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My swing gui the size of buttons and textfields are stretched too big?

I'm designing a gui and i'm having trouble trying to get everything to a decent size. I'd like some rows to have a set size so buttons don't stretch to insane sizes. I'v tried setprefferedsize() and setmaximumsize on these with no luck have a look at the snap shot of my gui. see how huge those top buttons are. Please help!

http://www.southbaybeagles.com/craigslist/example.jpg

i''ll attach my code

import java.awt.Dimension;
import java.awt.GridLayout;
import java.awt.List;
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.JList;
import javax.swing.JMenu;
import javax.swing.JMenuBar;
import javax.swing.JMenuItem;
import javax.swing.JPanel;
import javax.swing.JTable;
import javax.swing.JTextField;

import com.sun.media.sound.Toolkit;

public class movieFrontGui extends JFrame implements ActionListener
{
      JFrame frame;
      JPanel panelGenre;
      JPanel panelQuickJump;
      JPanel panelMoviesArea;
      JPanel panelToolbar;
      JPanel bottomPanel;


      List list;


      JTable table;


      JTextField search_textfield;


      //======Buttons=============
      JButton button_search;
      JButton button_addMovie;
      JButton button_deleteMovie;
      JButton button_editMovie;
      JButton button_all;
      JButton[] quickButtons = new JButton[26];


      JButton button_a;
      JButton button_b;
      JButton button_c;
      JButton button_d;
      JButton button_e;
      JButton button_f;
      JButton button_g;
      JButton button_h;
      JButton button_i;
      JButton button_j;
      JButton button_k;
      JButton button_l;
      JButton button_m;
      JButton button_n;
      JButton button_o;
      JButton button_p;
      JButton button_q;
      JButton button_r;
      JButton button_s;
      JButton button_t;
      JButton button_u;
      JButton button_v;
      JButton button_w;
      JButton button_x;
      JButton button_y;
      JButton button_z;

      JMenu file_menu;
      JMenuItem file_save;
      JMenuItem file_saveAs;
      JMenuItem file_exit;


      JMenu view_menu;

      JMenu help_menu;

      JMenuBar menuBar;


      movieFrontGui()
      {

            createGui();


      }


      void createGui()
      {
            frame = new JFrame("Movie Warehouse");
            frame.setSize(1280,1024); //<============need to dynamicly set size!
            createPanelQuickJump();
            createPanelToolBar();
            createMenuBar();
            createpanelGenre();
            creatpanelMoviesArea();

            //merge movies area and genre into one JPanel
            bottomPanel = new JPanel();
            bottomPanel.add(panelGenre);
            bottomPanel.add(panelMoviesArea);

            frame.setLayout(new GridLayout(3,1));
            //frame.getContentPane().add(menuBar);
            frame.getContentPane().add(panelToolbar);
            frame.getContentPane().add(panelQuickJump);
            frame.getContentPane().add(bottomPanel);
frame.setLocationRelativeTo( null ); // Center the frame on the screen.
frame.setVisible( true );
frame.pack();
this.setDefaultCloseOperation(EXIT_ON_CLOSE);

// Make the frame visible to the user. // Make the frame visible to the user.
            /*
            panelQuickJump;
            panelMoviesArea;
            panelToolbar;
            */



      }

      void createMenuBar()
      {
            //====File menu================
            file_menu = new JMenu("File");
            file_menu.add(file_save = new JMenuItem("Save"));
            file_menu.add(file_saveAs = new JMenuItem("Save As"));
            file_menu.add(file_exit = new JMenuItem("Exit"));


            //====View Menu================
            view_menu = new JMenu("View");

            //=Help Menu=================
            help_menu = new JMenu("Help");

            menuBar = new JMenuBar();

            menuBar.add(file_menu);
            menuBar.add(view_menu);
            menuBar.add(help_menu);
frame.setJMenuBar(menuBar);


      }

      void createPanelQuickJump()
      {
            panelQuickJump = new JPanel();
            panelQuickJump.setLayout(new GridLayout(1,26));
       createQuickButtons();


      }

      void creatpanelMoviesArea()
      {
            panelMoviesArea = new JPanel();
            table = new JTable(20,4);

            panelMoviesArea.add(table);

      }
      void createpanelGenre()
      {
            list = new List();
            list.add("All");
            list.add("Action");
            list.add("Adventure");
            list.add("Animation");
            list.add("Comedy");
            list.add("Documentary");
            list.add("Drama");
            list.add("Horror");
            list.add("Sci-Fi");
            list.add("Suspense");
            list.add("Tv");


            panelGenre = new JPanel();
            panelGenre.add(list);


