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Java Swing BoxLayout: Adjusting space between panels in a multi-panel setup?

I'm writing this swing application and I'm using multiple panels in a BoxLayout format, but it seems to be that the empty space between the panels is being divided up between them and it looks really ugly. How do you adjust and customize how much space is put between panels? Sorry if this is a repost; I was unable to find an older post.
import java.awt.*;
import java.awt.datatransfer.Clipboard;
import java.awt.datatransfer.StringSelection;
import java.awt.event.ActionEvent;
import java.awt.event.ActionListener;
import javax.swing.*;
import javax.swing.event.ChangeEvent;
import javax.swing.event.ChangeListener;
class gui extends JFrame implements ActionListener{
JFrame frame = new JFrame("Ark Admin Spawn Commands");
JPanel panel = new JPanel();
JComboBox dinos;
JComboBox corruptedDinos;
public JSlider dinoLevel;
JLabel input;
JLabel dino;
JLabel title;
gui(){
this.setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
JPanel mainPanel = new JPanel();
mainPanel.setLayout(new BoxLayout(mainPanel, BoxLayout.Y_AXIS));
JPanel panelOne = new JPanel();
JPanel panelTwo = new JPanel();
JPanel panelThree = new JPanel();
mainPanel.add(panelOne);
mainPanel.add(panelTwo);
mainPanel.add(panelThree);
title = new JLabel("Spawning Dinos");
String[] dinoNames= {"The Island:"};
String[] corruptedDinoNames = {"Extinction:"};
dinos = new JComboBox(dinoNames);
corruptedDinos = new JComboBox(corruptedDinoNames);
dinoLevel = new JSlider(JSlider.HORIZONTAL, 1, 600, 400);
dinoLevel.setMajorTickSpacing(20);
dinoLevel.setPaintTicks(true);
input = new JLabel("Select Level: ");
event e = new event();
dinoLevel.addChangeListener(e);
dinos.addActionListener(this);
corruptedDinos.addActionListener(this);
panelOne.add(title);
panelTwo.add(input);
panelTwo.add(dinoLevel);
panelThree.add(dinos);
panelThree.add(corruptedDinos);
this.getContentPane().add(mainPanel);
this.setTitle("Ark Admin Spawn Commands");
this.setSize(600, 600);
this.setVisible(true);
}
public static void main (String args[]) {
new gui();
}
public class event implements ChangeListener{
#Override
public void stateChanged(ChangeEvent e) {
int value = dinoLevel.getValue();
input.setText("Level: " + value);
}
}
#Override
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent arg0) {
}
}

but it seems to be that the empty space between the panels is being divided up between them
Correct. A BoxLayout will attempt to allocate extra space to all components.
However, it will respect the maximum size of each panel.
So to prevent the panels height from growing you can use code like:
JPanel panelOne = new JPanel()
{
#Override
public dimension getMaximumSize()
{
Dimension d = getPreferredSize()
d.width = Integer.MAX_VALUE;
return d;
}
};
Or because the default layout manager of the frame is a BorderLayout, you can just use:
//this.getContentPane().add(mainPanel);
add(mainPanel, BorderLayout.PAGE_START); // getContentPane() is not needed
The PAGE_START of the BorderLayout respects the preferred height of the component.

How do I change JFrame size from the minimum window size?

I am trying to learn how to use CardLayout instead of multiple JFrames and I am messing around with this code I found on youtube. I tried calling setSize() on all the JPanes but it does not change the size and it remains at the minimum window size. Is the reason I can't set the size because of this line of code: "panelCont.setLayout(cl);" ?
import javax.swing.*;
import java.awt.*;
import java.awt.event.*;
public class CLayout {
JFrame frame = new JFrame("CardLayout");
JPanel panelCont = new JPanel();
JPanel panelFirst = new JPanel();
JPanel panelSecond = new JPanel();
JButton buttonOne = new JButton("Switch to second panel");
JButton buttonSecond = new JButton("Switch to first panel");
CardLayout cl = new CardLayout();
public CLayout() {
panelCont.setLayout(cl);
panelFirst.add(buttonOne);
panelSecond.add(buttonSecond);
panelFirst.setBackground(Color.BLUE);
panelSecond.setBackground(Color.GREEN);
panelCont.add(panelFirst, "1");
panelCont.add(panelSecond, "2");
cl.show(panelCont, "1");
buttonOne.addActionListener(new ActionListener() {
#Override
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e) {
cl.show(panelCont, "2");
}
});
buttonSecond.addActionListener(new ActionListener() {
#Override
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e) {
cl.show(panelCont, "1");
}
});
frame.add(panelCont);
frame.setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.DISPOSE_ON_CLOSE);
frame.pack();
frame.setVisible(true);
}
public static void main(String[] args) {
SwingUtilities.invokeLater(new Runnable() {
#Override
public void run() {
new CLayout();
}
});
}
}

