We Keep Coding

How do I put a JPanel in center of a JFrame irrespective the size of JFrame (of course its size is greater than jpanel)? [duplicate]

I'm using the NetBeans GUI builder to handle my layout (I'm terrible with LayoutManagers) and am trying to place a simple JLabel so that it is always centered (horizontally) inside its parent JPanel. Ideally, this would maintain true even if the JPanel was resized, but if that's a crazy amount of coding than it is sufficient to just be centered when the JPanel is first created.
I'm bad enough trying to handle layouts myself, but since the NetBeans GUI Builder autogenerates immutable code, it's been impossible for me to figure out how to do this centering, and I haven't been able to find anything online to help me.
Thanks to anybody who can steer me in the right direction!

Here are four ways to center a component:
import java.awt.*;
import javax.swing.*;
import javax.swing.border.*;
class CenterComponent {
public static JLabel getLabel(String text) {
return getLabel(text, SwingConstants.LEFT);
}
public static JLabel getLabel(String text, int alignment) {
JLabel l = new JLabel(text, alignment);
l.setBorder(new LineBorder(Color.RED, 2));
return l;
}
public static void main(String[] args) {
SwingUtilities.invokeLater(new Runnable() {
public void run() {
JPanel p = new JPanel(new GridLayout(2,2,4,4));
p.setBackground(Color.black);
p.setBorder(new EmptyBorder(4,4,4,4));
JPanel border = new JPanel(new BorderLayout());
border.add(getLabel(
"Border", SwingConstants.CENTER), BorderLayout.CENTER);
p.add(border);
JPanel gridbag = new JPanel(new GridBagLayout());
gridbag.add(getLabel("GridBag"));
p.add(gridbag);
JPanel grid = new JPanel(new GridLayout());
grid.add(getLabel("Grid", SwingConstants.CENTER));
p.add(grid);
// from #0verbose
JPanel box = new JPanel();
box.setLayout(new BoxLayout(box, BoxLayout.X_AXIS ));
box.add(Box.createHorizontalGlue());
box.add(getLabel("Box"));
box.add(Box.createHorizontalGlue());
p.add(box);
JFrame f = new JFrame("Streeeetch me..");
f.setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
f.setContentPane(p);
f.pack();
f.setLocationByPlatform(true);
f.setVisible(true);
}
});
}
}

By using Borderlayout, you can put any of JComponents to the CENTER area. For an example, see an answer to Stack Overflow question Get rid of the gap between JPanels. This should work.

Even with BoxLayout you can achieve that:
JPanel listPane = new JPanel();
listPane.setLayout(new BoxLayout(listPane, BoxLayout.X_AXIS ));
JLabel label = new JLabel();
listPane.add(Box.createHorizontalGlue());
listPane.add(label);
listPane.add(Box.createHorizontalGlue());
mKorbel's solution is perfect for your goal. Anyway I always like to suggest BoxLayout because it's very flexible.

Mara: "thanks for your response, however the NetBeans GUI Build uses GroupLayout and this is not overridable."
Not true! Right click anywhere inside JFrame (or any other GUI container) in NetBeans GUI builder and select "Set Layout". By default is selected "Free Design", which is Group layout, but you can select any other layout including Border layout as advised by mKorbel.

There's many ways to do this, depending on the layout manager(s) you use. I suggest you read the Laying Out Components Within a Container tutorial.
I believe the following will work, regardless of layout manager:
JLabel.setHorizontalAlignment(SwingConstants.CENTER)

JButton keep position in the center

So I'm making sample GUI using outer and inner class. I made a two inner classes. First the parent class which is the "first panel" second I made a child class which is the "second panel" where I add the JButton using GridBagLayout. My problem is it wont move in the location I want. I assigned my gridx = 2 and gridy = 1. But it won't move. Any help will appreciate thanks!
public class Login extends JFrame{
mainPanel mainpanel = new mainPanel(); // I create a class object for mainPanel so I can set as ContentPane.
//Constructor
public Login(){
setSize(500,400);
setTitle("Login Sample");
setVisible(true);
setLocationRelativeTo(null);
getContentPane().add(mainpanel);
//Window Listener
addWindowListener(new WindowAdapter(){
public void windowClosing(WindowEvent e){
System.exit(0);
}//window Closing
});
}
class mainPanel extends JPanel { //InnerClass
firstPanel firstpanel = new firstPanel();
//Constructor
public mainPanel(){
setPreferredSize(new Dimension (500,400));
setLayout(new BorderLayout());
setBorder(BorderFactory.createLineBorder(Color.green, 3));
add(firstpanel);
}
class firstPanel extends JPanel{
//Create Button
JButton loginButton = new JButton("Login");
//Constraints
GridBagConstraints loginConstraints = new GridBagConstraints();
public firstPanel(){
setLayout(new GridBagLayout());
loginConstraints.gridx = 1;
loginConstraints.gridy = 2;
add(loginButton,loginConstraints);
}
}