      }
      void createPanelToolBar()
      {
            panelToolbar = new JPanel();
            panelToolbar.setLayout(new GridLayout(1,6));
            search_textfield = new JTextField();
            JLabel labelSearch = new JLabel("Search");
            panelToolbar.add(labelSearch);
            panelToolbar.add(search_textfield);
            panelToolbar.add(button_search);
            panelToolbar.add(button_addMovie);
            panelToolbar.add(button_deleteMovie);
            panelToolbar.add(button_editMovie);
      }

      void createQuickButtons()
      {
            button_all = new JButton("all");
            button_all.addActionListener(this);
            panelQuickJump.add(button_all);
            //alphabet buttons
            for(int i=0; i < 26; i++)
            {
                  char string= 'a';
                  quickButtons[i] = new JButton("a");
                  quickButtons[i].addActionListener(this);
                  panelQuickJump.add(quickButtons[i]);
            }

            //other buttons
            button_search = new JButton("Search");
            button_search.addActionListener(this);
       button_addMovie = new JButton("Add Movie");
       button_addMovie.addActionListener(this);
       button_deleteMovie = new JButton("Delete Movie");
       button_deleteMovie.addActionListener(this);
       button_editMovie = new JButton("Edit Movie");
       button_editMovie.addActionListener(this);
      }

      /**
Performs the specific actions once a listener is invoked
*/
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent actionevent)
{

}



public static void main(String args[])
{
movieFrontGui dogfiler = new movieFrontGui();

}





}

CEHJ

Set a FlowLayout on each button panel

Mick Barry

> panelQuickJump.setLayout(new GridLayout(1,26));

GridLayout ignores the preferred size, try commenting that line out.

Mick Barry

same with your other button panels

CEHJ

>>try commenting that line out.

i.e. use a FlowLayout (the default)

ksivananth

I would suggest combination of BorderLayout and GridBagLayout for your UI to get a better control!

ksivananth

try this out,

import java.awt.*;
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.JList;
import javax.swing.JMenu;
import javax.swing.JMenuBar;
import javax.swing.JMenuItem;
import javax.swing.JPanel;
import javax.swing.JTable;
import javax.swing.JTextField;

import com.sun.media.sound.Toolkit;

public class TestLayout extends JFrame implements ActionListener
{
JFrame frame;
JPanel panelGenre;
JPanel panelQuickJump;
JPanel panelMoviesArea;
JPanel panelToolbar;
JPanel bottomPanel;

List list;

JTable table;

JTextField search_textfield;

//======Buttons=============
JButton button_search;
JButton button_addMovie;
JButton button_deleteMovie;
JButton button_editMovie;
JButton button_all;
JButton[] quickButtons = new JButton[26];

JButton button_a;
JButton button_b;
JButton button_c;
JButton button_d;
JButton button_e;
JButton button_f;
JButton button_g;
JButton button_h;
JButton button_i;
JButton button_j;
JButton button_k;
JButton button_l;
JButton button_m;
JButton button_n;
JButton button_o;
JButton button_p;
JButton button_q;
JButton button_r;
JButton button_s;
JButton button_t;
JButton button_u;
JButton button_v;
JButton button_w;
JButton button_x;
JButton button_y;
JButton button_z;

JMenu file_menu;
JMenuItem file_save;
JMenuItem file_saveAs;
JMenuItem file_exit;

JMenu view_menu;

JMenu help_menu;

JMenuBar menuBar;

TestLayout()
{

createGui();

}

void createGui()
{
frame = new JFrame("Movie Warehouse");
frame.setSize( 800, 600 ); //<============need to dynamicly set size!
createPanelQuickJump();
createPanelToolBar();
createMenuBar();
createpanelGenre();
creatpanelMoviesArea();

//merge movies area and genre into one JPanel
bottomPanel = new JPanel();
bottomPanel.add(panelGenre);
bottomPanel.add(panelMoviesArea);