Yes, it's for CardLayout but also it's possible to do resize. You can nest your JPanels for instance. or use something like this :
Code
import java.awt.*;
import java.awt.event.*;
import javax.swing.*;
import javax.swing.border.Border;
public class MultiSizedPanels {
private static void createAndShowUI() {
final CardLayout cardLayout = new CardLayout();
final JPanel cardHolder = new JPanel(cardLayout);
JLabel[] labels = {
new JLabel("Small Label", SwingConstants.CENTER),
new JLabel("Medium Label", SwingConstants.CENTER),
new JLabel("Large Label", SwingConstants.CENTER)};
for (int i = 0; i < labels.length; i++) {
int padding = 50;
Dimension size = labels[i].getPreferredSize();
size = new Dimension(size.width + 2 * (i + 1) * padding, size.height + 2 * (i + 1) * padding);
labels[i].setPreferredSize(size);
Border lineBorder = BorderFactory.createLineBorder(Color.blue);
labels[i].setBorder(lineBorder);
JPanel containerPanel = new JPanel(new GridBagLayout());
containerPanel.add(labels[i]);
cardHolder.add(containerPanel, String.valueOf(i));
}
JButton nextButton = new JButton("Next");
nextButton.addActionListener(new ActionListener() {
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e) {
cardLayout.next(cardHolder);
}
});
JPanel btnHolder = new JPanel();
btnHolder.add(nextButton);
JFrame frame = new JFrame("MultiSizedPanels");
frame.getContentPane().add(cardHolder, BorderLayout.CENTER);
frame.getContentPane().add(btnHolder, BorderLayout.SOUTH);
frame.setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
frame.pack();
frame.setLocationRelativeTo(null);
frame.setVisible(true);
}
public static void main(String[] args) {
java.awt.EventQueue.invokeLater(new Runnable() {
public void run() {
createAndShowUI();
}
});
}
}
Where component (here a JLabel rather than a JPanel) has it's preferredSize set, then place it in another JPanel.
I hope this helps you.

Why JPanel.focusGaind and Lost don't work?

Please take a look at the following code (I've missed the imports purposely)
public class MainFrame extends JFrame {
private JPanel contentPane;
public static void main(String[] args) {
EventQueue.invokeLater(new Runnable() {
public void run() {
try {
MainFrame frame = new MainFrame();
frame.setVisible(true);
} catch (Exception e) {
e.printStackTrace();
}
}
});
}
public MainFrame() {
setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
setBounds(100, 100, 450, 300);
contentPane = new JPanel();
contentPane.setBorder(new EmptyBorder(5, 5, 5, 5));
setContentPane(contentPane);
contentPane.setLayout(null);
JTabbedPane tabbedPane = new JTabbedPane(JTabbedPane.TOP);
tabbedPane.setBounds(10, 11, 414, 240);
contentPane.add(tabbedPane);
JPanel panel = new JPanel();
panel.addFocusListener(new FocusListener() {
#Override
public void focusLost(FocusEvent arg0) {
System.out.println("lost");
// I want to do something here, if I reach here!
}
#Override
public void focusGained(FocusEvent arg0) {
System.out.println("gained");
// I want to do something here, if I reach here!
}
});
tabbedPane.addTab("New tab", null, panel, null);
JButton button = new JButton("New button");
panel.add(button);
JPanel panel_1 = new JPanel();
tabbedPane.addTab("New tab", null, panel_1, null);
JPanel panel_2 = new JPanel();
tabbedPane.addTab("New tab", null, panel_2, null);
}
}
I've created this class to test it and then add the onFocusListener in my main code, but it's not working the way I expect. Please tell what's wrong or is this the right EvenetListener at all?

