Cant get text to align in JLabel

[spect4cle]

Ok, so this is what I have got so far:



I want the "Output" label to appear to be aligned in the top left. How do I achieve this?

My code snipper is:

		pane.setLayout(new BorderLayout());
		// store a gridlayout and place in the center of the borderlayout
		JPanel output_area = new JPanel(new FlowLayout(FlowLayout.LEFT));
		JPanel input_area = new JPanel(new FlowLayout(FlowLayout.LEFT));
		JPanel keyboard = new JPanel(new GridBagLayout());
		pane.add(output_area, BorderLayout.NORTH);
		pane.add(input_area, BorderLayout.CENTER);
		pane.add(keyboard, BorderLayout.SOUTH);
		
		output = new JLabel("Output:");
		output_area.add(output);
		
		area = new JTextArea(5,20);
		area.setOpaque(false);
		area.setEditable(false);
		output_area.add(area);
		
		input = new JLabel("Input:");
		input_area.add(input);
		
		inputArea = new JTextField(10);
		Color color = output.getBackground();
		inputArea.setEditable(false);
		inputArea.setBackground(color);
		inputArea.setBorder(null);
		input_area.add(inputArea);

Any help appreciated, regards

[camickr]

It looks like your panel has two components, a label and a text area. A FlowLayout displays the components in the center of the vertical space required by the components.

Try using a horizontal BoxLayout. Then you can control the vertical alignment of the components added to the panel. See: Fixing Alignment Problems.