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Place label for text box above the box and not to the side

As stated in the title i need to move the label for the text box to be above the box and not to the side. attached i have a picutres of what i mean. what i have vs what i want i have tried searching for it but i cannot seem to find the answer im looking for/not exactly sure what to look up. I have tried using JFrame but it made a separate window unless i need to make the entire GUI a JFrame for me to get the result i want?
Also the actionPerformed method has things but it is irrelevant to the question but displays correctly still.
import java.awt.event.\*;
import javax.swing.\*;
import java.text.DecimalFormat;
public class Project4 extends JFrame implements ActionListener {
private JTextArea taArea = new JTextArea("", 30, 20);
ButtonGroup group = new ButtonGroup();
JTextField name = new JTextField(20);
boolean ch = false;
boolean pep = false;
boolean sup = false;
boolean veg = false;
DecimalFormat df = new DecimalFormat("##.00");
double cost = 0.0;
public Project4() {
initUI();
}
public final void initUI() {
JPanel panel1 = new JPanel();
JPanel panel2 = new JPanel();
JPanel panel3 = new JPanel();
JPanel panel4 = new JPanel();
JPanel panel5 = new JPanel();
getContentPane().add(panel1, "North");
getContentPane().add(panel2, "West");
getContentPane().add(panel3, "Center");
getContentPane().add(panel4, "East");
panel4.setLayout(new BoxLayout(panel4, BoxLayout.Y_AXIS));
getContentPane().add(panel5, "South");
JButton button = new JButton("Place Order");
button.addActionListener(this);
panel5.add(button);
JButton button2 = new JButton("Clear");
button2.addActionListener(this);
panel5.add(button2);
panel3.add(taArea);
JCheckBox checkBox1 = new JCheckBox("Cheese Pizza") ;
checkBox1.addActionListener(this);
panel4.add(checkBox1);
JCheckBox checkBox2 = new JCheckBox("Pepperoni Pizza");
checkBox2.addActionListener(this);
panel4.add(checkBox2);
JCheckBox checkBox3 = new JCheckBox("Supreme Pizza");
checkBox3.addActionListener(this);
panel4.add(checkBox3);
JCheckBox checkBox4 = new JCheckBox("Vegetarian Pizza");
checkBox4.addActionListener(this);
panel4.add(checkBox4);
JRadioButton radioButton1 = new JRadioButton("Pick Up");
group.add(radioButton1);
radioButton1.addActionListener(this);
panel1.add(radioButton1);
JRadioButton radioButton2 = new JRadioButton("Delivery");
group.add(radioButton2);
radioButton2.addActionListener(this);
panel1.add(radioButton2);
JLabel name_label = new JLabel("Name on Order");
name.addActionListener(this);
panel5.add(name_label);
panel5.add(name);
setSize(600, 300);
setTitle("Pizza to Order");
setDefaultCloseOperation(EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
}
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent action) {
}
public static void main(String[] args) {
Project4 ex = new Project4();
ex.setVisible(true);
}
}

You can use a nested JPanel with another layout in order to achieve that. I would go with BorderLayout here. You can also other layouts that allow vertical orientation. Visiting the visual guide to Layout Managers will help you spot them.
JLabel name_label = new JLabel("Name on Order");
name.addActionListener(this);
JPanel verticalNestedPanel = new JPanel(new BorderLayout());
verticalNestedPanel.add(name_label, BorderLayout.PAGE_START);
verticalNestedPanel.add(name, BorderLayout.PAGE_END);
panel5.add(verticalNestedPanel);

Layout Managers with icon (gif)

Essentially, I am trying to add a home screen with 4 buttons, 3 difficulty buttons and a play button. I add the buttons to a JPanel and add the JPanel with a BoxLayout of Center. Why does the buttons still go all the way off to the right? Setting the icon for a JLabel on and adding it to the home screen JPanel is a possible mess up the flow of components? I want the difficulty buttons to be on top of the of the gif with the Play button at the bottom. Thanks for your help.
//container
snake = new JFrame();
snake.setLayout(new BorderLayout());
//home screen panel
homeScreen = new JPanel();
homeScreen.setLayout(new BoxLayout(homeScreen, BoxLayout.X_AXIS));
homeScreen.setPreferredSize(new Dimension(320, 320));
JLabel bg = new JLabel();
ImageIcon icon = new ImageIcon("HomeBG.gif");
icon.getImage().flush();
bg.setIcon(icon);
homeScreen.add(bg);
easy = new JButton("Easy");
medium = new JButton("Medium");
hard = new JButton("Hard");
play = new JButton("Play");
//button listeners code here
homeScreen.add(easy);
homeScreen.add(medium);
homeScreen.add(hard);
homeScreen.add(play);
snake.add(homeScreen, BorderLayout.CENTER);
snake.setTitle("Snake Game");
snake.pack();
snake.setVisible(true);
snake.setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);