JPanels are not focusable by default. If you ever wanted to use a FocusListener on them, you'd first have to change this property via setFocusable(true).
But even if you do this, a FocusListener is not what you want.
Instead I'd look to listen to the JTabbedPane's model for changes. It uses a SingleSelectionModel, and you can add a ChangeListener to this model, listen for changes, check the component that is currently being displayed and if your component, react.
You are using setBounds and null layouts, something that you will want to avoid doing if you are planning on creating and maintaining anything more than a toy Swing program.
Edit
For example:
import java.awt.BorderLayout;
import java.awt.Component;
import java.awt.Dimension;
import javax.swing.*;
import javax.swing.event.*;
#SuppressWarnings("serial")
public class MainPanel extends JPanel {
private static final int PREF_W = 450;
private static final int PREF_H = 300;
private static final int GAP = 5;
private static final int TAB_COUNT = 5;
private JTabbedPane tabbedPane = new JTabbedPane();
public MainPanel() {
for (int i = 0; i < TAB_COUNT; i++) {
JPanel panel = new JPanel();
panel.add(new JButton("Button " + (i + 1)));
panel.setName("Panel " + (i + 1));
tabbedPane.add(panel.getName(), panel);
}
setBorder(BorderFactory.createEmptyBorder(GAP, GAP, GAP, GAP));
setLayout(new BorderLayout());
add(tabbedPane, BorderLayout.CENTER);
tabbedPane.getModel().addChangeListener(new ChangeListener() {
#Override
public void stateChanged(ChangeEvent evt) {
Component component = tabbedPane.getSelectedComponent();
System.out.println("Component Selected: " + component.getName());
}
});
}
#Override
public Dimension getPreferredSize() {
return new Dimension(PREF_W, PREF_H);
}
private static void createAndShowGui() {
MainPanel mainPanel = new MainPanel();
JFrame frame = new JFrame("MainPanel");
frame.setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
frame.getContentPane().add(mainPanel);
frame.pack();
frame.setLocationByPlatform(true);
frame.setVisible(true);
}
public static void main(String[] args) {
SwingUtilities.invokeLater(new Runnable() {
public void run() {
createAndShowGui();
}
});
}
}

JPanel is a lightweight container and it is not a Actionable component so it does not get focus events. It lets you add focus listener because of swing component hierarchy. In Order to get tab selected events you need to use JTabbedPane#addChangeListener.
Hope this helps.