// frame.getContentPane().setLayout(new GridLayout(3,1));
JPanel pnlButton = new JPanel( new GridBagLayout() ) ;
pnlButton.add( panelToolbar, new GridBagConstraints( 0, 0, 1, 1, 0.0, 0.0,
GridBagConstraints.WEST, GridBagConstraints.HORIZONTAL, new Insets( 0, 0, 0, 0 ), 0, 0 ) ) ;
pnlButton.add( panelQuickJump, new GridBagConstraints( 0, 1, 1, 1, 0.0, 0.0,
GridBagConstraints.WEST, GridBagConstraints.HORIZONTAL, new Insets( 0, 0, 0, 0 ), 0, 0 ) ) ;
// pnlButton.setPreferredSize( new Dimension( 600, 150 ) );
//frame.getContentPane().add(menuBar);
frame.getContentPane().add(pnlButton, BorderLayout.NORTH);
// frame.getContentPane().add(panelQuickJump);
frame.getContentPane().add(bottomPanel);
frame.setLocationRelativeTo( null ); // Center the frame on the screen.
frame.setVisible( true );
frame.pack();
this.setDefaultCloseOperation(EXIT_ON_CLOSE);

// Make the frame visible to the user. // Make the frame visible to the user.
/*
panelQuickJump;
panelMoviesArea;
panelToolbar;
*/

}

void createMenuBar()
{
//====File menu================
file_menu = new JMenu("File");
file_menu.add(file_save = new JMenuItem("Save"));
file_menu.add(file_saveAs = new JMenuItem("Save As"));
file_menu.add(file_exit = new JMenuItem("Exit"));

//====View Menu================
view_menu = new JMenu("View");

//=Help Menu=================
help_menu = new JMenu("Help");

menuBar = new JMenuBar();

menuBar.add(file_menu);
menuBar.add(view_menu);
menuBar.add(help_menu);
frame.setJMenuBar(menuBar);

}

void createPanelQuickJump()
{
panelQuickJump = new JPanel();
panelQuickJump.setLayout( new GridBagLayout() );
createQuickButtons();

}

void creatpanelMoviesArea()
{
panelMoviesArea = new JPanel();
table = new JTable(20,4);

panelMoviesArea.add(table);

}
void createpanelGenre()
{
list = new List();
list.add("All");
list.add("Action");
list.add("Adventure");
list.add("Animation");
list.add("Comedy");
list.add("Documentary");
list.add("Drama");
list.add("Horror");
list.add("Sci-Fi");
list.add("Suspense");
list.add("Tv");

panelGenre = new JPanel();
panelGenre.add(list);

}
void createPanelToolBar()
{
panelToolbar = new JPanel();
panelToolbar.setLayout( new GridBagLayout() );
search_textfield = new JTextField( 10 );
JLabel labelSearch = new JLabel("Search");
panelToolbar.add(labelSearch, new GridBagConstraints( 0, 0, 1, 1, 0.0, 0.0,
GridBagConstraints.WEST, GridBagConstraints.NONE, new Insets( 0, 0, 0, 0 ), 0, 0 ));
panelToolbar.add(search_textfield, new GridBagConstraints( 1, 0, 1, 1, 0.0, 0.0,
GridBagConstraints.WEST, GridBagConstraints.NONE, new Insets( 0, 0, 0, 0 ), 0, 0 ));
panelToolbar.add(button_search, new GridBagConstraints( 2, 0, 1, 1, 0.0, 0.0,
GridBagConstraints.WEST, GridBagConstraints.NONE, new Insets( 0, 0, 0, 0 ), 0, 0 ));
panelToolbar.add(button_addMovie, new GridBagConstraints( 3, 0, 1, 1, 0.0, 0.0,
GridBagConstraints.WEST, GridBagConstraints.NONE, new Insets( 0, 0, 0, 0 ), 0, 0 ));
panelToolbar.add(button_deleteMovie, new GridBagConstraints( 4, 0, 1, 1, 0.0, 0.0,
GridBagConstraints.WEST, GridBagConstraints.NONE, new Insets( 0, 0, 0, 0 ), 0, 0 ));
panelToolbar.add(button_editMovie, new GridBagConstraints( 5, 0, 1, 1, 1.0, 0.0,
GridBagConstraints.WEST, GridBagConstraints.NONE, new Insets( 0, 0, 0, 0 ), 0, 0 ));
}

void createQuickButtons()
{
button_all = new JButton("all");
button_all.addActionListener(this);
panelQuickJump.add(button_all, new GridBagConstraints( 0, 0, 1, 1, 0.0, 0.0,
GridBagConstraints.WEST, GridBagConstraints.NONE, new Insets( 0, 0, 0, 0 ), 0, 0 ));

//alphabet buttons
for(int i=0; i < 26; i++)
{
char string= 'a';
quickButtons[i] = new JButton("a");
quickButtons[i].addActionListener(this);
panelQuickJump.add(quickButtons[i], new GridBagConstraints( GridBagConstraints.RELATIVE, 0, 1, 1, 0.0, 0.0,
GridBagConstraints.WEST, GridBagConstraints.NONE, new Insets( 0, 0, 0, 0 ), 0, 0 ));
}

