Moving Components Around

[SantaFlan]

I used to be a VisualBASIC programmer and it was pretty easy to move a command button around. All you had to do was specify a left and a top value in the code.

Ex:
cmdButton.Left = 50
cmdButton.Top = 100

Is there a way to do this with AWT buttons & other components as well?

P.S. Sorry for defiling this forum with VisualBASIC codes... LOL.

[travishein]

In Java using AWT, or Swing UI components, components such as Buttons are laid out within a container, such as a Panel. The containers use a LayoutManager to have the button width and height and positional offset inside the container set for us. Most of the built-in to the Java VM layout managers don't let you tune the button individual X,Y coordinates that is.

Probably the most useful for fine tuning, and also the most compicated, is to use a GridBagLayout.

[SantaFlan]

Gawd dammit. Why does it have to be difficult?

[Fubarable]

Probably the most useful for fine tuning, and also the most compicated, is to use a GridBagLayout.

I've seen good results with nested layouts and with the MIgLayout (though this needs to be downloaded first).

[Tanshaydar]

For JButtons, you have to set layout (if not CardLayout or similar function) to null and specify bounds for button like:

JButton button = new JButton("This is a button")
button.setBounds(topX, topY, buttonWidth, buttonHeight);

But if your container is resizeable, then button place stays same and container look degrades.

[Fubarable]

For JButtons, you have to set layout (if not CardLayout or similar function) to null and specify bounds for button like:

I very strongly disagree with the statements above. Why do you recommend this over use of layout managers? With what experience do you base these recommendation on? What will happen if/when a GUI created with null layout is run in a different OS with different screen resolutions?

But if your container is resizeable, then button place stays same and container look degrades.

Agree, and not just in this situation, but in many other situations as well.

[SantaFlan]

For JButtons, you have to set layout (if not CardLayout or similar function) to null and specify bounds for button like:

JButton button = new JButton("This is a button")
button.setBounds(topX, topY, buttonWidth, buttonHeight);

But if your container is resizeable, then button place stays same and container look degrades.

That is exactly what I was looking for! It works perfectly thanks!

[Fubarable]

OP, again, while transhaydar means well, this recommendations will not work in the long run. I strongly urge you to read up on how to use layout managers if you want to learn to create flexible scalable Swing GUI's.

[SantaFlan]

I don't think you understand what I'm trying to make here. It's never going to be a scaleable window. It's like a dialogue. It's only meant to be minimized and closed. Not scalable, not maximizable.

[Tanshaydar]

Of course, more professional coding needs to think every situation for a general application. So I can see Fubarable's concern here and he is right.
However for a short term non-resizeable container it doesn't have any problem.