Cleaning up a Nested J panel

Rebuilt the SCCE for you guys.
My goal is this
The general idea is that clicking on the title bars of the menus (right side) will collapsible (set visible to false) the content panes associated with them:
gender_panel_BG collapses gender_panel_body
race_panel_BG collapses race_panel_body
class_panel_BG collapses class_panel_body
base_stats_panel_BG collapses base_stats_panel_body
merits_panel_BG collapses merits_panel_body
You get the idea
Another thing that is bugging me is the huge space at the top of the body and it's content.
Gradient bar img source
background source source
import java.awt.BorderLayout;
import java.awt.Color;
import java.awt.EventQueue;
import java.awt.GridBagConstraints;
import java.awt.GridBagLayout;
import java.awt.GridLayout;
import javax.swing.JFrame;
import javax.swing.JLabel;
import javax.swing.JPanel;
import javax.swing.JScrollPane;
import javax.swing.UIManager;
import javax.swing.UnsupportedLookAndFeelException;
import javax.swing.border.EmptyBorder;
import javax.swing.border.LineBorder;
import java.awt.*;
import javax.swing.*;
import javax.swing.text.*;
import java.awt.Graphics;
import java.awt.Point;
import java.awt.event.*;
public class JaGCharCreation {
//set inital size of window
Dimension screenSize = Toolkit.getDefaultToolkit().getScreenSize();
int initalWidth = (int) screenSize.width - 50;
int initalHeight = (int) screenSize.height - 50;
JPanel gender_panel_body;
GridBagConstraints gbc;
JLabel viewdata_gender = new JLabel("gender");
ImageIcon BGicon = new ImageIcon("parchmentTall.jpg");
Image img1 = BGicon.getImage();
public static void main(String[] args) {
new JaGCharCreation ();
}
//set up thread safe invoking for GUI
public JaGCharCreation () {
EventQueue.invokeLater(new Runnable() {
#Override
public void run() {
try {
UIManager.setLookAndFeel(UIManager.getSystemLookAndFeelClassName());
} catch (ClassNotFoundException | InstantiationException | IllegalAccessException | UnsupportedLookAndFeelException ex) {
}
JFrame frame = new JFrame("Testing");
frame.setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
frame.setLayout(new BorderLayout());
frame.add(new TestPane());
frame.pack();
//frame.setLocationRelativeTo(null);
frame.setVisible(true);
// Give the frame an initial size.
frame.setSize(initalWidth, initalHeight);
}
});
}
//main panel to hold all others
public class TestPane extends JPanel {
public TestPane() {
setLayout(new GridLayout(0, 2));
add(createLeftPane());
add(createRightPane());
}//end of class for master frame
/////////////////////////////////Left Panel Nest Begin//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
protected JPanel createLeftPane() {
img1 = img1.getScaledInstance(initalWidth/2, initalHeight, java.awt.Image.SCALE_SMOOTH);
final ImageIcon BGiconSM = new ImageIcon(img1);
JPanel panel = new JPanel(new BorderLayout()) {
protected void paintComponent(Graphics g)
{
// Dispaly image at full size
g.drawImage(BGiconSM.getImage(), 0, 0, null);
super.paintComponent(g);
}
};
panel.setOpaque( false );
panel.setBorder(new EmptyBorder(35, 80, 35, 80));
//panel.setBackground(Color.RED);
return panel;
}//end left pane
/////////////////////////////////Left Panel Nest End//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
/////////////////////////////////Right Panel Nest Begin//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
protected JPanel createRightPane() {
img1 = img1.getScaledInstance(initalWidth/2, initalHeight, java.awt.Image.SCALE_SMOOTH);
final ImageIcon BGiconSM = new ImageIcon(img1);
JPanel content = new JPanel(new GridBagLayout());
content.setOpaque(false);
JPanel panel = new JPanel(new BorderLayout()) {
protected void paintComponent(Graphics g)
{
// Dispaly image at full size
g.drawImage(BGiconSM.getImage(), 0, 0, null);
super.paintComponent(g);
}
};
panel.setOpaque( false );
panel.setBorder(new EmptyBorder(35, 80, 35, 80));
//panel.setBackground(Color.BLUE);
//set up our image for the title bars
ImageIcon icon = new ImageIcon("GradientDetail.png");
Image img = icon.getImage();
img = img.getScaledInstance(initalWidth/2, 40, java.awt.Image.SCALE_SMOOTH);
final ImageIcon iconSM = new ImageIcon(img);
/////////////////////////////////Gender Panel Nest Begins//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
JPanel gender_panel_BG = new JPanel(new BorderLayout())
{
protected void paintComponent(Graphics g)
{
// Dispaly image at full size
g.drawImage(iconSM.getImage(), 0, 0, null);
super.paintComponent(g);
}
};
gender_panel_BG.setOpaque( false );
JLabel gender_panel_label = new JLabel("Gender");
gender_panel_label.setFont(new Font("Impact", Font.BOLD, 30));
gender_panel_label.setForeground(Color.white);
gender_panel_label.setOpaque(false);
gender_panel_body = new JPanel(new GridLayout(1, 3));
gender_panel_body.setBackground(Color.WHITE);
gender_panel_BG.add(gender_panel_label, BorderLayout.NORTH);
JPanel gender_panel = new JPanel(new GridLayout(2, 1));
//gender_panel.setBorder(new EmptyBorder(0, 10, 0, 10));
//gender_panel.setBackground(Color.GREEN);
gender_panel.setOpaque(false);
gender_panel.add(gender_panel_BG);
gender_panel.add(gender_panel_body);
MouseAdapter gender = new MouseAdapterMod(){
public void mousePressed(MouseEvent e) {
//System.out.println(e.getSource());
System.out.println("A mouse was pressed");
gender_panel_body.setVisible(!gender_panel_body.isVisible());
}//end of mousePressed(MouseEvent e)
};
// Create radio buttons and add them to content pane.
JRadioButton g1 = new JRadioButton("Male");
g1.addActionListener(new ActionListener() {
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent ae) {
viewdata_gender.setText("Gender: Male");
}//action perfomed;
});//g1 add action listener
gender_panel_body.add(g1);
JRadioButton g2 = new JRadioButton("Female");
g2.addActionListener(new ActionListener() {
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent ae) {
viewdata_gender.setText("Gender: Female");
}//action perfomed;
});//g2 add action listener
gender_panel_body.add(g2);
JRadioButton g3 = new JRadioButton("<Unknown>");
g3.addActionListener(new ActionListener() {
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent ae) {
viewdata_gender.setText("Gender: <Unknown>");
}//action perfomed;
});//g3 add action listener
gender_panel_body.add(g3);
// Define a button group.
ButtonGroup genderButtons = new ButtonGroup();
genderButtons.add(g1);
genderButtons.add(g2);
genderButtons.add(g3);
gender_panel_BG.addMouseListener(gender);
content.add(gender_panel, gbc);
/////////////////////////////////Gender Panel Nest End//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
/////////////////////////////////Race Panel Nest Begins//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
