Develop Reference

setMinimumSize() not working for JButton

The following code describes a button that is instantiated in a JPanel with a BoxLayout in Page Axis:
private class AddInputSetButton extends JButton {
public AddInputSetButton() {
super("+");
setMinimumSize(new Dimension(100, 100));
pack();
addActionListener(new ActionListener() {
#Override
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e) {
addInputGroup();
}
});
}
}
I have tried setSize(), setPreferredSize(), and setMinimumSize() to no avail, none of them resize the button. I am still relatively new to Java GUIs, so hopefully it is something simple.
How do I adjust the size of the button?
EDIT: After further inspection, setPreferredSize() changes the size of the JPanel containing the buttons to the right size, but the buttons remain the same size.

JButtons (and a few other components) can be a bit goofy in layout managers. The layout manager is noticing that your button has a preferred size that needs to be respected, so it's adjusting your pane to accommodate. But your JButton is happy doing it's thing (what it thinks is right) unless you really force it to consider the size it's supposed to be.
If you're manually sizing your button (which isn't necessarily recommended), I'd say you should set all three properties (Minimum, maximum, and preferred). Maximum is the key - it forces the button to consider the other two sizes.
Here's a simple example that should work.
import java.awt.Dimension;
import javax.swing.*;
public class ButtonSizes {
private static class AddInputSetButton extends JButton {
Dimension d;
public AddInputSetButton(int width, int height) {
super("+");
d = new Dimension(width, height);
setMinimumSize(d);
setMaximumSize(d);
setPreferredSize(d);
}
}
public static void main(String[] args) {
Box buttons = Box.createVerticalBox();
buttons.add(new AddInputSetButton(100,100));
buttons.add(new AddInputSetButton(200,200));
buttons.add(new AddInputSetButton(300,300));
JFrame frame = new JFrame();
frame.setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
frame.setContentPane(buttons);
frame.pack();
frame.setVisible(true);
}
}

Top Menu(close, minimize, maximize) Java

How to change Look and Feel for the ToolBar, the top menu (where the buttons to close, minimize, maximize)
Is it possible to like something change? (Add, delete button, assign a background)
What is import is required to create it?

you can set the background image of a JButton you could have a look at this: Swing Tutorial: JButton which shows the use of the new JButton(String text,ImageIcon imgIco) to create a JButton with an ImageIcon and String.
To set the colour of the background and text you could use setBackground(Color c) and setForeground(Color c)
or
Alternatively just customize Look and Feel color scheme by setting an appropriate supported Look and Feel and then change the color scheme/size etc of its components thier are hundreds of things you can change for every component see this for them all.
To customize the Exit, Minimize and Maximize Toolbar buttons this can also be using the Look and Feel ( Custom design for Close/Minimize buttons on JFrame ):
import java.awt.BorderLayout;
import javax.swing.*;
public class FrameCloseButtonsByLookAndFeel {
FrameCloseButtonsByLookAndFeel() {
String[] names = {
UIManager.getSystemLookAndFeelClassName(),
UIManager.getCrossPlatformLookAndFeelClassName()
};
for (String name : names) {
try {
UIManager.setLookAndFeel(name);
} catch (Exception e) {
e.printStackTrace();
}
// very important to get the window decorations.
JFrame.setDefaultLookAndFeelDecorated(true);
JFrame f = new JFrame(UIManager.getLookAndFeel().getName());
f.setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.DISPOSE_ON_CLOSE);
JPanel gui = new JPanel(new BorderLayout());
f.setContentPane(gui);
JTree tree = new JTree();
tree.setVisibleRowCount(4);
gui.add(tree, BorderLayout.LINE_START);
gui.add(new JScrollPane(new JTextArea(3,15)));
JToolBar toolbar = new JToolBar();
gui.add(toolbar, BorderLayout.PAGE_START);
for (int ii=1; ii<5; ii++) {
toolbar.add(new JButton("Button " + ii));
if (ii%2==0) {
toolbar.addSeparator();
}
}
f.pack();
f.setLocationByPlatform(true);
f.setVisible(true);
}
}
public static void main(String[] args) {
SwingUtilities.invokeLater(new Runnable() {
#Override
public void run() {
new FrameCloseButtonsByLookAndFeel();
}
});
}
}

Well the easiest way to change frame titlebar look is to set LookAndFeel before you create your frame.
Probably this is what you are looking for - http://www.jtattoo.net/ScreenShots.html

