.setMargin(...);
You have many other problems with your code:
frame.add(panel);
frame.add(label);
frame.add(button);
This won't do anything. By default the content pane of the frame uses a BorderLayout. If you don't specify a constraint, then then component is add to the CENTER, but only one component can be displayed in the CENTER so you only see the last one.
frame.setSize(640, 480);
There is no need for that statement. The pack() will set all the components at their preferred sizes.
frame.setVisible(true);
This should be the last statement executed, "after" all components have been added to the frame.
frame.getContentPane();
This does nothing, you don't assign the returned value to any variable.
label.setHorizontalAlignment(0);
label.setVerticalAlignment(1);
Don't use magic numbers. Nobody knows what 0 and 1 are used for. Read the API for those methods for variables that you can use.
Read the section from the Swing tutorial on Layout Managers for more information and working examples to get you started. Start with the section on How to Use BorderLayout to understand why your current code isn't working and to understand how to specify the "constraints" when you add your components to the frame.

package tests;
import java.awt.BorderLayout;
import javax.swing.JButton;
import javax.swing.JFrame;
import javax.swing.JLabel;
import javax.swing.JPanel;
public class RPS extends JPanel{
public static void main(String[] args) {
JFrame frame = new JFrame("Rock Paper Scissors");
JPanel panel = new JPanel();
JLabel label = new JLabel("<html>Will you choose <i>rock,</i> <i>paper,</i> or <i>scissors?</i></html>");
JButton button = new JButton("I am a button.");
label.setHorizontalAlignment(0);
label.setVerticalAlignment(1);
panel.add(button); <-add button to panel
frame.add(panel, BorderLayout.SOUTH); <--- you need to say where you are adding the panel onto the frame.
frame.add(label,BorderLayout.NORTH); <--- same with the label
frame.pack();
frame.setTitle("Rock Paper Scissors");
frame.setSize(640, 480);
frame.setVisible(true);
frame.setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
button.setToolTipText("Y U no click me?");;
}
}
If you want a bigger button in the center, you can modify with this:
button.setPreferredSize(new Dimension(300, 300));
panel.add(button);
frame.add(panel, BorderLayout.CENTER); <--adds to center rather than south

JAVA - Can't add Text Field and Button to container

I'm trying to do a little program that use some buttons and text field.
I was able to create window with JPanel but don't have idea how to add button and text field
The code I'm using is:
public UI() {
sprites = new HashMap();
// spriteCache = stage.getSpriteCache();
JFrame okno = new JFrame ("VoLTE Script");
setBounds(0,0,SZEROKOSC,WYSOKOSC);
JPanel panel = (JPanel)okno.getContentPane();
panel.setLayout (null);
panel.add(this);
okno.setBounds(0,0,800,600);
okno.setVisible(true);
JTextField pole = new JTextField(10);
JButton przycisk = new JButton("teasda");
przycisk.setPreferredSize(new Dimension(300, 350));
przycisk.setLayout(new BorderLayout());
panel.add(przycisk);
przycisk.setVisible(true);
pole.setBounds (300,300,200,200);
pole.setLayout(null);
pole.setVisible(true);
panel.add(pole);
okno.addWindowListener(new WindowAdapter(){
public void windowClosing (WindowEvent e){
System.exit(0);
}
});
okno.setResizable(false);
createBufferStrategy(2);
strategia=getBufferStrategy();
requestFocus();
// addKeyListener(this);
// addMouseListener(this);
}

You need to use the layout properly, when using border layout you need to tell it which border to use (, BorderLayout.NORTH or something), check out the tutorials at oracles page.
P.S. Think of how your naming your fields etc. Naming something "przycisk" just gives me a reason not to read the code further.

