I'm trying to create this basic GUI, but cannot get my panels to setup correctly.(Numbers are pixel sizes)
I've tried using this tutorial as a reference (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kl3klve_rmQ) but, mine never works the same.
My code declares variables in the top of the class, then creates a constructor which add the components (panels, buttons, etc), then it calls the constructor in the main method.
import java.awt.BorderLayout;
import java.awt.Color;
import java.awt.GridBagConstraints;
import java.awt.GridBagLayout;
import javax.swing.BorderFactory;
import javax.swing.JButton;
import javax.swing.JFrame;
import javax.swing.JPanel;
public class FinalProject extends JPanel
{
private static final long serialVersionUID = 1L;
static JPanel nav;
static JPanel queue;
static JPanel menu;
GridBagConstraints gbc = new GridBagConstraints();
public FinalProject()
{
nav = new JPanel();
nav.setLayout(new GridBagLayout());
nav.setBackground(Color.RED);
gbc.gridy = 0;
gbc.gridx = 0;
gbc.gridheight = 1;
gbc.gridwidth = 1;
add(nav, gbc);
queue = new JPanel();
queue.setLayout(new GridBagLayout());
queue.setBackground(Color.GREEN);
gbc.gridy = 1;
gbc.gridx = 1;
gbc.gridheight = 1;
gbc.gridwidth = 1;
add(queue, gbc);
menu = new JPanel();
menu.setLayout(new GridBagLayout());
menu.setBackground(Color.BLUE);
gbc.gridy = 2;
gbc.gridx = 2;
gbc.gridheight = 1;
gbc.gridwidth = 1;
add(menu, gbc);
}
public static void main(String[] args)
{
FinalProject p = new FinalProject();
JFrame f = new JFrame();
f.add(nav);
f.add(queue);
f.add(menu);
f.setTitle("Subway");
f.setSize(800, 500);
f.setLocationRelativeTo(null);
f.setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
f.setVisible(true);
f.setResizable(false);
f.add(p);
}
}
How should I go about getting this layout right? Panels in Panels, Panels independent of each other, etc.?
No, don't use a GridBagLayout for this as you'll be adding more complexity than is actually needed. Myself, I try to avoid using this layout and all its potential pitfalls as much as possible, and usually you can get all you need by nesting JPanels, each using its own more simple layout. For instance here, all you need is a BorderLayout:
Place the top JPanel in the BorderLayout.NORTH position
Place the left JPanel in the BorderLayout.WEST position
Place the center JPanel in the BorderLayout.CENTER position.
That's it.
Again, please check out the Swing and the layout manager tutorials as the information is well presented there.
Edit
Note that nothing shows up on your JFrame because you're not adding your JPanel to the JFrame!
Edit 2
For example:
import java.awt.BorderLayout;
import java.awt.Color;
import java.awt.Dimension;
import java.awt.GridBagLayout;
import javax.swing.*;
public class SimpleLayout {
private static final Color GREEN = new Color(200, 255, 200);
private static final Color BLUE = new Color(200, 200, 255);
private static void createAndShowGui() {
JFrame frame = new JFrame("SimpleLayout");
frame.setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
// note that a JFrame's contentPane uses BorderLayout by default
frame.getContentPane().add(new ColorPanel(Color.pink, 800, 80), BorderLayout.NORTH);
frame.getContentPane().add(new ColorPanel(GREEN, 300, 420), BorderLayout.WEST);
frame.getContentPane().add(new ColorPanel(BLUE, 500, 420), BorderLayout.CENTER);
frame.pack();
frame.setLocationByPlatform(true);
frame.setVisible(true);
}
public static void main(String[] args) {
SwingUtilities.invokeLater(new Runnable() {
public void run() {
createAndShowGui();
}
});
}
}
class ColorPanel extends JPanel {
private static final float FONT_POINTS = 24f;
private int prefW;
private int prefH;
public ColorPanel(Color color, int prefW, int prefH) {
setBackground(color);
this.prefW = prefW;
this.prefH = prefH;
// GBL can be useful for simply centering components
setLayout(new GridBagLayout());
String text = String.format("%d x %d", prefW, prefH);
JLabel label = new JLabel(text, SwingConstants.CENTER);
label.setFont(label.getFont().deriveFont(FONT_POINTS));
label.setForeground(Color.gray);
add(label);
}
#Override
public Dimension getPreferredSize() {
return new Dimension(prefW, prefH);
}
}
This displays as:
GridLayout I've never actually used but I'm not sure if it can do this.
BorderLayout can do this and is simpler to use than GridBagLayout.
GridBagLayout can do this.
In general GridBagLayout is one of the most flexible LayoutManagers and is well worth learning so I'd recommend using it here to get used to it on a simple case before you need it anyway for something more complex.