Newbie JLayeredPane issue

I just can't get past square one on JLayeredPanes. (See my original question of yesterday. I have been studying the JLayeredPane tutorial and API. These tutorials are geared somewhat differently to what I am ultimately trying to produce.
Going back to square one, I took Oracle's JFrame Example and modified it to include Layered panes.
Here is the code:
package components;
import java.awt.*;
import java.awt.event.*;
import javax.swing.*;
/* FrameDemo.java requires no other files. */
public class FrameDemo {
/**
* Create the GUI and show it. For thread safety,
* this method should be invoked from the
* event-dispatching thread.
*/
private static void createAndShowGUI() {
//Create and set up the window.
JFrame frame = new JFrame("FrameDemo");
frame.setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
JPanel mainLayer = new JPanel(new BorderLayout());
mainLayer.setPreferredSize(new Dimension(640, 480));
frame.setContentPane(mainLayer);
frame.getLayeredPane().add(mainLayer, JLayeredPane.DEFAULT_LAYER, 0);
JLabel emptyLabel = new JLabel("LABEL");
emptyLabel.setPreferredSize(new Dimension(320, 240));
mainLayer.add(emptyLabel, BorderLayout.NORTH);
JPanel subLayer = new JPanel(new BorderLayout());
JLabel subLabel = new JLabel("SUBLABEL");
subLabel.setPreferredSize(new Dimension( 200, 100));
subLabel.setBackground(Color.YELLOW);
subLayer.add(subLabel, BorderLayout.SOUTH);
subLayer.setVisible(true);
subLabel.setVisible(true);
frame.getLayeredPane().add(subLayer, JLayeredPane.PALETTE_LAYER, 0);
//Display the window.
frame.pack();
frame.setVisible(true);
}
public static void main(String[] args) {
//Schedule a job for the event-dispatching thread:
//creating and showing this application's GUI.
javax.swing.SwingUtilities.invokeLater(new Runnable() {
public void run() {
createAndShowGUI();
}
});
}
}
Why doesn't it work? IOW, why doesn't the sublabel show up? It's at a higher level than the main layer.
One thought is why am I adding mainLayer to both the Content Pane and the Layered Pane? If I don't do that, nothing shows up. I.e, by commenting out this line, I just get a blank frame.
// frame.setContentPane(mainLayer);
Obviously, I'm not understanding something. But what is it?
I should add that obviously, this simple demo can be done without Layered Panes. But my ultimate goal is to have a layer that can be turned on and off programatically. But I can't even get this simple case to work. If I can get over this hump, I think the rest will be easier.
ADDENDUM:
What I want to acheive is illustrated by the following Code, which is very similar to what TrashGod set up below and it works. There is a JLayeredPane with a constant layer (layered at Integer(0)) and a floating layer layered initially at Integer(-1) but togglable by the F7 and F8 keystrokes between the Integer(-1) layer and the Integer(1) layer, thereby allowing it to float above or below the constant layer.
package components;
import java.awt.*;
import java.awt.event.*;
import javax.swing.*;
/* MyLayeredPaneDemo.java requires no other files. */
public class MyLayeredPaneDemo {
private JFrame frame;
private JLayeredPane mainPanel;
private JPanel constantLayer;
private JPanel floatingLayer;
/**
* Create the GUI and show it. For thread safety,
* this method should be invoked from the
* event-dispatching thread.
*/
private MyLayeredPaneDemo() {}
private void createAndShowGUI() {
//Create and set up the window.
this.frame = new JFrame("MyLayeredPaneDemo");
this.frame.setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
this.frame.setPreferredSize(new Dimension(640, 480));
mainPanel = new JLayeredPane();
constantLayer = new JPanel(new BorderLayout(0,0));
floatingLayer = new JPanel(new BorderLayout(0,0));
// constantLayer.setPreferredSize();
constantLayer.setOpaque(true);
constantLayer.setBackground(Color.BLUE);
JLabel constantLabel = new JLabel("MAIN LAYER");
constantLayer.setPreferredSize(new Dimension(640, 480));
constantLayer.add(constantLabel, BorderLayout.CENTER);
JLabel subLabel = new JLabel("SUB LAYER");
floatingLayer.setBackground(Color.YELLOW);
floatingLayer.add(subLabel, BorderLayout.SOUTH);
floatingLayer.setOpaque(true);
floatingLayer.setVisible(true);
floatingLayer.setVisible(true);
subLabel.setBackground(Color.YELLOW);
mainPanel.add(constantLayer, new Integer(0), 0);
constantLayer.setBounds(0,0,640,480);
mainPanel.add(floatingLayer, new Integer(-1), 0);
floatingLayer.setBounds(100, 360, 300, 90 );
frame.add(mainPanel, BorderLayout.CENTER);
//Display the window.
mapKeyToAction(frame.getRootPane(),
JComponent.WHEN_ANCESTOR_OF_FOCUSED_COMPONENT,
KeyStroke.getKeyStroke(KeyEvent.VK_F7, 0),
"Hide Layer",
new AbstractAction() {
#Override
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e) {
System.out.println("F7 pressed");
mainPanel.setLayer(floatingLayer, new Integer(-1));
}
});
mapKeyToAction(frame.getRootPane(),
JComponent.WHEN_ANCESTOR_OF_FOCUSED_COMPONENT,
KeyStroke.getKeyStroke(KeyEvent.VK_F8, 0),
"Show Layer",
new AbstractAction() {
#Override
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e) {
System.out.println("F8 pressed");
mainPanel.setLayer(floatingLayer, new Integer(1));
}
});
frame.pack();
frame.setVisible(true);
frame.getRootPane().setFocusable(true);
boolean ok = frame.getRootPane().requestFocusInWindow();
System.out.println("focus ok: " + ok);
}
public static void main(String[] args) {
//Schedule a job for the event-dispatching thread:
//creating and showing this application's GUI.
javax.swing.SwingUtilities.invokeLater(new Runnable() {
public void run() {
new MyLayeredPaneDemo().createAndShowGUI();
}
});
}
private static void mapKeyToAction(JComponent component,
int whichMap, KeyStroke keystroke,String key, Action action) {
component.getInputMap(whichMap).put(keystroke, key);
component.getActionMap().put(key, action);
}
}
However, I am having trouble getting this to work in my real case. The difference between the two is that here, my JLayeredPane is owned by the Frame, whereas in my real application, I want the JLayeredPane to be owned by a JPanel is that some levels down in the containment hierarchy from the Frame, and whose size is set by a GridBagLoyout in its parent, and the size is therefore unknowable at the time its constructor is called, making it difficult to call setBounds() which I need to do on a child of a JLayeredPane.
FURTHER ADDENDUM. I know that the Oracle Tutorials mention a case where Layouts rather than absolute positioning is used with a JLayeredPane. The difference between this case and mine is that in my case the layers occupy the same horizontal space on different layers, whereas in this case, the components on different layrers occupy different horizontal spaces. It's almost as if we need a 3D Layout Manager!