You need to change your code as shown below.
snake = new JFrame();
snake.setLayout(new BorderLayout());
//home screen panel
homeScreen = new JPanel(new BorderLayout());
//homeScreen.setLayout(new BoxLayout(homeScreen, BoxLayout.X_AXIS));
homeScreen.setPreferredSize(new Dimension(320, 320)); // probably you need to remove this line!
JLabel bg = new JLabel();
ImageIcon icon = new ImageIcon("HomeBG.gif");
icon.getImage().flush();
bg.setIcon(icon);
homeScreen.add(bg);
easy = new JButton("Easy");
medium = new JButton("Medium");
hard = new JButton("Hard");
play = new JButton("Play");
//button listeners code here
JPanel buttonsPanel = new JPanel(new FlowLayout(FlowLayout.CENTER));
buttonsPanel.add(easy);
buttonsPanel.add(medium);
buttonsPanel.add(hard);
buttonsPanel.add(play);
homeScreen.add(buttonsPanel, BorderLayout.NORTH);
snake.add(homeScreen, BorderLayout.CENTER);
snake.setTitle("Snake Game");
snake.pack();
snake.setVisible(true);
snake.setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);

I would use a compound layout for this. Put the level buttons in a (panel in a) FlowLayout. Put the play button in a 2nd FlowLayout. Add those panels to the PAGE_START and PAGE_END of a BorderLayout. Add a label containing the GIF to the CENTER of the same border layout.
BTW - the level buttons should be radio buttons (in a button group - BNI).
import java.awt.*;
import java.awt.image.BufferedImage;
import javax.swing.*;
import javax.swing.border.EmptyBorder;
public class LayoutManagersWithIcon {
private JComponent ui = null;
LayoutManagersWithIcon() {
initUI();
}
public void initUI() {
if (ui!=null) return;
ui = new JPanel(new BorderLayout(4,4));
ui.setBorder(new EmptyBorder(4,4,4,4));
JPanel levelPanel = new JPanel(new FlowLayout(FlowLayout.CENTER, 5, 5));
ui.add(levelPanel, BorderLayout.PAGE_START);
levelPanel.add(new JRadioButton("Easy"));
levelPanel.add(new JRadioButton("Medium"));
levelPanel.add(new JRadioButton("Hard"));
JPanel startPanel = new JPanel(new FlowLayout(FlowLayout.CENTER, 5, 5));
ui.add(startPanel, BorderLayout.PAGE_END);
startPanel.add(new JButton("Play"));
JLabel label = new JLabel(new ImageIcon(
new BufferedImage(400, 100, BufferedImage.TYPE_INT_RGB)));
ui.add(label);
}
public JComponent getUI() {
return ui;
}
public static void main(String[] args) {
Runnable r = new Runnable() {
#Override
public void run() {
try {
UIManager.setLookAndFeel(UIManager.getSystemLookAndFeelClassName());
} catch (Exception useDefault) {
}
LayoutManagersWithIcon o = new LayoutManagersWithIcon();
JFrame f = new JFrame(o.getClass().getSimpleName());
f.setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.DISPOSE_ON_CLOSE);
f.setLocationByPlatform(true);
f.setContentPane(o.getUI());
f.pack();
f.setMinimumSize(f.getSize());
f.setVisible(true);
}
};
SwingUtilities.invokeLater(r);
}
}

UPDATE THE EVENTS ARE NOT WORKING....