If you are familiar with HTML then think of GridBagLayout as working like HTML tables.
Very quickly - create the three panels and set the sizes/borders/whatever you need in them.
Add one in cell 0,0 with a colspan of 2.
Add one in cell 1,0
Add one in cell 1,1
After that you are done although you will probably want to specify resize/anchor/etc behaviour.
Related
I am trying to make a text editor with a button that appears at the bottom right of the editor regardless if you scroll up or down and appears over the text area
import javax.swing.*;
import java.awt.*;
public class Problem{
public static void main(String[] args){
//Setting up the frame
JFrame window = new JFrame();
window.setSize(600, 400);
window.setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
//Making the LayeredPane
JLayeredPane LP = new JLayeredPane();
LP.setLayout(new BorderLayout());
//Making the ScrollPane and JTextArea
JTextArea textArea = new JTextArea(100,50);
textArea.setText("Test Text");
JScrollPane back = new JScrollPane();
back.setViewportView(textArea);
//Making the panel that appears in the front of the text
JPanel front = new JPanel();
front.setLayout(null);
front.setBackground(new Color(0,0,0,0));
front.setOpaque(false);
JButton button = new JButton("test");
button.setBounds(200,200,50,20);
front.add(button);
LP.add(back,BorderLayout.CENTER);
LP.setLayer(back,0,0);
LP.add(front,BorderLayout.CENTER);
LP.setLayer(front,1,0);
window.add(LP);
window.setVisible(true);
}
}
I am seeing just the JButton with a white background, if I don't add the second layer "front" I see my back JScrollPane with the JTextArea
Caveat
I'm not a fan of this is idea. It's not a "common" UX concept that many desktop users would be presented with and there are a number of, arguably, better solutions which leverage the pre-existing experience of users.
This requires some "hacking" to get to work, so, there's no guarantee that it will work on all platforms or continue to work into the future.
Why doesn't it work?
This is a rather technical question which delves deep into the core of how Swing, and in particular, the JScrollPane work. Let's just say, I don't have the time or desire to dig into, but I know the JScrollPane is heavy optimised, which may be affecting the way in which anything which overlays it gets updated - or it could just be the way that the painting system works.
Runnable example...
This takes the idea by camickr (all credit to him), but instead of using a OverlayLayout, makes use of a GridBagLayout to position the button. Why? Because the GridBagLayout gives me more control over the position of the button - it's a personal thing.
import java.awt.*;
import java.io.IOException;
import java.io.InputStreamReader;
import java.io.Reader;
import javax.swing.*;
public class Main {
public static void main(String[] args) {
new Main();
}
public Main() {
EventQueue.invokeLater(new Runnable() {
#Override
public void run() {
JFrame frame = new JFrame();
frame.add(new TestPane());
frame.pack();
frame.setLocationRelativeTo(null);
frame.setVisible(true);
}
});
}
public class TestPane extends JPanel {
public TestPane() {
setLayout(new BorderLayout());
JTextArea textArea = new JTextArea(40, 40);
try (Reader reader = new InputStreamReader(getClass().getResourceAsStream("/resources/StarWarsNewHope.txt"))) {
textArea.read(reader, "A long list");
} catch (IOException exp) {
exp.printStackTrace();
}
JButton button = new JButton("Am I in your way yet");
JPanel contentPane = new JPanel() {
#Override
public boolean isOptimizedDrawingEnabled() {
return false;
}
};
contentPane.setLayout(new GridBagLayout());
GridBagConstraints gbc = new GridBagConstraints();
gbc.gridx = 0;
gbc.gridy = 0;
gbc.weightx = 1.0;
gbc.weighty = 1.0;
// Change this to reposition the button some where else
gbc.anchor = GridBagConstraints.FIRST_LINE_END;
gbc.insets = new Insets(32, 32, 32, 32);
gbc.ipadx = 16;
gbc.ipady = 16;
contentPane.add(button, gbc);
gbc = new GridBagConstraints();
gbc.gridx = 0;
gbc.gridy = 0;
gbc.weightx = 1.0;
gbc.weighty = 1.0;
gbc.fill = GridBagConstraints.BOTH;
JScrollPane scrollPane = new JScrollPane(textArea);
contentPane.add(scrollPane, gbc);
add(contentPane);
}
}
}
You should probably also look at How to Use Scroll Panes and the section on Providing Custom Decorations for some alternatives
Swing is designed/optimized to display/paint components in 2 dimensions. The vast majority of layout managers will make sure that the components don't overlap.
This means that you can't use a layout manager on your layered pane (if you want the components to overlap). Instead, you must manually set the size/location of components on each layer.