"By default, a layered pane has no layout manager."—How to Use Layered Panes
Addendum: I need to avoid using the Frame's layered pane and instead add a layered pane to the window.
Yes, The Root Pane is an instance of JRootPane, which contains a JLayeredPane. In particular, "The layered pane contains the menu bar and content pane, and enables Z-ordering of other components."
import java.awt.*;
import java.awt.event.*;
import javax.swing.*;
public class FrameDemo {
private static void createAndShowGUI() {
JFrame frame = new JFrame("FrameDemo");
frame.setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
JLayeredPane mainLayer = new JLayeredPane();
frame.add(mainLayer, BorderLayout.CENTER);
JLabel label = new JLabel("LABEL", JLabel.CENTER);
label.setBounds(100, 100, 200, 100);
label.setOpaque(true);
label.setBackground(Color.cyan);
mainLayer.add(label, 1);
JPanel subLayer = new JPanel(new BorderLayout());
JLabel subLabel = new JLabel("SUBLABEL", JLabel.CENTER);
subLabel.setBounds(20, 20, 200, 100);
subLabel.setOpaque(true);
subLabel.setBackground(Color.yellow);
subLayer.add(subLabel, BorderLayout.SOUTH);
mainLayer.add(subLabel, 2);
frame.pack();
frame.setSize(320, 240);
frame.setLocationRelativeTo(null);
frame.setVisible(true);
}
public static void main(String[] args) {
javax.swing.SwingUtilities.invokeLater(new Runnable() {
#Override
public void run() {
createAndShowGUI();
}
});
}
}

The solution I came up and thanks to trashgod which I expect is good advice too is to implement ComponentListener and capture the component resize event. At that point you can get the actual bounds of the container and use it to set the actual bounds of the layer JPanels which are always in some fixed relation to the bounds of the component that contains them. It works.
Trashgod's solution would also work I believe but I have not tried it.

Overlay panel (above another)

I am learning how to use Swing and found myself quite difficult task.
What I am trying to accomplish: I want to have panel (call it menu panel) on the left side (let's say 100px width) and the second panel (call it content panel), which takes the rest of available place.
In menu panel there are 3 buttons. When I press on of them, to the right side of menu panel (over content panel) second menu panel (submenu) should appear (and it should start in the middle of button which was pressed).
It may be hard to understand, so I've created simple draft:
I tried JLayeredPane but there were problems with resizing window (elements in Layered Pane didn't resize).