JPanel race_panel_BG = new JPanel(new BorderLayout())
{
protected void paintComponent(Graphics g)
{
// Dispaly image at full size
g.drawImage(iconSM.getImage(), 0, 0, null);
super.paintComponent(g);
}
};
race_panel_BG.setOpaque( false );
JLabel race_panel_label = new JLabel("Race");
race_panel_label.setFont(new Font("Impact", Font.BOLD, 30));
race_panel_label.setForeground(Color.white);
race_panel_label.setOpaque(false);
JPanel race_panel_body = new JPanel(new GridLayout(5, 8));
race_panel_body.setBackground(Color.WHITE);
race_panel_BG.add(race_panel_label, BorderLayout.NORTH);
JPanel race_panel = new JPanel(new GridLayout(2, 1));
//race_panel.setBorder(new EmptyBorder(0, 10, 0, 10));
//race_panel.setBackground(Color.GREEN);
race_panel.setOpaque(false);
race_panel.add(race_panel_BG);
race_panel.add(race_panel_body);
for (int i=0; i <= 60; i++){
ImageIcon RCicon = new ImageIcon("headshot.jpg");
Image RCimg = RCicon.getImage();
RCimg = RCimg.getScaledInstance(40, 40, java.awt.Image.SCALE_SMOOTH);
final ImageIcon RCiconSM = new ImageIcon(RCimg);
JButton button = new JButton(RCiconSM);
button.setBorder(BorderFactory.createEmptyBorder());
button.setContentAreaFilled(false);
race_panel_body.add(button);
};//for loop
MouseAdapter race = new MouseAdapterMod();
race_panel_body.addMouseListener(race);
content.add(race_panel, gbc);
/////////////////////////////////Race Panel Nest End//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
/////////////////////////////////Class Panel Nest Begins//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
JPanel class_panel_BG = new JPanel(new BorderLayout())
{
protected void paintComponent(Graphics g)
{
// Dispaly image at full size
g.drawImage(iconSM.getImage(), 0, 0, null);
super.paintComponent(g);
}
};
class_panel_BG.setOpaque( false );
JLabel class_panel_label = new JLabel("Class");
class_panel_label.setFont(new Font("Impact", Font.BOLD, 30));
class_panel_label.setForeground(Color.white);
class_panel_label.setOpaque(false);
JPanel class_panel_body = new JPanel(new GridLayout(5, 8));
class_panel_body.setBackground(Color.WHITE);
class_panel_BG.add(class_panel_label, BorderLayout.NORTH);
JPanel class_panel = new JPanel(new GridLayout(2, 1));
//class_panel.setBorder(new EmptyBorder(0, 10, 0, 10));
//class_panel.setBackground(Color.GREEN);
class_panel.setOpaque(false);
class_panel.add(class_panel_BG);
class_panel.add(class_panel_body);
for (int g=0; g <= 50; g++){
ImageIcon CCicon = new ImageIcon("headshot.jpg");
Image CCimg = CCicon.getImage();
CCimg = CCimg.getScaledInstance(40, 40, java.awt.Image.SCALE_SMOOTH);
final ImageIcon CCiconSM = new ImageIcon(CCimg);
JButton cbutton = new JButton(CCiconSM);
cbutton.setBorder(BorderFactory.createEmptyBorder());
cbutton.setContentAreaFilled(false);
class_panel_body.add(cbutton);
};//for loop
MouseAdapter cclass = new MouseAdapterMod();
class_panel_body.addMouseListener(cclass);
content.add(class_panel, gbc);
/////////////////////////////////Class Panel Nest End//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
/////////////////////////////////Base Stats Panel Nest Begins//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
JPanel base_stats_panel_BG = new JPanel(new BorderLayout())
{
protected void paintComponent(Graphics g)
{
// Dispaly image at full size
g.drawImage(iconSM.getImage(), 0, 0, null);
super.paintComponent(g);
}
};
base_stats_panel_BG.setOpaque( false );
JLabel base_stats_panel_label = new JLabel("Base Attributes");
base_stats_panel_label.setFont(new Font("Impact", Font.BOLD, 30));
base_stats_panel_label.setForeground(Color.white);
base_stats_panel_label.setOpaque(false);
JPanel base_stats_panel_body = new JPanel(new GridLayout(1, 2));
base_stats_panel_body.setBackground(Color.WHITE);
base_stats_panel_BG.add(base_stats_panel_label, BorderLayout.NORTH);
JPanel base_stats_panel = new JPanel(new GridLayout(2, 1));
//base_stats_panel.setBorder(new EmptyBorder(0, 10, 0, 10));
//base_stats_panel.setBackground(Color.GREEN);
base_stats_panel.setOpaque(false);
base_stats_panel.add(base_stats_panel_BG);
base_stats_panel.add(base_stats_panel_body);
MouseAdapter base_stats = new MouseAdapterMod();
base_stats_panel_body.addMouseListener(base_stats);
content.add(base_stats_panel, gbc);
/////////////////////////////////Base Stats Panel Nest End//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
/////////////////////////////////Merits Panel Nest Begins//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
JPanel merits_panel_BG = new JPanel(new BorderLayout())
{
protected void paintComponent(Graphics g)
{
// Dispaly image at full size
g.drawImage(iconSM.getImage(), 0, 0, null);
super.paintComponent(g);
}
};
merits_panel_BG.setOpaque( false );
JLabel merits_panel_label = new JLabel("Advantages and Disadvantages");
merits_panel_label.setFont(new Font("Impact", Font.BOLD, 30));
merits_panel_label.setForeground(Color.white);
merits_panel_label.setOpaque(false);
JPanel merits_panel_body = new JPanel(new BorderLayout());
merits_panel_body.setBackground(Color.WHITE);
merits_panel_BG.add(merits_panel_label, BorderLayout.NORTH);
JPanel merits_panel = new JPanel(new GridLayout(2, 1));
//merits_panel.setBorder(new EmptyBorder(0, 10, 0, 10));
//merits_panel.setBackground(Color.GREEN);
merits_panel.setOpaque(false);
merits_panel.add(merits_panel_BG);
merits_panel.add(merits_panel_body);
MouseAdapter merits = new MouseAdapterMod();
merits_panel_body.addMouseListener(merits);
content.add(merits_panel, gbc);
/////////////////////////////////Merits Panel Nest End//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
/////////////////////////////////Group Panel Nest Begin//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
JPanel viewData = new JPanel(new GridLayout(5, 1));
viewData.add(gender_panel);
viewData.add(race_panel);
viewData.add(class_panel);
viewData.add(base_stats_panel);
viewData.add(merits_panel);
panel.add(new JScrollPane(viewData));
return panel;
/////////////////////////////////Group Panel Nest End//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
}//end right pane
/////////////////////////////////Right Panel Nest End//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
public class MouseAdapterMod extends MouseAdapter {
// usually better off with mousePressed rather than clicked
public void mousePressed(MouseEvent e) {
//System.out.println(e.getSource());
System.out.println("A mouse was pressed");
if (e.getSource() == "gender_panel_BG"){
gender_panel_body.setVisible(!gender_panel_body.isVisible());
}//end of if (e.getSource() == "gender")
}//end of mousePressed(MouseEvent e)
}//end of MouseAdapterMod extends MouseAdapter
}//end master panel set
}//end master class

