CODEWITHSUNDEEP
javaswinglayoutlayout-manager
user1097772
user1097772

Reputation: 3529

Layouts in java Swing specifying size

My question is how can I specify size of the parts on my layout?
I need somehow set size of "parts" not using preferedSize, maybe in layout managers, doesn't matter where - only I need is stable size.

I want to create layout for game. I've already created one but I'm dealing with problem with size of components. So I considered that it would be better to make better concept of my layout.
Let's look at my draft.


+-----------+ 
| UPPER     |
+-----+-----+
|  A  |     |
+-----+  C  |
|  B  |     |
+-----+-----+
| Footer    |
+-----------+

A+B+C make together Center.

Main part consist of this tree parts:
Upper- there will be menu.
Center - this consists of 3 parts A,B,C
Footer - there will be status bar


My idea is to be able to set the size of each component. All layout is dependent on part C it could have size 450x450 px or 600x600 px.
For part A and B i need specify only the width, because there will be only some text info - it should be about 300 px.
I tryed to use GridBagLayout for Center part but setSize for C didn't worked well.
I make the parts in Containers (java.awt.Container) - in them I add the content of each part and then add the Container to the upper level.

Upvotes: 2

Views: 9400

Answers (5)

Navin Israni
Navin Israni

Reputation: 1377

This answer is too little and WAY too late,

(maybe this method did not exist at the time of asking of this question)

just like getPreferredSize, there is also a setPreferredSize method which takes a Dimension object.

By default, your layout will ignore your components sizes (which you may have set using setSize), instead it will use the preferred sizes.

By using setPreferredSize, you will be able to override the default preferred sizes of the component

Upvotes: 0

eweb
eweb

Reputation: 11

I had a similar problem, with a status tool bar at the bottom containing a number of other components. My problem was that it would get taller. So what I did was to override the maximum size setting the maximum height to be the minimum height.

JPanel status = new JPanel( new SpringLayout() ) {
  @Override
  public Dimension getMaximumSize() {
    Dimension max = super.getMaximumSize();
    Dimension min = getMinimumSize();
    return new Dimension( max.width, min.height );
  }
};

Upvotes: 1

AWb
AWb

Reputation: 161

I hope my answer can help you in some way. From experience with setting JPanel or JFrame size, I have always used setPreferredSize(new Dimension(WIDTH,HEIGHT));

Upvotes: -2

Andreas Baus
Andreas Baus

Reputation: 2626

In general, GridBagLayout ignores the values you set for controls with setSize, instead it asks the controls for their preferred size (by calling getPreferredSize) and uses that for calculating the overall layout. Simply setting that preferred size yourself is not recommended, since most controls tend to recalculate those values whenever a layout is triggered, so you will have a hard time getting them to "stick".

If you really want to make sure the UI element C has a certain size, implement it as a custom class deriving from a suitable base (JPanel, for example) and override the getPreferredSize method to make it return the size you want/need for that part of your UI.

Edit: Here's a little example for a wrapper that can contain another UI element and can be set to a fixed size (using the setSize method which has been overridden), which should be respected by layout managers:

import java.awt.BorderLayout;
import java.awt.Dimension;

import javax.swing.JComponent;
import javax.swing.JPanel;

public class FixedSizeComponent extends JPanel {
    private Dimension size;
    private final JComponent content;

    public FixedSizeComponent(JComponent content) {
        super(new BorderLayout());
        this.content = content;
        super.add(content, BorderLayout.CENTER);
    }

    @Override
    public void setSize(Dimension d) {
        size = d;
    }

    @Override
    public void setSize(int width, int height) {
        size = new Dimension(width, height);
    }

    @Override
    public Dimension getSize() {
        if (size != null) return size;
        return content.getSize();
    }

    @Override
    public Dimension getSize(Dimension rv) {
        if (size != null) {
            if (rv == null) rv = new Dimension();
            rv.height = size.height;
            rv.width = size.width;
            return rv;
        }
        return content.getSize(rv);
    }

    @Override
    public Dimension getPreferredSize() {
        if (size != null) return size;
        return content.getPreferredSize();
    }

    @Override
    public Dimension getMaximumSize() {
        if (size != null) return size;
        return content.getMaximumSize();
    }

    @Override
    public Dimension getMinimumSize() {
        if (size != null) return size;
        return content.getMinimumSize();
    }
}

Upvotes: 2

xyz
xyz

Reputation: 201

The simplest way: use BorderLayout for the contentPane (which already is) - Upper panel goes to North - Footer panel goes to South - Panels A and B goes into a Panel ab with GridLayout(2,1) - Panel ab and C goes into a Panel abc with GridLayout(1,2) - Panel abc goes into the Center And setPrefferedSize() of your A, B, C

Upvotes: 2

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