When you use a JLayeredPane the painting of components on each layer is managed so that the higher layer is painted last.
So your code might be changed to something like:
import java.awt.*;
import javax.swing.*;
public class Main
{
public static void main(String[] args)
{
JFrame window = new JFrame();
window.setSize(600, 400);
window.setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
//Making the LayeredPane
JLayeredPane LP = new JLayeredPane();
//Making the ScrollPane and JTextArea
JTextArea textArea = new JTextArea(20,40);
textArea.setText("Test Text");
textArea.setSize( textArea.getPreferredSize() );
JScrollPane back = new JScrollPane( textArea);
back.setSize( textArea.getSize() );
JButton button = new JButton("test");
button.setBounds(200,200,50,20);
LP.add(back, new Integer(0));
LP.add(button, new Integer(1));
window.add(LP);
window.setVisible(true);
}
}
There is one layout manager in the JDK, the OverlayLayout, which is designed to stack components on top of one another. However, even this layout manager does not paint components properly when the components overlap. The trick when using this layout manager is to override the isOptimizedDrawing() method of the panel using the layout manager to make sure all components are repainted all the time. In this case, make sure the bottom panel is always painted before the top panel.
import java.awt.*;
import javax.swing.*;
import javax.swing.border.*;
public class Main2
{
public static void main(String[] args)
{
JFrame window = new JFrame();
window.setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
JPanel contentPane = new JPanel()
{
#Override
public boolean isOptimizedDrawingEnabled()
{
return false;
}
};
contentPane.setLayout( new OverlayLayout(contentPane) );
JPanel top = new JPanel( new GridBagLayout() );
top.setBorder( new EmptyBorder(0, 0, 16, 16) );
top.setOpaque(false);
top.setAlignmentX(1.0f);
top.setAlignmentY(1.0f);
GridBagConstraints gbc = new GridBagConstraints();
gbc.weightx = 1.0;
gbc.weighty = 1.0;
gbc.anchor = GridBagConstraints.LAST_LINE_END;
JButton button = new JButton("test");
top.add(button, gbc);
contentPane.add(top);
//Making the ScrollPane and JTextArea
JTextArea textArea = new JTextArea(10,25);
textArea.setText("Test Text");
JScrollPane back = new JScrollPane( textArea);
back.setAlignmentX(1.0f);
back.setAlignmentY(1.0f);
contentPane.add(back);
window.add(contentPane);
window.pack();
window.setVisible(true);
}
}
The benefit of this approach is that the button will move as the frame is resized.
However, as a user I would still get annoyed with a button appearing over top of the text in my text area.
Edit:
If you really need components to overlap then I would suggest you could:
look at MadProgrammers solution to use a GridBagLayout. This approach gives far more control over the alignment of the components
check out the Overlap Layout which also provides more flexibility when aligning overlapping components
It should be noted that both above approaches may still require you to override the isOptimizedDrawEnabled(...) method to make sure components are painted properly. I am not aware of any layout manager the allows you to overlap components and works without this override.
I'm creating a gui with java swing who is supposed to be implemented on an LCD touch screen. The gui will take all the screen and is not supposed to be closable. So "setUndecorated(true)" is essential.
Problem, when I'm using it, all the content of the frame is not displaying, only the buttons appears when I'm moving my mouse over them. Then all the content appears when I maximise and minimise the frame.
Here is the code I'm using :
public static void main(String[] args) {
//Création de notre JFrame
fenetre = new JFrame();
fenetre.setTitle("IHM");
fenetre.setSize(800, 600);
fenetre.setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
fenetre.setLocationRelativeTo(null);
support = new JPanel();
///////Adding content to the JPanel()/////////////
fenetre.setContentPane(support);
fenetre.setUndecorated(true);
fenetre.setVisible(true);
}
The only solution I've find so far is to change the size of the frame after set the frame visible like so :
fenetre.setSize(801, 601);
fenetre.setSize(800, 600);
But I'm not really correcting the problem, just getting around it.
(EDIT)
My appologies for that uncomplete code.
Here is a complete exemple that you can test yourself.
First test it with undecorated to false, then try with undecorated to true and visualise the content of the window by maximising and minimising the gui.