Now I need to figure out how to select multiple JButtons. It's not quite a check box, as I want to have images instead of tick boxes.
JToggleButton, the parent of JCheckBox, works well for this, as each button knows its selected state. You can nest GridLayout instances in a vertical Box, as shown below.
import java.awt.Dimension;
import java.awt.EventQueue;
import java.awt.GridLayout;
import java.awt.event.ActionEvent;
import javax.swing.AbstractAction;
import javax.swing.Box;
import javax.swing.BoxLayout;
import javax.swing.JFrame;
import javax.swing.JPanel;
import javax.swing.JScrollPane;
import javax.swing.JToggleButton;
import javax.swing.UIManager;
import javax.swing.border.TitledBorder;
/** #see http://stackoverflow.com/a/16733710/230513 */
public class Test {
private static final int N = 4;
private void display() {
JFrame f = new JFrame("Test");
f.setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
Box b = new Box(BoxLayout.Y_AXIS);
b.add(createPanel());
b.add(createPanel());
f.add(new JScrollPane(b){
#Override
public Dimension getPreferredSize() {
return new Dimension(400, 500);
}
});
f.pack();
f.setLocationRelativeTo(null);
f.setVisible(true);
}
private JPanel createPanel() {
JPanel p = new JPanel(new GridLayout(N, N));
p.setBorder(new TitledBorder(String.valueOf(p.hashCode())));
for (int i = 0; i < N * N; i++) {
p.add(createButton());
}
return p;
}
private JToggleButton createButton() {
JToggleButton b = new JToggleButton(new AbstractAction() {
#Override
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e) {
System.out.println(e.getActionCommand());
}
});
b.setIcon(UIManager.getIcon("html.pendingImage"));
b.setText(String.valueOf(b.hashCode()));
b.setHorizontalTextPosition(JToggleButton.CENTER);
b.setVerticalTextPosition(JToggleButton.BOTTOM);
return b;
}
public static void main(String[] args) {
EventQueue.invokeLater(new Runnable() {
#Override
public void run() {
new Test().display();
}
});
}
}