JLayeredPane miss implementations for LayoutManager, you have to setPreferredSize or setBounds manually for sizing/place JComponents,
there is one possible workaround you can add ComponentListener to the JFrame, then on componentResized(ComponentEvent e) you can resize/replace JComponent(s) to the desired Bounds
for example
import java.awt.*;
import java.awt.event.*;
import javax.swing.*;
import javax.swing.border.*;
public class LayeredPaneWithOverlap {
private JTextArea textArea = new JTextArea(2, 10);
private JPanel textPanel = new JPanel(new BorderLayout());
private JTable table = new JTable(30, 5);
private JScrollPane scroll = new JScrollPane(table);
private JLayeredPane layer = new JLayeredPane();
private JFrame frame = new JFrame("Frame with resiziable JLayeredPane");
public void makeUI() {
textArea.setBorder(new LineBorder(Color.DARK_GRAY));
textArea.setText("Frame with resiziable JLayeredPane");
textPanel.setOpaque(false);
textPanel.add(textArea, BorderLayout.NORTH);
Font font = textArea.getFont();
FontMetrics fontMetrics = textArea.getFontMetrics(font);
int h = fontMetrics.getHeight() + frame.getInsets().top +
textPanel.getInsets().top + textArea.getInsets().top
+ textArea.getInsets().bottom;
scroll.setBounds(0, h, 400, 300);
layer.add(textPanel, new Integer(2));
layer.add(scroll, new Integer(1));
frame.setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
frame.setSize(600, 400);
frame.addComponentListener(new ComponentAdapter() {
#Override
public void componentResized(ComponentEvent e) {
SwingUtilities.invokeLater(new Runnable() {
#Override
public void run() {
resizeAll();
}
});
}
});
frame.setLocationRelativeTo(null);
frame.add(layer);
resizeAll();
frame.setVisible(true);
}
void resizeAll() {
Insets insets = frame.getInsets();
int w = frame.getWidth() - insets.left - insets.right;
int h = frame.getHeight() - insets.top - insets.bottom;
textPanel.setSize(w, h);
scroll.setSize(w, h - scroll.getY());
layer.revalidate();
layer.repaint();
}
public static void main(String[] args) {
SwingUtilities.invokeLater(new Runnable() {
#Override
public void run() {
new LayeredPaneWithOverlap().makeUI();
}
});
}
}

You can set a layoutmanager for the layered pane, javax.swing.OverlayLayout uses the full available space and allows resizing.
JLayeredPane layer = new JLayeredPane();
layer.setLayout(new OverlayLayout(layer));
You probably don't want the submenu to occupy the fullspace. To avoid it you can override its get…size-methods. Or you can add a second LayeredPane (for it's transperancy and it's layoutmanager), set a normal BoxLayout and use a spacer.
JPanel normalContents = new JPanel();
layer.add(normalContents, JLayeredPane.DEFAULT_LAYER);
JLayeredPane subMenuAuxiliaryLayer = new JLayeredPane()
subMenuAuxiliaryLayer.setLayout(new BoxLayout(subMenuAuxiliaryLayer, BoxLayout.LINE_AXIS));
layer.add(subMenuAuxiliaryLayer, JLayeredPane.PALETTE_LAYER);
JPanel submenuContents = new JPanel();
subMenuAuliliaryLayer.add(submenuContents);
subMenuAuxiliaryLayer.add(Box.createHorizontalGlue());

contentPanel.setLayout(null); // Absolute positioning of children.
#Override
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent evt) {
final JButton btn = (JButton) evt.getSource();
final int buttonY = btn.getY(); // Must be final for usage in new Runnable object.
SwingUtilities.invokeLater(new Runnable() { // Return fast from event handling.
#Override
public void run() {
JPanel child = new JPanel();
child.setBackground(Color.RED); // So we'll see it.
child.setBounds(0, buttonY, 100, 300);
contentPanel.removeAll(); // Clear content panel of prior additions.
contentPanel.add(child); // Add a new panel.
contentPanel.repaint(10L);
}
});
}

The JLayeredPane works by defualt with no Layout manager, which means that you are using absolute positioning and no resizing. You could add a resize listener and adjust positions and size of inner components from code, as you see fit.
If you don't want to do this from code, you will need a layout manager, nothing fancy, just something to fill the container as it resizes. But here's the thing... if you add a layout manager, it will layout the components as if they are all in one layer, but most layout managers don't overlap their children so they are useless. The only one you could use is the OverlayLayout - it can also resize children. But using an OverlayLayout with JLayeredPane is overkill. You can just use OverlayLayout with a JPanel. So, yes, JLayeredPane is kind of useless. I recommend using a JPanel with an OverlayLayout instead.
Here is how to set things up so that you can have great control over almost any overlapping UI scenario out there: Using a JPanel with an OverlayLayout, have a separate transparent JPanel for each layer. In this way you can combine various LayoutManagers on different layers, by setting a diferent layout manager for each pane, including absolute positioning if necessary. Then add your visible components inside the panels representing the layers. Don't add them directly to the OverlayLayout panel. Just make sure that all of the JPanels you are using as layers have setAlignmentX and Y to center (0.5f) so that they fill the entire OverlayLayout panel as it resizes.