JButton keep position in the center
The reason your JButton keeps centering itself to the center of the Frame has nothing to with inner class. Every container (e.g. JPanel, JFrame) has a default layout.
The default layout of JPanel is FlowLayout. Under this layout, all components added will be arranged in a linear fashion in a row for as much as possible the panel width can fit. Anything more than the panel's width will be pushed to the next row. The default alignment of flow layout used by the JPanel is FlowLayout.CENTER, that is why when you only add one button, it always center itself.
Since it has a layout governing the positioning of your components, attempts to change the components' positions may become futile.
My problem is it wont move in the location I want. I assigned my gridx = 2 and gridy = 1. But it won't move
If you want your components to move to a specific location specified by you, you can set the layout to null (absolute positioning). However by doing so, you will have to set the location of every components which is added by you manually. If not, the components will not even show up in the frame.
To set a panel's layout to null, you may do this:
JPanel pnlMain = new JPanel();
pnlMain.setLayout(null);
To set the location of the components, we can use setBounds():
JButton btn = new JButton();
btn.setBounds(x, y, width, height); //set location and dimension
However, setting containers' layout to null can give you many unforeseen problems. With the layout being removed and all positioning being hard coded, you are left with little or no control when your program are used in different systems and environment. Various usage by users can also cause unforeseen problems as well (e.g. When user resize your window).

First i want to say that if you just have a component and want it centered, its easy to use BorderLayout and add it(the component) "Center" to the parent. The GridbagLayout is not working like this since you dont have components in gridx = 0 and gridy = 0. The grid is calculated by the components size inside. When you want to do it with the GridBagLayout you have to configure more e.g.
anchor:
Used when the component is smaller than its display area to determine where (within the area) to place the component. Valid values (defined as GridBagConstraints constants) are CENTER (the default), PAGE_START, PAGE_END, LINE_START, LINE_END, FIRST_LINE_START, FIRST_LINE_END, LAST_LINE_END, and LAST_LINE_START.
But i think its to much effort for i guess you want to do:
https://docs.oracle.com/javase/tutorial/uiswing/layout/gridbag.html

Multiple panels in JFrame

The useless Layout Manager guy is back again, I just can't seem to get my head around these darn layouts and make them work the way I want.
Anyway, I want to have a JFrame which has one large panel at the top (I call it a header) which runs from the left to right side of the frame at the north part of the frame, then four panels below it, two just below the header and two below those, and finally a "footer" panel, basically the same as the header panel, only at the south part of the frame.
Like this:
I had code which had the four middle panels working fine, but the header panel just messed everything up, and I have since been testing with the demo layout manager code for GridBagLayout, GridLayout again and BoxLayout. I can't getting any to work as I want.
For the aware of you here, you will probably notice I've already had a question related to this, and if having two similar questions are not allowed, please make me aware and I will move this to my previous question and this can be closed.
public Shop() {
shopUI = new JFrame("Shop Menu");
shopUI.setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
shopUI.setBounds(100, 100, 700, 500);
shopUI.setResizable(false);
allPanels = new JPanel();
headerPanel = new JPanel();
headerPanel.setLayout(new BorderLayout());
headerPanel.setBackground(Color.cyan);
mainPanel = new JPanel();
mainPanel.setLayout(new GridLayout(2,2));
topLeft = new JPanel();
topLeft.setBackground(Color.pink);
topRight = new JPanel();
topRight.setBackground(Color.black);
bottomLeft = new JPanel();
bottomLeft.setBackground(Color.green);
bottomRight = new JPanel();
bottomRight.setBackground(Color.blue);
footerPanel = new JPanel();
footerPanel.setLayout(new BorderLayout());
footerPanel.setBackground(Color.magenta);
mainPanel.add(topLeft);
mainPanel.add(topRight);
mainPanel.add(bottomLeft);
mainPanel.add(bottomRight);
allPanels.add(headerPanel, BorderLayout.NORTH);
allPanels.add(footerPanel, BorderLayout.SOUTH);
allPanels.add(mainPanel);
shopUI.add(allPanels);
shopUI.setVisible(true);
}