How to Change a Swing JFrame Size on the fly

What I am trying to achieve is
Create a custom component (mypanel) that extends JPanel with JLabels and JButtons in it arranged via GridBagLayout.
Have a JFrame that would display multiple mypanel in a vertical stack and have its height change accordingly, depending on the number of mypanels added to it (width of the JFrame = width of mypanel).
When the JFrame's height becomes greater than the screen height, have a vertical scrollbar appear for scrolling
I have created mypanel successfully but having lot of trouble with the adding to the JFrame and setting its size, scrollbars part.
this is the code for my jframe
this.window = new JFrame("ADesktop Notifications");
this.window_panel = new JPanel();
this.window_panel_scroll = new JScrollPane(this.window_panel);
this.window.setBounds(this.top_left_x,this.top_left_y, this.width, this.height);
this.window_panel.setLayout(new FlowLayout());
this.window_panel.setAutoscrolls(true);
this.window.add(this.window_panel);

Try this example out (for dynamic expanding JFrame).
import java.awt.GridLayout;
import java.awt.event.ActionEvent;
import java.awt.event.ActionListener;
import javax.swing.*;
public class DynaFrame extends JFrame{
private JPanel basePnl = new JPanel();
public DynaFrame(){
this.setTitle("Dynamic panel addition");
this.setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
//this.setSize(600, 700);
this.add(getMainPanel());
this.setLocationRelativeTo(null);
this.pack();
this.setVisible(true);
}
public static void main(String[] args){
SwingUtilities.invokeLater(new Runnable() {
public void run() {
new DynaFrame();
}
});
}
public JPanel getMainPanel(){
basePnl.setLayout(new BoxLayout(basePnl, BoxLayout.Y_AXIS));
basePnl.add(getRowPanel());
return basePnl;
}
public JPanel getRowPanel(){
JPanel pnl = new JPanel();
GridLayout gLayout = new GridLayout();
gLayout.setColumns(4);
gLayout.setRows(1);
pnl.setLayout(gLayout);
pnl.add(new JLabel("Filetype"));
pnl.add(new JTextField());
pnl.add(new JButton("Browse"));
JButton addBtn = new JButton("Add");
addBtn.addActionListener(new ActionListener() {
#Override
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent arg0) {
basePnl.add(getRowPanel());
DynaFrame.this.pack();
}
});
pnl.add(addBtn);
return pnl;
}
}