Finally, try it with the Quick fix in the bottom of the code.
the code :
package test;
import java.awt.Color;
import java.awt.GridBagConstraints;
import java.awt.GridBagLayout;
import java.awt.Insets;
import java.awt.event.ActionEvent;
import java.awt.event.ActionListener;
import javax.swing.JButton;
import javax.swing.JComboBox;
import javax.swing.JFrame;
import javax.swing.JLabel;
import javax.swing.JPanel;
public class test {
//Declarations
private static JFrame fenetre;
private static JPanel support;
private static JLabel l1, l2;
private static JComboBox<String> c1, c2;
private static JButton b1, b2;
//List to initiate the comboBoxes
private static String[] listC1 = {"Peter", "Alex", "Jhon", "Bran"};
private static String[] listC2 = {"10", "20", "32", "45"};
public static void main(String[] args) {
//Initialisation of the JFrame
fenetre = new JFrame();
fenetre.setTitle("IHM");
fenetre.setSize(800, 600);
fenetre.setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
fenetre.setLocationRelativeTo(null);
//Initialisation of the JPanel
support = new JPanel();
support.setBackground(Color.red);
support.setPreferredSize(fenetre.getSize());
//Initialisation of the components
l1 = new JLabel("What's my name");
l2 = new JLabel("What's my age");
c1 = new JComboBox<String>(listC1);
c2 = new JComboBox<String>(listC2);
b1 = new JButton("validate name");
b2 = new JButton("validate age");
//Creating layout
support.setLayout(new GridBagLayout());
GridBagConstraints gbc = new GridBagConstraints();
//Adding components
gbc.fill = GridBagConstraints.BOTH;
gbc.insets = new Insets(20, 20, 0, 0);
gbc.gridx = 0;
gbc.gridy = 0;
support.add(l1, gbc);
gbc.gridy = 1;
support.add(c1, gbc);
gbc.insets = new Insets(20, 20, 20, 0);
gbc.gridy = 2;
support.add(b1, gbc);
gbc.insets = new Insets(20, 20, 0, 20);
gbc.gridx = 1;
gbc.gridy = 0;
support.add(l2, gbc);
gbc.gridy = 1;
support.add(c2, gbc);
gbc.insets = new Insets(20, 20, 20, 20);
gbc.gridy = 2;
support.add(b2, gbc);
//Adding Listeners
b1.addActionListener(new ActionListener() {
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e) {
System.out.println("My name is " + c1.getSelectedItem());
}
});
b2.addActionListener(new ActionListener() {
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e) {
System.out.println("My age is " + c2.getSelectedItem());
}
});
//Adding the JPanel to the content pane of the JFrame
fenetre.setContentPane(support);
//Setting undecorated true (switch between true and false for testing)
fenetre.setUndecorated(false);
fenetre.setVisible(true);
//Quick fix, uncomment to test
//fenetre.setSize(801, 601);
//fenetre.setSize(800, 600);
}
}
You don't add any buttons to your JPanel so how do you expect it to display them?
Either way, here's a simple example of displaying a button:
JFrame fenetre = new JFrame();
fenetre.setTitle("IHM");
fenetre.setExtendedState(JFrame.MAXIMIZED_BOTH);
fenetre.setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.DO_NOTHING_ON_CLOSE);
fenetre.setLocationRelativeTo(null);
JPanel support = new JPanel();
JButton button = new JButton("button");
support.add(button);
fenetre.setContentPane(support);
fenetre.setVisible(true);
Note that you should use a proper layout.
I also added setExtendedState(JFrame.MAXIMIZED_BOTH) to fill the screen, and setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.DO_NOTHING_ON_CLOSE) as you didn't want the screen to be closable.
Problem, when I'm using it, all the content of the frame is not displaying, only the buttons appears when I'm moving my mouse over them.
Components should be added to the panel/frame BEFORE the frame is made visible.
If you add components to a visible frame, then the basic logic is:
panel.add(...);
panel.revalidate(); // to invoke the layout manager
panel.repaint(); // make sure panel is repainted
I've been having trouble with my Java Swing GUI. First of all, I created a panel with the GridBagLayout on it and added all my labels to it. However, I also created a panel to the right of the other JPanel that adds in a button and 2 sliders which are suppose to like match with the labels.
The problem is that the JLabels are smaller than the components from the right of the other panel which, makes it look like this....
ex. water option -- JSLIDER (the jslider looks a lot bigger)
I tried to make the components larger by adding ipadx to a bigger value and also I've tried to set the grid width for the labels panel bigger, but nothing seems to work. It just doesn't respond.
