Using Layouts in Java - java

I have a JFrame with layout BorderLayout, I add JPanels using BorderLayout.CENTER
I have a JPanel(added using CENTER), that uses GridLayout to place 4 buttons.
These buttons are MASSIVE, taking up the whole screen. Or, I do it my way as follows:
I have a JFrame with layout null, I set JPanel bounds and add them.
I have a JPanel:
It sets it's own bounds so it takes up center 1/2 of screen, and is only 1/8 of the screen
tall.
It adds buttons using grid layout, and results in a nice line of buttons.
Obviously the second option looks better, but as I wish to conform to the norm, and always use layouts... How to I mix customization and layouts?(Or just solve my problem at all)

When you add a componeent to BorderLayout.CENTER, it will expand to fill the remaining space of the container not used by the other portions of the BorderLayout. Also, you can only add one component at a time to BorderLayout.CENTER. Subsequent adds will replace the previous component.
As for solving your exact problem, I suggest you start by taking a look at A Visual Guide to Layout Managers. This will give you a primer on what layouts are available in the Swing API. Oracle also has more in-depth tutorials for each layout. By nesting layouts, you can give your UI any look that you wish while leveraging their power, especially auto-calculations when a window is resized or otherwise changed.

Related

Wrapping Text in Java Swing

Okay, I am kind of desperate right now. I hope you guys can help.
I need to layout content panels with Java Swing. The Problem is, that every content is different. So I need a panel that resize itself for every content. Basically what LayoutManagers are invented for.
I need a left panel and a right panel. The widths of the panels should be fixed. The heights should adjust to the given content
|<---- 30% ------->|<----- 70% -------------------->|
Easy going I thought, but it just wont work. I tried different layout managers. Some of them keep the 30% rule, but doesn't wrap the content and just display them in one single line (BorderLayout).
If a LayoutManager does support line-break (even if its just for HTML text but that is fine for me) it wont support the fixed width. A combination of both didn't worked for me either.
Note that I need to stick to Swing and can not use another more advanced library because the system I am developing for is stuck to Java 1.5. Furthermore, I know the total screenwidth so I could calculate the width of the panels to work with fixed widths, but I need to be flexible with the height.
You can achieve this by using nested BorderLayouts. Start by setting your Panel's layout as BorderLayout.
After that, for each left and right panels, set layouts as BorderLayout again. At this level, you will set %30 and %70 ratio.
Within this layouts, add your contents to NORTH layouts. This will enable your panels' height to match given content.

WindowBuilder - Component size

Im trying to make a fullscreen application.
I would like to know how to make the component that I add on the JFrame to occupy a part of the screen on every resolution.
Design tab mode:
When I run on fullscreen i get this:
how can I make this following interface adjust to full screen?
Here's an idea of the some of the basic layout managers and which ones respect preferred sizes (meaning if preferred size is respected, as container expands, component will not expand with it, and vice versa)
That being said, you may want to use a BorderLayout, and place your top component at the BorderLayout.PAGE_START. Ad the screen increases, so will the component contained in that layout position. (Note: the example's main container uses a BorderLayout)
As far as the image, if you want to stretch, I'd take a look at StretchIcon from Darryl Burke. This will keep the image to a relative size.
Also a common practice is to nest panels with different layout managers, to get your desired result. You can see an example here by Andrew Thompson
Also see more about layout managers at Visual Guide to Layout Managers

A Flexible Layout manager that will change the layout according to resize

In my JPanel, I have 6 buttons laid out in a row (using FlowLayout as of now). The default size of the panel is enough to accommodate these buttons in one row. But, when the frame is resized it gets stuck at the size that is the sum of the minimum sizes of each button.
I need a layout manager that simply puts the buttons in a new row on re-sizing of the panel.
I'm pretty new to Java Swing so I apologize in advance if this is a trivial question.
MigLayout is by far the best layout manager I've ever used. Things that used to require nested containers and lots of hard to understand code can be done in a single container with simple to understand (and maintain) string constraints.
The flow layout is capable of your desired behavior (moving components into new row if they cannot fit). Check out the swing tutorial (run FlowLayoutDemo). You'll have to show us your source code to find out, whether there is some other constrain which prevents it.
FlowLayout does actually paint components on a new row, but the problem is that the preferred size of the panel doesn't change so in many cases you can't see the components (unless you happen to add the panel to the CENTER of a BorderLayout).
One solution is to use the Wrap Layout, which extends FlowLayout to recalculate the preferred size of the panel so that you see the buttons on a new row.

Dynamically resize JPanels to fit width of window

I've got an arbitrary number of JPanels being created based on user input (like 1-8 panels). Right now, I'm putting all the panels in a larger panel using FlowLayout, and then adding that panel to my main window which is using BoxLayout. I want the panels to fit the width of the main window but right now they are very small. Should I use a different layout or is there a way to do this?
You have to choose GridLayout or GridBagLayout.
Yes, you should use a different layout manager. Use BorderLayout (tutorial here), which streches all the contents to fit the container.
Also, BorderLayout doesn't allow more than one component in each area, thus you will need another sub-panel to hold your panels. Don't use FlowLayout for that sub-panel, as it will not have the streching behaviour your are looking for.

Centering the JTabbedPane but not the actual tabs

How would I go about making the length of the tabs automatically resize based on how much room is left in that row of tabs.
Picture:
As you can see the tab's width is based off the text in the tab.
If you need me to explain what I want better then just ask me because I don't know if I made it clear enough.
You can use a custom component and set it's preferred size. For example, in ButtonTabComponent of TabComponentsDemo:
label.setPreferredSize(new Dimension(...));
You have to choose an appropriate dimension based on other aspects of your layout, so it won't be automatic.
I want to define a size for the actual tabbed pan.
The size of the JTabbedPane is a function of the dimensions and LayoutManager of the Container to which it has been added. In the example cited, the default layout of the frame's content pane is BorderLayout, and add(pane) adds it to the center by default.
To accomplish your goal, I see two approaches:
Divide the current width of the enclosing Container among the existing tabs and repaint the tabbed pane, as shown in this example.
Develop your own implementation of TabbedPaneUI and interpret SCROLL_TAB_LAYOUT accordingly.

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