//other buttons
button_search = new JButton("Search");
button_search.addActionListener(this);
button_addMovie = new JButton("Add Movie");
button_addMovie.addActionListener(this);
button_deleteMovie = new JButton("Delete Movie");
button_deleteMovie.addActionListener(this);
button_editMovie = new JButton("Edit Movie");
button_editMovie.addActionListener(this);
}

/**
Performs the specific actions once a listener is invoked
*/
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent actionevent)
{

}

public static void main(String args[])
{
TestLayout dogfiler = new TestLayout();

}

}

tyweed420

ASKER

The flowlayout worked but what about my jlist it stays super small i'd like it long so you can see everything on the list. I eagerly await your responses. Oh i tried setpreferredsize and setminimumsize neither did anything?

ksivananth

use GridBagLayout to setpreferredsize and setminimumsize to work!

ksivananth

and see if this is what u needed,

import java.awt.*;
import java.awt.event.ActionEvent;
import java.awt.event.ActionListener;

import javax.swing.*;

public class TestLayout extends JFrame implements ActionListener
{
JFrame frame;
JPanel panelGenre;
JPanel panelQuickJump;
JPanel panelMoviesArea;
JPanel panelToolbar;
JPanel bottomPanel;

List list;

JTable table;

JTextField search_textfield;

//======Buttons=============
JButton button_search;
JButton button_addMovie;
JButton button_deleteMovie;
JButton button_editMovie;
JButton button_all;
JButton[] quickButtons = new JButton[26];

JButton button_a;
JButton button_b;
JButton button_c;
JButton button_d;
JButton button_e;
JButton button_f;
JButton button_g;
JButton button_h;
JButton button_i;
JButton button_j;
JButton button_k;
JButton button_l;
JButton button_m;
JButton button_n;
JButton button_o;
JButton button_p;
JButton button_q;
JButton button_r;
JButton button_s;
JButton button_t;
JButton button_u;
JButton button_v;
JButton button_w;
JButton button_x;
JButton button_y;
JButton button_z;

JMenu file_menu;
JMenuItem file_save;
JMenuItem file_saveAs;
JMenuItem file_exit;

JMenu view_menu;

JMenu help_menu;

JMenuBar menuBar;

TestLayout()
{

createGui();

}

void createGui()
{
frame = new JFrame("Movie Warehouse");
frame.setSize( 800, 600 ); //<============need to dynamicly set size!
createPanelQuickJump();
createPanelToolBar();
createMenuBar();
createpanelGenre();
creatpanelMoviesArea();

//merge movies area and genre into one JPanel
bottomPanel = new JPanel();
// bottomPanel.add(panelGenre);
bottomPanel.add(panelMoviesArea);

// frame.getContentPane().setLayout(new GridLayout(3,1));
JPanel pnlButton = new JPanel( new GridBagLayout() ) ;
pnlButton.add( panelToolbar, new GridBagConstraints( 0, 0, 1, 1, 0.0, 0.0,
GridBagConstraints.WEST, GridBagConstraints.HORIZONTAL, new Insets( 0, 0, 0, 0 ), 0, 0 ) ) ;
pnlButton.add( panelQuickJump, new GridBagConstraints( 0, 1, 1, 1, 0.0, 0.0,
GridBagConstraints.WEST, GridBagConstraints.HORIZONTAL, new Insets( 0, 0, 0, 0 ), 0, 0 ) ) ;
// pnlButton.setPreferredSize( new Dimension( 600, 150 ) );
//frame.getContentPane().add(menuBar);
frame.getContentPane().add(pnlButton, BorderLayout.NORTH);
// frame.getContentPane().add(panelQuickJump);
frame.getContentPane().add( new JScrollPane( table, JScrollPane.VERTICAL_SCROLLBAR_AS_NEEDED,
JScrollPane.HORIZONTAL_SCROLLBAR_AS_NEEDED ) );
frame.getContentPane().add( new JScrollPane( list, JScrollPane.VERTICAL_SCROLLBAR_AS_NEEDED,
JScrollPane.HORIZONTAL_SCROLLBAR_AS_NEEDED ), BorderLayout.WEST );
frame.setLocationRelativeTo( null ); // Center the frame on the screen.
frame.setVisible( true );
frame.pack();
this.setDefaultCloseOperation(EXIT_ON_CLOSE);

// Make the frame visible to the user. // Make the frame visible to the user.
/*
panelQuickJump;
panelMoviesArea;
panelToolbar;
*/