Here is the code:
package gui;
import java.awt.GridBagConstraints;
import java.awt.GridBagLayout;
import java.awt.event.ActionEvent;
import java.awt.event.ActionListener;
import javax.swing.JButton;
import javax.swing.JFrame;
import javax.swing.JLabel;
import javax.swing.JPanel;
import javax.swing.JSlider;
public class Options extends JFrame{
//water option (button changes text on or off)
//make a button listener
JSlider renderDistance;
JSlider grassDensity;
JButton waterToggleButton;
JLabel rdTitle;
JLabel gdTitle;
JLabel wtTitle;
JButton buttonClose;
static final int RD_MIN_VALUE = 0;
static final int RD_MAX_VALUE = 1000;
static final int RD_INIT_VALUE = 500;
static final int GD_MIN_VALUE = 0;
static final int GD_MAX_VALUE = 1000;
static final int GD_INIT_VALUE = 500;
public Options() {
this.setTitle("Settings");
this.setSize(getMaximumSize());
this.setLocationRelativeTo(null);
createView();
this.setVisible(true);
}
private void createView() {
//Making panels and adding them to window*
JPanel pOptions = new JPanel();
this.add(pOptions);
//These are for the labels that I added so people know which option they are using
JPanel pOptionLabels = new JPanel(new GridBagLayout());
pOptions.add(pOptionLabels);
//These are for the middle columns, the objects like button and slider
JPanel pOptionObjects = new JPanel(new GridBagLayout());
pOptions.add(pOptionObjects);
//Making panels and adding them to window*
//Initializing Objects*
GridBagConstraints gbcLabels = new GridBagConstraints();
GridBagConstraints gbcObjects = new GridBagConstraints();
renderDistance = new JSlider(RD_MIN_VALUE, RD_MAX_VALUE, RD_INIT_VALUE);
grassDensity = new JSlider(GD_MIN_VALUE, GD_MAX_VALUE, GD_INIT_VALUE);
waterToggleButton = new JButton("On");
rdTitle = new JLabel("Render Distance");
gdTitle = new JLabel("Grass Density");
wtTitle = new JLabel("Water Terrain Visibility");
//Initializing Objects*
//Giving objects some attributes using methods*
renderDistance.setMinorTickSpacing(100);
renderDistance.setMajorTickSpacing(500);
renderDistance.setPaintTicks(true);
renderDistance.setPaintLabels(true);
grassDensity.setMinorTickSpacing(100);
grassDensity.setMajorTickSpacing(500);
grassDensity.setPaintTicks(true);
grassDensity.setPaintLabels(true);
gbcLabels.gridx = 0;
gbcLabels.gridy = 0;
gbcLabels.anchor = GridBagConstraints.LINE_START;
gbcObjects.gridx = 0;
gbcObjects.gridy = 0;
waterToggleButton.addActionListener(new ActionListener() {
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e) {
if(waterToggleButton.getText().equals("Off")) {
waterToggleButton.setText("On");
}else {
waterToggleButton.setText("Off");
}
}
});
//Giving objects some attributes using methods*
//Add things to panel ex. p.add();
pOptionLabels.add(rdTitle, gbcLabels);
gbcLabels.gridy++;
pOptionLabels.add(gdTitle, gbcLabels);
gbcLabels.gridy++;
pOptionLabels.add(wtTitle, gbcLabels);
gbcObjects.gridx++;
pOptionObjects.add(renderDistance, gbcObjects);
gbcObjects.gridy++;
pOptionObjects.add(grassDensity, gbcObjects);
gbcObjects.gridy++;
pOptionObjects.add(waterToggleButton, gbcObjects);
}
public static void main(String[] args) {
new Options();
}
}
Change the way you are thinking. Instead of trying to layout all the labels and all the "other" components in separate containers, consider putting them all in the same container.
This way, when they are laid out, the layout calculations are made in relationship to all the components in a single context.