Bring JPanel to front of other objects in java (SWING)

I want to make a loading message when an app processes, so I used a JPanel over a JTree. But when the user clicks on the JPanel, the JTree will be selected and the JPanel will go to the back. After hiding the JPanel, it never shows again. I don't know why, but it seems it never go in front of the JTree.
I need a way to bring the JPanel in front of everything. How can I do this?
EDIT: Also I must mention that I don't want a JDialog. I want to use the JPanel on top of any element to show a loading message until a process finishes.

So here you have at least two solutions. Either go with what #Geoff and #sthupahsmaht are suggesting. BTW also possible is to use JOptionPane which automatically creates a dialog for you.
The other option would be to use a GlassPane from a frame.
Or yet another option is to use JLayeredPane as #jzd suggests.
EDIT:
Example showing how to use GlassPane to capture user selections.
Try following steps:
1.Left clicking on the glass pane visible at start. See the output.
2.Right click it. This hides the glass pane.
3.Left clicking on the content pane. See the output.
4.Right click it. Go to point 1.
Enjoy.
import java.awt.Color;
import java.awt.Dimension;
import java.awt.event.MouseAdapter;
import java.awt.event.MouseEvent;
import javax.swing.JFrame;
import javax.swing.JPanel;
import javax.swing.SwingUtilities;
public class OverPanel extends JPanel
{
private static void createAndShowGUI()
{
final JFrame f = new JFrame();
f.setPreferredSize(new Dimension(400, 300));
f.setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
JPanel glassPanel = new JPanel();
glassPanel.setBackground(Color.RED);
glassPanel.addMouseListener(new MouseAdapter()
{
#Override
public void mousePressed(MouseEvent e)
{
super.mousePressed(e);
System.out.println("f.getGlassPane() mousePressed");
if(e.getButton() == MouseEvent.BUTTON3)
f.getGlassPane().setVisible(false);
}
});
f.setGlassPane(glassPanel);
f.getContentPane().setBackground(Color.GREEN);
f.getContentPane().addMouseListener(new MouseAdapter()
{
#Override
public void mousePressed(MouseEvent e)
{
super.mousePressed(e);
System.out.println("f.getContentPane() mousePressed");
if(e.getButton() == MouseEvent.BUTTON3)
f.getGlassPane().setVisible(true);
}
});
f.getGlassPane().setVisible(true);
f.pack();
f.setVisible(true);
}
public static void main(String[] args)
{
SwingUtilities.invokeLater(new Runnable()
{
#Override
public void run()
{
createAndShowGUI();
}
});
}
}
EDIT2:
If you want to have an effect of a dialog, you can achieve it by incorporating appropriately this code into my example.
JPanel panel = new JPanel(new GridLayout(0, 1));
panel.setBorder(BorderFactory.createLineBorder(Color.BLACK, 2));
panel.setBackground(Color.YELLOW);
panel.add(new JLabel("I am message Label"));
panel.add(new JButton("CLOSE"));
JPanel glassPanel = new JPanel(new GridBagLayout());
glassPanel.setOpaque(false);
glassPanel.add(panel);

You need a to use a JLayeredPane for moving components in front of each other.
Here is a tutorial: How to use Layered Panes

Disabled Glass Pane might help you out.

It's not really clear how your code is organized. However, it sounds like what you might want is a modal dialog. Here's a link to a similar discussion with a number of referenced resources.
How to make a JFrame Modal in Swing java

Use JXLayer or JIDE Overlayable.

Jpanel main = new JPanel();
Jpanel a = new JPanel();
JPanel b = new Jpanel();
main.add(a);
main.add(b);
at this point the object:
a -> 0 ( index)
b -> 1 (index)
main.getComponentCount() = 2
main.setComponentZorder(b,0);
a -> 1
b -> 0;
b OVER
a DOWN

For those who have no problem using a JDialog, this is a sure way to get it to show up if you're having issues. Just make sure to control it properly if the dialog is modal, when disposing, setting focus etc.
JDialog dialog = new JDialog();
dialog.setAlwaysOnTop(true);