I suggest learning about border layout.
for what you want, put the header in the NORTH of the border panel, and the footer in the SOUTH. How you do your other panels depends a bit on what you want them to do; if you always want them to be the same size as each other, you can use a gridlayout for them; if not, you can use boxlayout to lay either the two pairs horizontally or the two pairs vertically, again depending on what you want them to do when the frame resizes.
I think using layout managers is simplified by deciding what you want to happen in the first place, including what happens when the frame is resized. That's a large part of what layouts are all about, anyway -- what stretches, what lines up, etc.
Anyway. what you have there looks like classic BorderLayout to me. Let us know if you need further help. Incidentally, BorderLayout is default for JFrame...
edit...
this will get more interesting when you put something in the panels...
package simpleborderlayout;
import java.awt.BorderLayout;
import java.awt.Color;
import java.awt.GridLayout;
import javax.swing.BorderFactory;
import javax.swing.JFrame;
import javax.swing.JPanel;
public class Main
{
public static void main(String[] args)
{
Main main = new Main(args);
main.go();
}
public Main(String ... args)
{}
public void go()
{
JPanel headerPanel = getPanel(Color.RED);
JPanel footerPanel = getPanel(Color.BLUE);
JPanel p1 = getPanel(Color.GRAY);
JPanel p2 = getPanel(Color.GRAY);
JPanel p3 = getPanel(Color.GRAY);
JPanel p4 = getPanel(Color.GRAY);
GridLayout gridLayout = new GridLayout(2,2);
JPanel middlePanel = new JPanel(gridLayout);
middlePanel.add(p1);
middlePanel.add(p2);
middlePanel.add(p3);
middlePanel.add(p4);
JFrame mainFrame = new JFrame();
mainFrame.add(headerPanel, BorderLayout.NORTH);
mainFrame.add(middlePanel, BorderLayout.CENTER);
mainFrame.add(footerPanel, BorderLayout.SOUTH);
mainFrame.pack();
mainFrame.setVisible(true);
}
private JPanel getPanel(Color c)
{
JPanel result = new JPanel();
result.setBorder(BorderFactory.createLineBorder(c));
return result;
}
}

Best layout for frame

What kind of layout should I use to create a page Like this:
It should be resizable
It has two main panels Right and Left?

Extra space will be given to the 'Main Text' text area, and extra height will be given to the button panel while centering them.
import java.awt.*;
import javax.swing.*;
import javax.swing.border.EmptyBorder;
public class EndOfLineButtonLayout {
public static void main(String[] args) {
Runnable r = new Runnable() {
#Override
public void run() {
// the GUI as seen by the user (without frame)
JPanel gui = new JPanel(new BorderLayout());
gui.setBorder(new EmptyBorder(2, 3, 2, 3));
JPanel textPanel = new JPanel(new BorderLayout(5,5));
textPanel.add(new JScrollPane(new JTextArea("Top Text",3,20)),
BorderLayout.PAGE_START);
textPanel.add(new JScrollPane(new JTextArea("Main Text",10,10)));
gui.add(textPanel, BorderLayout.CENTER);
JPanel buttonCenter = new JPanel(new GridBagLayout());
buttonCenter.setBorder(new EmptyBorder(5,5,5,5));
JPanel buttonPanel = new JPanel(new GridLayout(0,1,5,5));
for (int ii=1; ii<6; ii++) {
buttonPanel.add(new JButton("Button " + ii));
}
// a component added to a GBL with no constraint will be centered
buttonCenter.add(buttonPanel);
gui.add(buttonCenter, BorderLayout.LINE_END);
JFrame f = new JFrame("Demo");
f.add(gui);
// Ensures JVM closes after frame(s) closed and
// all non-daemon threads are finished
f.setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.DISPOSE_ON_CLOSE);
// See http://stackoverflow.com/a/7143398/418556 for demo.
f.setLocationByPlatform(true);
// ensures the frame is the minimum size it needs to be
// in order display the components within it
f.pack();
// should be done last, to avoid flickering, moving,
// resizing artifacts.
f.setVisible(true);
}
};
// Swing GUIs should be created and updated on the EDT
// http://docs.oracle.com/javase/tutorial/uiswing/concurrency/initial.html
SwingUtilities.invokeLater(r);
}
}

You can use gridbag layout, try using netbeans, I have tried it and found really usefull.
Once you create it with netbeans you can use the same and build infact any kind of layout.
best of luck with other solutions.
p.s. border layout is perfect for your requirement, but I mentioned this just in case you would like to do lot more .