import java.awt.GridBagConstraints;
import java.awt.GridBagLayout;
import java.awt.Insets;
import java.awt.event.ActionEvent;
import java.awt.event.ActionListener;
import javax.swing.JButton;
import javax.swing.JFrame;
import javax.swing.JLabel;
import javax.swing.JPanel;
import javax.swing.JSlider;
public class Options extends JFrame {
//water option (button changes text on or off)
//make a button listener
JSlider renderDistance;
JSlider grassDensity;
JButton waterToggleButton;
JLabel rdTitle;
JLabel gdTitle;
JLabel wtTitle;
JButton buttonClose;
static final int RD_MIN_VALUE = 0;
static final int RD_MAX_VALUE = 1000;
static final int RD_INIT_VALUE = 500;
static final int GD_MIN_VALUE = 0;
static final int GD_MAX_VALUE = 1000;
static final int GD_INIT_VALUE = 500;
public Options() {
this.setTitle("Settings");
createView();
pack();
this.setLocationRelativeTo(null);
this.setVisible(true);
}
private void createView() {
//Making panels and adding them to window*
JPanel pOptions = new JPanel();
this.add(pOptions);
//These are for the labels that I added so people know which option they are using
JPanel pOptionLabels = new JPanel(new GridBagLayout());
pOptions.add(pOptionLabels);
GridBagConstraints gbc = new GridBagConstraints();
renderDistance = new JSlider(RD_MIN_VALUE, RD_MAX_VALUE, RD_INIT_VALUE);
grassDensity = new JSlider(GD_MIN_VALUE, GD_MAX_VALUE, GD_INIT_VALUE);
waterToggleButton = new JButton("On");
rdTitle = new JLabel("Render Distance");
gdTitle = new JLabel("Grass Density");
wtTitle = new JLabel("Water Terrain Visibility");
//Initializing Objects*
//Giving objects some attributes using methods*
renderDistance.setMinorTickSpacing(100);
renderDistance.setMajorTickSpacing(500);
renderDistance.setPaintTicks(true);
renderDistance.setPaintLabels(true);
grassDensity.setMinorTickSpacing(100);
grassDensity.setMajorTickSpacing(500);
grassDensity.setPaintTicks(true);
grassDensity.setPaintLabels(true);
gbc.gridx = 0;
gbc.gridy = 0;
gbc.anchor = GridBagConstraints.LINE_START;
gbc.insets = new Insets(2, 2, 2, 2);
waterToggleButton.addActionListener(new ActionListener() {
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e) {
if (waterToggleButton.getText().equals("Off")) {
waterToggleButton.setText("On");
} else {
waterToggleButton.setText("Off");
}
}
});
//Giving objects some attributes using methods*
//Add things to panel ex. p.add();
pOptionLabels.add(rdTitle, gbc);
gbc.gridy++;
pOptionLabels.add(gdTitle, gbc);
gbc.gridy++;
pOptionLabels.add(wtTitle, gbc);
gbc.gridx++;
gbc.gridy = 0;
pOptionLabels.add(renderDistance, gbc);
gbc.gridy++;
pOptionLabels.add(grassDensity, gbc);
gbc.gridy++;
pOptionLabels.add(waterToggleButton, gbc);
}
public static void main(String[] args) {
new Options();
}
}
What you are experiencing is technically correct since you have two JPanels with two separate instances of the GridBagLayout manager so the rows (and columns) in one layout manager have no information about the rows in the other.
A single GridBagLayout is the way to go if you plan to use JComponents inside them and create a table like appearance. You can later add others JPanels (with different layout managers or with more GridBagLayouts!) but INSIDE your main GridBagLayout JPanel.
GridBagLayout is a really powerful layout, I would recommend sticking with is and master it since it will help you layout things nicely (and fast) in the long run.
This is a great resource to learn more about the GridBagLayout:
https://docs.oracle.com/javase/tutorial/uiswing/layout/gridbag.html
One small comment: IMO the GridBagLayout is not the best layout manager to use as the "root" layout container. I would instead recommend creating a "root" JPanel with a BorderLayout() and add your GridBagLayout JPanel to the center of the BorderLayout panel add(yourGridPanel, BorderLayout.CENTER) since the BorderLayout usually gives for free the ability for things to fill horizontally/vertically and will let you pack your window nicely at the center (with the possibility of adding more things later to the NORTH/SOUTH/EAST/WEST sides).
Good luck!
What I am looking for is a suggestion for the best layout to use for my scenario. I basically have any number of child panels which can be in a container panel that can be dynamically resized by the user. All of the child panels will be 300 pixels in width, and can have a variable height. I would like the panels to be placed into the panel from left-to-right, top-to-bottom, just like the FlowLayout. However, anything I try with the FlowLayout will vertically center the panel with less height. I would instead like the panel to be anchored to the top of the screen.
I have created the following example using the FlowLayout to show what I mean.
import java.awt.Dimension;
import java.awt.FlowLayout;
import java.awt.GridBagConstraints;
import java.awt.GridBagLayout;
import javax.swing.JButton;
import javax.swing.JFrame;
import javax.swing.JLabel;
import javax.swing.JPanel;
public class DynamicPanel extends JPanel {
public static void main(String args[]) {
java.awt.EventQueue.invokeLater(new Runnable() {
#Override
public void run() {
JFrame frame = new JFrame("Test");
frame.add(new DynamicPanel());
frame.setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
frame.pack();
frame.setVisible(true);
}
});
}
public DynamicPanel() {
setupGUI();
}
private void setupGUI() {
this.setLayout(new FlowLayout(FlowLayout.LEFT));
this.add(getPanel(1, 4));
this.add(getPanel(2, 2));
}
private JPanel getPanel(int panelNum, int numButtons) {
JPanel panel = new JPanel(new GridBagLayout()) {
#Override
public Dimension getPreferredSize() {
Dimension ret = super.getPreferredSize();
ret.width = 300;
return ret;
}
};
panel.add(new JLabel("Panel "+panelNum), getGrid(0, 0, 1.0, 0));
for(int i = 0; i < numButtons; i++) {
panel.add(new JButton("Button"), getGrid(0, i+1, 1.0, 0));
}
return panel;
}
/*
* Returns the GridBagConstraints for the given x, y grid location
*/
private GridBagConstraints getGrid(int x, int y, double xweight, double yweight) {
GridBagConstraints c = new GridBagConstraints();
c.fill = GridBagConstraints.BOTH;
c.gridx = x;
c.gridy = y;
c.weightx = xweight;
c.weighty = yweight;
return c;
}
}
In this example, I would like the labels Panel1, and Panel2 to be straight across from each other, instead of Panel2 being set lower because the associated panel is centered.