UPDATE UPDATE UPDATE
thank you :))) I did What u told me
I put frame.add(FirstScreen) first
they appeared .....
but now the events are not working , why???????
Can u help me again???
I'm sorry ........
..................
import java.awt.*;
import javax.swing.*;
import java.awt.event.*;
public class InterFace extends JFrame implements ActionListener,ItemListener
{
JFrame frame = new JFrame("Al-murshed Dictionary");
JPanel FirstScreen = new JPanel();
JPanel SecondScreen = new JPanel();
JPanel ThirdScreen = new JPanel();
JPanel ForthScreen = new JPanel();
JButton Translate = new JButton ("Translate");
JButton About = new JButton ("About");
JButton Help= new JButton ("Help");
JButton Quit= new JButton ("Quit");
JButton Quit1= new JButton ("Quit");
JButton Quit2= new JButton ("Quit");
JButton Back= new JButton ("Back");
JButton Back1= new JButton ("Back");
JTextField WordField = new JTextField("Write Your Word Here",50);
JTextArea ArbField = new JTextArea(40,40);
JTextArea EngField = new JTextArea(40,40);
CardLayout c1 = new CardLayout ();
public InterFace()
{
FirstScreen.setLayout(c1);
SecondScreen.add(WordField);
SecondScreen.add(Translate);
ThirdScreen.add(Back);
ForthScreen.add(Back1);
ThirdScreen.add(Quit1);
ForthScreen.add(Quit2);
FirstScreen.add(SecondScreen,"1");
FirstScreen.add(ThirdScreen,"2");
FirstScreen.add(ForthScreen,"3");
JPanel controlButtons = new JPanel();
controlButtons.add(Help);
controlButtons.add(About);
controlButtons.add(Quit);
JPanel wordTranslate = new JPanel();
wordTranslate.add(WordField);
wordTranslate.add(Translate);
JPanel controlTextArea = new JPanel();
controlTextArea.add(EngField);
controlTextArea.add(ArbField);
c1.show(FirstScreen,"1");
About.addActionListener(this);
Back.addActionListener(this);
Help.addActionListener(this);
Back1.addActionListener(this);
Quit.addActionListener(this);
Quit1.addActionListener(this);
Quit2.addActionListener(this);
frame.add(FirstScreen);
Container pane = frame.getContentPane();
pane.add(wordTranslate, BorderLayout.NORTH);
pane.add(controlTextArea, BorderLayout.CENTER);
pane.add(controlButtons, BorderLayout.PAGE_END);
frame.setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
frame.pack();
frame.setVisible(true);
}
//EventHandler
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e)
{
if(e.getSource()==About)
c1.show(FirstScreen,"2");
if(e.getSource()==Help)
c1.show(FirstScreen,"3");
if(e.getSource()==Quit)
System.exit(0);
if(e.getSource()==Quit1)
System.exit(0);
if(e.getSource()==Quit2)
System.exit(0);
if(e.getSource()==Back)
c1.show(FirstScreen,"1");
if(e.getSource()==Back1)
c1.show(FirstScreen,"1");
}
public static void main (String args[])
{
InterFace d = new InterFace ();
}
}

pane.add(controlTextArea, BorderLayout.CENTER);
...
frame.add(FirstScreen);
First you add the text area panel to the content pane.
Then you add the "FirstScreen" to the frame.
The problem is that when you add the "FirstScreen" to the frame you are really adding it to the content pane of the frame. So basically you are replacing the text area panel with the first screen.
Also, follow Java naming conventions. Variable names should NOT start with an upper case character.

Trying to layout JPanels. Java program layout changes every time I run

First time posting so go easy on me.
I am new to Java and am trying to get 3 JPanels to line up on top of each other. The first image is how I want it to look and it does sometimes when I run the program but as you can see by the other images it doesn't line up every time I run it. Sometimes not even showing some of the images/components.
So how can I get three JPanels to line up one after the other vertically?
import java.awt.event.ActionListener;
import java.awt.*;
import javax.swing.*;
public class FrameMain {
static final int MY_MINIMUM = 0;
static final int MY_MAXIMUM = 100;
public static void main(String[] args) {
JFrame frame1 = new JFrame("Harvest Frame Test");
frame1.setVisible(true);
frame1.setSize(800,700);
frame1.setResizable(false);
frame1.setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
//Container Panel
JPanel container = new JPanel();
container.setSize(800,700);
container.setLayout(new BoxLayout(container, BoxLayout.Y_AXIS));
frame1.add(container);
//First Panel
JPanel panel1 = new JPanel();
panel1.setAlignmentX( Component.LEFT_ALIGNMENT );//0.0
container.add(panel1);
JButton button1 = new JButton("Add Water");
panel1.add(button1);
JButton button2 = new JButton("Add Food");
panel1.add(button2);
JButton button3 = new JButton("Add Medicine");
panel1.add(button3);
ImageIcon image = new ImageIcon("C:/Users/Nick/Documents/EclipseArt/plant.gif");
JLabel imagelabel = new JLabel(image);
panel1.add(imagelabel);
JProgressBar pbar = new JProgressBar();
pbar.setMinimum(MY_MINIMUM);
pbar.setMaximum(MY_MAXIMUM);
// add to JPanel
panel1.add(pbar);
// Second Panel
JPanel panel2 = new JPanel();
panel2.setAlignmentX( Component.LEFT_ALIGNMENT );//0.0
container.add(panel2);
JButton button4 = new JButton("Add Water");
panel2.add(button4);
JButton button5 = new JButton("Add Food");
panel2.add(button5);
JButton button6 = new JButton("Add Medicine");
panel2.add(button6);
ImageIcon image1 = new ImageIcon("C:/Users/Nick/Documents/EclipseArt/plant.gif");
JLabel imagelabel1 = new JLabel(image1);
panel2.add(imagelabel1);
JProgressBar pbar1 = new JProgressBar();
pbar1.setMinimum(MY_MINIMUM);
pbar1.setMaximum(MY_MAXIMUM);
// add to JPanel
panel2.add(pbar1);
// Third Panel
JPanel panel3 = new JPanel();
panel3.setAlignmentX( Component.LEFT_ALIGNMENT );//0.0
container.add(panel3);
JButton button7 = new JButton("Add Water");
panel3.add(button7);
JButton button8 = new JButton("Add Food");
panel3.add(button8);
JButton button9 = new JButton("Add Medicine");
panel3.add(button9);
ImageIcon image2 = new ImageIcon("C:/Users/Nick/Documents/EclipseArt/plant.gif");
JLabel imagelabel2 = new JLabel(image2);
panel3.add(imagelabel2);
JProgressBar pbar2 = new JProgressBar();
pbar2.setMinimum(MY_MINIMUM);
pbar2.setMaximum(MY_MAXIMUM);
// add to JPanel
panel3.add(pbar2);
}
//static class Action implements ActionListener {
//public void actionPerformed (ActionEvent e){
//}
//}
}