I would use BorderLayout.
Create Three JPanels and add them to a JFrame as follows:
public class YourClass extends JFrame{
//code here
this.setLayout(new BorderLayout());
this.add(TopPanel, BorderLayout.NORTH);
this.add(RightPanel, BorderLayout.EAST);
this.add(MainPanel, BorderLayout.CENTER);
this.pack();
this.setVisible(true);

The two main panels would be placed inside a main JPanel using a BorderLayout. The left panel would be placed using BorderLayout.CENTER, and the right panel would be placed using BorderLayout.LINE_END.
The left panel would use a BoxLayout, Y axis to separate the two JPanels within the left panel.
The right buttons panel would use a GridBagLayout. This sizes the buttons the same and allows you to use Insets to add some spacing to the buttons.
The buttons would be spaced from the top to the bottom of the right buttons panel. If you want all the buttons towards the top of the right buttons panel, you would put the right buttons panel inside of another JPanel using a FlowLayout.

Centering a JLabel on a JPanel

I'm using the NetBeans GUI builder to handle my layout (I'm terrible with LayoutManagers) and am trying to place a simple JLabel so that it is always centered (horizontally) inside its parent JPanel. Ideally, this would maintain true even if the JPanel was resized, but if that's a crazy amount of coding than it is sufficient to just be centered when the JPanel is first created.
I'm bad enough trying to handle layouts myself, but since the NetBeans GUI Builder autogenerates immutable code, it's been impossible for me to figure out how to do this centering, and I haven't been able to find anything online to help me.
Thanks to anybody who can steer me in the right direction!

Here are four ways to center a component:
import java.awt.*;
import javax.swing.*;
import javax.swing.border.*;
class CenterComponent {
public static JLabel getLabel(String text) {
return getLabel(text, SwingConstants.LEFT);
}
public static JLabel getLabel(String text, int alignment) {
JLabel l = new JLabel(text, alignment);
l.setBorder(new LineBorder(Color.RED, 2));
return l;
}
public static void main(String[] args) {
SwingUtilities.invokeLater(new Runnable() {
public void run() {
JPanel p = new JPanel(new GridLayout(2,2,4,4));
p.setBackground(Color.black);
p.setBorder(new EmptyBorder(4,4,4,4));
JPanel border = new JPanel(new BorderLayout());
border.add(getLabel(
"Border", SwingConstants.CENTER), BorderLayout.CENTER);
p.add(border);
JPanel gridbag = new JPanel(new GridBagLayout());
gridbag.add(getLabel("GridBag"));
p.add(gridbag);
JPanel grid = new JPanel(new GridLayout());
grid.add(getLabel("Grid", SwingConstants.CENTER));
p.add(grid);
// from #0verbose
JPanel box = new JPanel();
box.setLayout(new BoxLayout(box, BoxLayout.X_AXIS ));
box.add(Box.createHorizontalGlue());
box.add(getLabel("Box"));
box.add(Box.createHorizontalGlue());
p.add(box);
JFrame f = new JFrame("Streeeetch me..");
f.setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
f.setContentPane(p);
f.pack();
f.setLocationByPlatform(true);
f.setVisible(true);
}
});
}
}

By using Borderlayout, you can put any of JComponents to the CENTER area. For an example, see an answer to Stack Overflow question Get rid of the gap between JPanels. This should work.

Even with BoxLayout you can achieve that:
JPanel listPane = new JPanel();
listPane.setLayout(new BoxLayout(listPane, BoxLayout.X_AXIS ));
JLabel label = new JLabel();
listPane.add(Box.createHorizontalGlue());
listPane.add(label);
listPane.add(Box.createHorizontalGlue());
mKorbel's solution is perfect for your goal. Anyway I always like to suggest BoxLayout because it's very flexible.

Mara: "thanks for your response, however the NetBeans GUI Build uses GroupLayout and this is not overridable."
Not true! Right click anywhere inside JFrame (or any other GUI container) in NetBeans GUI builder and select "Set Layout". By default is selected "Free Design", which is Group layout, but you can select any other layout including Border layout as advised by mKorbel.

There's many ways to do this, depending on the layout manager(s) you use. I suggest you read the Laying Out Components Within a Container tutorial.
I believe the following will work, regardless of layout manager:
JLabel.setHorizontalAlignment(SwingConstants.CENTER)