I guess I could use GridBagLayout, and add a component listener to the container panel, and edit the GridBagContraints accordingly for each child panel when the container panel is resized, but I am wondering if there is a better way to do this? In case this matters, in the actual program the child panels will be custom panels, not just a list of buttons.
Thanks in advance for any help!
I was able to achieve this
Using this...
private void setupGUI() {
this.setLayout(new GridBagLayout());
GridBagConstraints gbc = new GridBagConstraints();
gbc.anchor = GridBagConstraints.NORTH;
gbc.weighty = 1;
this.add(getPanel(1, 4), gbc);
this.add(getPanel(2, 2), gbc);
}
The problem is, you're going to need to get your hands a little dirty, as no layout manager will do exactly what you want (with the possible exception of MigLayout, but I've never used it)
What I would do, is create a JPanel per row, set it's layout to GridBagLayout and use the above concept to layout to layout the number of columns you need, then do this for each row...
I'm prgramming a simple input diagram in Swing. I use boxLayout to create a simple GUI of user input. Problem is that creating a horizontal strut between the JPanel of all the labels and the JPanel of the JTextFields causes the whole panel to shift downwards (weird) this is the whole panel:
private JPanel secondCard() {
//main panel. set the boxlayout
secondCard = new JPanel();
secondCard.setLayout(new BoxLayout(secondCard,BoxLayout.Y_AXIS));
// create vertical strut for looks
secondCard.add(Box.createVerticalStrut(20));
// create title. center it.
JLabel title = new JLabel("Configure main network parameters ");
title.setAlignmentX(CENTER_ALIGNMENT);
secondCard.add(title);
// create vertical strut for looks
secondCard.add(Box.createVerticalStrut(20));
// create panel for the description labels
JPanel labelPanel = new JPanel();
labelPanel.setLayout(new BoxLayout(labelPanel,BoxLayout.Y_AXIS));
labelPanel.setAlignmentX(LEFT_ALIGNMENT);
JLabel inPut =new JLabel("number of inputs");
inPut.setAlignmentX(LEFT_ALIGNMENT);
labelPanel.add(inPut);
inPut =new JLabel("number of outputs");
inPut.setAlignmentX(LEFT_ALIGNMENT);
labelPanel.add(inPut);
inPut =new JLabel("number of layers");
inPut.setAlignmentX(LEFT_ALIGNMENT);
labelPanel.add(inPut);
JPanel textFieldPanel = new JPanel();
textFieldPanel.setLayout(new BoxLayout(textFieldPanel,BoxLayout.Y_AXIS));
textFieldPanel.setAlignmentX(LEFT_ALIGNMENT);
JTextField inputTextField = new JTextField();
inputTextField.setAlignmentX(LEFT_ALIGNMENT);
textFieldPanel.add(inputTextField);
inputTextField.setMinimumSize(new Dimension(0,0));
inputTextField = new JTextField();
inputTextField.setAlignmentX(LEFT_ALIGNMENT);
textFieldPanel.add(inputTextField);
inputTextField.setMinimumSize(new Dimension(0,0));
inputTextField = new JTextField();
inputTextField.setAlignmentX(LEFT_ALIGNMENT);
textFieldPanel.add(inputTextField);
inputTextField.setMinimumSize(new Dimension(0,0));
textFieldPanel.setMaximumSize(new Dimension(50, labelPanel.getMaximumSize().height));
JPanel inputPanel = new JPanel();
inputPanel.setLayout(new BoxLayout(inputPanel,BoxLayout.X_AXIS));
inputPanel.setAlignmentX(CENTER_ALIGNMENT);
inputPanel.add(labelPanel);
//this is the problem strut!! it causes inputPanel to shift downwards
inputPanel.add(Box.createHorizontalStrut(20));
inputPanel.add(textFieldPanel);
secondCard.add(inputPanel);
return secondCard;
}
without the strut it looks like:
With strut it looks like (I know I suck at picture editing):
You are adding a Box strut to a BoxLayout.