Move the frame1.setVisible(true); all the way to the bottom. Changing Components on a frame that is already visible can cause issues.

How to align JPanel in java

I have a JPanel which is in a box layout but I am unsure how to align the JPanel to center of the window (and stay centered even if window is resized) I've tried looking for a solution but all questions seem over complicated compared to what it is that I'm looking for.
import java.awt.*;
import javax.swing.*;
public class Stacker extends JFrame {
public Stacker() {
super("Stacker");
setSize(430, 200);
setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
// create top panel
JPanel commandPane = new JPanel();
BoxLayout vertical = new BoxLayout(commandPane,
BoxLayout.Y_AXIS);
commandPane.setLayout(vertical);
JButton subscribe = new JButton("Subscribe");
JButton unsubscribe = new JButton("Unsubscribe");
JButton refresh = new JButton("Refresh");
JButton save = new JButton("Save");
commandPane.add(subscribe);
commandPane.add(unsubscribe);
commandPane.add(refresh);
commandPane.add(save);
JMenuItem j1 = new JMenuItem("File");
JMenuItem j2 = new JMenuItem("Open");
JMenuItem j3 = new JMenuItem("Close");
JMenuBar menubar = new JMenuBar();
JMenu menu = new JMenu("Feeds");
menu.add(j1);
menu.add(j2);
menu.add(j3);
menubar.add(menu);
setJMenuBar(menubar);
// create bottom panel
/*JPanel textPane = new JPanel();
JTextArea text = new JTextArea(4, 70);
JScrollPane scrollPane = new JScrollPane(text);
// put them together
FlowLayout flow = new FlowLayout();
setLayout(flow);
add(commandPane);
add(scrollPane); */
setJMenuBar(menubar);
add(commandPane);
setVisible(true);
}
public static void main(String[] arguments) {
Stacker st = new Stacker();
}
}

You say you're using a BoxLayout, but is the JPanel with the BoxLayout the JPanel you want to center, or does it contain the JPanel you want to center?
If it contains the JPanel you want to center, then you can add a glue on either side of the JPanel to be centered. If it is the JPanel you want to center, then you can use GridBagLayout or BoxLayout to achieve the effect you're talking about.
Googling something like "Java center component" will give you a ton of results.

for this idea (still not clear from your description) use GridBagLayout without set for GridBagConstraints
.
.
.
import java.awt.*;
import javax.swing.*;
public class CenteredJPanel {
private JFrame frame = new JFrame("Test");
private JPanel panel = new JPanel();
private JButton subscribe = new JButton("Subscribe");
private JButton unsubscribe = new JButton("Unsubscribe");
private JButton refresh = new JButton("Refresh");
private JButton save = new JButton("Save");
public CenteredJPanel() {
panel.setLayout(new GridBagLayout());
panel.add(subscribe);
panel.add(unsubscribe);
panel.add(refresh);
panel.add(save);
frame.setDefaultCloseOperation(WindowConstants.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
frame.add(panel);
frame.pack();
frame.setLocationRelativeTo(null);
frame.setVisible(true);
}
public static void main(String[] args) {
EventQueue.invokeLater(new Runnable() {
#Override
public void run() {
CenteredJPanel centeredJLabel = new CenteredJPanel();
}
});
}
}