Thank You for help and sorry for Polish names(fixed already).
I was able to add Text Area with scroll.
Looks like problem was in panel.add(this); putted before button and text field.
From my understanding if panel.add(this) is set before panel.add(pole); then panel.add(this) is set in front and pole is added but not seen.
Below my actual working code:
...
public UI() {
sprites = new HashMap();
// spriteCache = stage.getSpriteCache();
JFrame okno = new JFrame ("VoLTE Script");
setBounds(0,0,WIDTH,HEIGHT);
JPanel panel = (JPanel)okno.getContentPane();
panel.setLayout (null);
okno.setBounds(0,0,800,600);
okno.setVisible(true);
JTextArea pole = new JTextArea();
pole.setLayout(null);
pole.setLineWrap(true);
//pole.setBackground(Color.BLACK);
pole.setEditable(false);
JScrollPane scroll = new JScrollPane(pole);
scroll.setBounds(25,250,500,300);
scroll.setVerticalScrollBarPolicy(
JScrollPane.VERTICAL_SCROLLBAR_ALWAYS);
panel.add(scroll);
panel.add(this);
okno.addWindowListener(new WindowAdapter(){
public void windowClosing (WindowEvent e){
System.exit(0);
}
});
okno.setResizable(false);
createBufferStrategy(2);
strategia=getBufferStrategy();
requestFocus();
// addKeyListener(this);
addMouseListener(this);
}
...

This code is from this site: Example of Java GUI
//Imports are listed in full to show what's being used
//could just import javax.swing.* and java.awt.* etc..
import javax.swing.JFrame;
import javax.swing.JPanel;
import javax.swing.JComboBox;
import javax.swing.JButton;
import javax.swing.JLabel;
import javax.swing.JList;
import java.awt.BorderLayout;
import java.awt.event.ActionListener;
import java.awt.event.ActionEvent;
public class GuiApp1 {
//Note: Typically the main method will be in a
//separate class. As this is a simple one class
//example it's all in the one class.
public static void main(String[] args) {
new GuiApp1();
}
public GuiApp1()
{
JFrame guiFrame = new JFrame();
//make sure the program exits when the frame closes
guiFrame.setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
guiFrame.setTitle("Example GUI");
guiFrame.setSize(300,250);
//This will center the JFrame in the middle of the screen
guiFrame.setLocationRelativeTo(null);
//Options for the JComboBox
String[] fruitOptions = {"Apple", "Apricot", "Banana"
,"Cherry", "Date", "Kiwi", "Orange", "Pear", "Strawberry"};
//Options for the JList
String[] vegOptions = {"Asparagus", "Beans", "Broccoli", "Cabbage"
, "Carrot", "Celery", "Cucumber", "Leek", "Mushroom"
, "Pepper", "Radish", "Shallot", "Spinach", "Swede"
, "Turnip"};
//The first JPanel contains a JLabel and JCombobox
final JPanel comboPanel = new JPanel();
JLabel comboLbl = new JLabel("Fruits:");
JComboBox fruits = new JComboBox(fruitOptions);
comboPanel.add(comboLbl);
comboPanel.add(fruits);
//Create the second JPanel. Add a JLabel and JList and
//make use the JPanel is not visible.
final JPanel listPanel = new JPanel();
listPanel.setVisible(false);
JLabel listLbl = new JLabel("Vegetables:");
JList vegs = new JList(vegOptions);
vegs.setLayoutOrientation(JList.HORIZONTAL_WRAP);
listPanel.add(listLbl);
listPanel.add(vegs);
JButton vegFruitBut = new JButton( "Fruit or Veg");
//The ActionListener class is used to handle the
//event that happens when the user clicks the button.
//As there is not a lot that needs to happen we can
//define an anonymous inner class to make the code simpler.
vegFruitBut.addActionListener(new ActionListener()
{
#Override
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent event)
{
//When the fruit of veg button is pressed
//the setVisible value of the listPanel and
//comboPanel is switched from true to
//value or vice versa.
listPanel.setVisible(!listPanel.isVisible());
comboPanel.setVisible(!comboPanel.isVisible());
}
});
//The JFrame uses the BorderLayout layout manager.
//Put the two JPanels and JButton in different areas.
guiFrame.add(comboPanel, BorderLayout.NORTH);
guiFrame.add(listPanel, BorderLayout.CENTER);
guiFrame.add(vegFruitBut,BorderLayout.SOUTH);
//make sure the JFrame is visible
guiFrame.setVisible(true);
}
}
For the future i will recommend you to use the extends JFrame so you can only write a gui like this without initialize a JFrame:
public class CalculatorGUI extends JFrame {
public CalculatorGUI() {
setTitle("Calculator");
setBounds(300, 300, 220, 200);
}}
I suggest you check out a couple of tutorials about how to create a Java Gui or sth.

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.