As the javadoc states, createHorizontalStrut(int width):
Creates an invisible, fixed-width component. In a horizontal box, you
typically use this method to force a certain amount of space between
two components. In a vertical box, you might use this method to force
the box to be at least the specified width. The invisible component
has no height unless excess space is available, in which case it takes
its share of available space, just like any other component that has
no maximum height.
As such, it is filling the height between your title JLabel and the bottom of the JPanel.
You might want to consider using Box.createRigidArea(new Dimension(20, height)) instead, where height could be specified or set to the height of labelPanel.
Or, you could reconsider the layout for your JPanel - take a look at the visual guide.
For future reference, if you cannot make sense of your Swing layout, try putting adding a coloured LineBorder to the JComponents you're unsure of. In this case, the Box struts are not JComponents but Components, so you'd have to put them into a JPanel, but this would at least have shown you what space each component was taking up in your top-level JPanel.
use Cardlayout for wizard logics
put JLabel(Configure ...., JLabel.CENTER) to the BorderLayout.NORTH
put JPanel with JButtons to the BorderLayout.SOUTH
put JPanel with SpringLayout, GridLayout, or GridBagLayout to the BorderLayout.CENTER
Top-Level Container have got implemened BorderLayout by default, then there no reason to re_define BorderLayout
above mentioned steps are called NestedLayout
alternative are put all JComponents by using GridBagLayout, SpringLayout or todays MigLayout to the one JPanel, but why bothering
Example of a nested layout, one using BorderLayout, FlowLayout (JPanel's default), and GridBagLayout:
import java.awt.BorderLayout;
import java.awt.GridBagConstraints;
import java.awt.GridBagLayout;
import java.awt.Insets;
import java.util.HashMap;
import java.util.Map;
import javax.swing.*;
public class LayoutFoo {
private static final String TITLE = "Configure Main Foobar Parameters";
private static final String[] LABEL_TEXTS = {
"Number of Spams", "Number of Frapzats", "Number of Zignuts"
};
private static final int TEXTFIELD_SIZE = 10;
private static final Insets WEST_INSETS = new Insets(5, 5, 5, 10);
private static final Insets EAST_INSETS = new Insets(5, 10, 5, 5);
private static final int EB_GAP = 5;
private Map<String, JTextField> textFieldMap = new HashMap<String, JTextField>();
public JPanel getConfigFooPanel() {
JPanel textFieldPanel = new JPanel(new GridBagLayout());
for (int i = 0; i < LABEL_TEXTS.length; i++) {
addTextAndField(textFieldPanel, LABEL_TEXTS[i], i);
}
int blVertGap = 20;
JPanel borderLayoutPanel = new JPanel(new BorderLayout(0, blVertGap));
borderLayoutPanel.setBorder(BorderFactory.createEmptyBorder(EB_GAP, EB_GAP,
EB_GAP, EB_GAP));
JLabel titleLabel = new JLabel(TITLE, JLabel.CENTER);
borderLayoutPanel.add(titleLabel, BorderLayout.PAGE_START);
borderLayoutPanel.add(textFieldPanel, BorderLayout.CENTER);
JPanel outerWrapperFlowPanel = new JPanel();
outerWrapperFlowPanel.add(borderLayoutPanel);
return outerWrapperFlowPanel;
}
public String getFieldText(String labelText) {
JTextField field = textFieldMap.get(labelText);
if (field == null) {
return ""; // ?? throw exception
} else {
return field.getText();
}
}
private void addTextAndField(JPanel panel, String text, int i) {
JLabel label = new JLabel(text, JLabel.LEFT);
JTextField textField = new JTextField(TEXTFIELD_SIZE);
textFieldMap.put(text, textField);
GridBagConstraints gbc = new GridBagConstraints();
gbc.gridx = 0;
gbc.gridy = i;
gbc.gridwidth = 1;
gbc.gridheight = 1;
gbc.weightx = 1.0;
gbc.weighty = 1.0;
gbc.fill = GridBagConstraints.HORIZONTAL;
gbc.anchor = GridBagConstraints.WEST;
gbc.insets = WEST_INSETS;
panel.add(label, gbc);
gbc.gridx = 1;
gbc.anchor = GridBagConstraints.EAST;
gbc.insets = EAST_INSETS;
panel.add(textField, gbc);
}
private static void createAndShowGui() {
JFrame frame = new JFrame("LayoutFoo");
frame.setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
frame.getContentPane().add(new LayoutFoo().getConfigFooPanel());
frame.pack();
frame.setLocationRelativeTo(null);
frame.setVisible(true);
}
public static void main(String[] args) {
SwingUtilities.invokeLater(new Runnable() {
public void run() {
createAndShowGui();
}
});
}
}