}

void createMenuBar()
{
//====File menu================
file_menu = new JMenu("File");
file_menu.add(file_save = new JMenuItem("Save"));
file_menu.add(file_saveAs = new JMenuItem("Save As"));
file_menu.add(file_exit = new JMenuItem("Exit"));

//====View Menu================
view_menu = new JMenu("View");

//=Help Menu=================
help_menu = new JMenu("Help");

menuBar = new JMenuBar();

menuBar.add(file_menu);
menuBar.add(view_menu);
menuBar.add(help_menu);
frame.setJMenuBar(menuBar);

}

void createPanelQuickJump()
{
panelQuickJump = new JPanel();
panelQuickJump.setLayout( new GridBagLayout() );
createQuickButtons();

}

void creatpanelMoviesArea()
{
panelMoviesArea = new JPanel();
table = new JTable(20,4);

panelMoviesArea.add(table);

}
void createpanelGenre()
{
list = new List();
list.add("All");
list.add("Action");
list.add("Adventure");
list.add("Animation");
list.add("Comedy");
list.add("Documentary");
list.add("Drama");
list.add("Horror");
list.add("Sci-Fi");
list.add("Suspense");
list.add("Tv");

panelGenre = new JPanel();
panelGenre.add(list);

}
void createPanelToolBar()
{
panelToolbar = new JPanel();
panelToolbar.setLayout( new GridBagLayout() );
search_textfield = new JTextField( 10 );
JLabel labelSearch = new JLabel("Search");
panelToolbar.add(labelSearch, new GridBagConstraints( 0, 0, 1, 1, 0.0, 0.0,
GridBagConstraints.WEST, GridBagConstraints.NONE, new Insets( 0, 0, 0, 0 ), 0, 0 ));
panelToolbar.add(search_textfield, new GridBagConstraints( 1, 0, 1, 1, 0.0, 0.0,
GridBagConstraints.WEST, GridBagConstraints.NONE, new Insets( 0, 0, 0, 0 ), 0, 0 ));
panelToolbar.add(button_search, new GridBagConstraints( 2, 0, 1, 1, 0.0, 0.0,
GridBagConstraints.WEST, GridBagConstraints.NONE, new Insets( 0, 0, 0, 0 ), 0, 0 ));
panelToolbar.add(button_addMovie, new GridBagConstraints( 3, 0, 1, 1, 0.0, 0.0,
GridBagConstraints.WEST, GridBagConstraints.NONE, new Insets( 0, 0, 0, 0 ), 0, 0 ));
panelToolbar.add(button_deleteMovie, new GridBagConstraints( 4, 0, 1, 1, 0.0, 0.0,
GridBagConstraints.WEST, GridBagConstraints.NONE, new Insets( 0, 0, 0, 0 ), 0, 0 ));
panelToolbar.add(button_editMovie, new GridBagConstraints( 5, 0, 1, 1, 1.0, 0.0,
GridBagConstraints.WEST, GridBagConstraints.NONE, new Insets( 0, 0, 0, 0 ), 0, 0 ));
}

void createQuickButtons()
{
button_all = new JButton("all");
button_all.addActionListener(this);
panelQuickJump.add(button_all, new GridBagConstraints( 0, 0, 1, 1, 0.0, 0.0,
GridBagConstraints.WEST, GridBagConstraints.NONE, new Insets( 0, 0, 0, 0 ), 0, 0 ));

//alphabet buttons
for(int i=0; i < 26; i++)
{
char string= 'a';
quickButtons[i] = new JButton("a");
quickButtons[i].addActionListener(this);
panelQuickJump.add(quickButtons[i], new GridBagConstraints( GridBagConstraints.RELATIVE, 0, 1, 1, 0.0, 0.0,
GridBagConstraints.WEST, GridBagConstraints.NONE, new Insets( 0, 0, 0, 0 ), 0, 0 ));
}

//other buttons
button_search = new JButton("Search");
button_search.addActionListener(this);
button_addMovie = new JButton("Add Movie");
button_addMovie.addActionListener(this);
button_deleteMovie = new JButton("Delete Movie");
button_deleteMovie.addActionListener(this);
button_editMovie = new JButton("Edit Movie");
button_editMovie.addActionListener(this);
}

/**
Performs the specific actions once a listener is invoked
*/
public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent actionevent)
{

}

public static void main(String args[])
{
TestLayout dogfiler = new TestLayout();

}

}

ASKER CERTIFIED SOLUTION

ksivananth

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tyweed420

ASKER

thanks for the code and actually laying it out!

looks great!