Layout Problems

[Atrus Greyor]

With the following code, I get two layout problems. One, my menubar does not stretch all the way to each side of the JFrame. This in turn seems to be causing my TabbedPanes to line up incorrectly, with there only being room for two TabbedPanes per row. I would like all 5 to be in one row? What is causing this?

  
//IPDE.java
 
/**
*    @author Atrus Greyor
*    @version 1.0
*    Creates and runs the Tabbedpane and Menu for the IPDE
*/
 
import javax.swing.*;
import java.awt.*;
import java.awt.event.*;
import java.io.*;
import javax.swing.text.*;
import java.text.*;
import java.util.*;
import javax.swing.undo.*;
import javax.swing.event.*;
import java.net.*;
 

public class IPDE extends JFrame
{
 

public static void main(String[] args)
{
    createAndShowGUI();//Calls up createAndShowGUI method
    }
 
public static void createAndShowGUI()
{
/*
**  Creates the frame, adds the panels and adds the Items
*/
 
JFrame frame = new JFrame();
JPanel panel = new JPanel();
panel.setLayout(new BorderLayout());
 
frame.add(panel);
panel.add(new tabbedPane(), BorderLayout.SOUTH);
panel.add(new addMenu(), BorderLayout.NORTH);
 
frame.pack();
frame.setVisible(true);
}
}
 
class tabbedPane extends JPanel
{
public tabbedPane()
{
JTabbedPane tabbedPane = new JTabbedPane();
super.setLayout(new GridLayout (4, 4));
//New components for the tabs
JComponent panel2 = makeTextPanel("Panel #2");
JComponent panel3 = makeTextPanel("Panel #3");
JComponent panel4 = makeConversionsLabel();
JComponent panel5 = makeTextPanel("Panel #5");
JComponent panel6 = makeTextPanel("Panel #6");
 
//The indivdual tabs
tabbedPane.addTab("Tab one", panel2);
tabbedPane.addTab("Tab two", panel3);
tabbedPane.addTab("Tab three", panel4);
tabbedPane.addTab("Tab three", panel5);
tabbedPane.addTab("Tab three", panel6);
 

//Making it visible
add(tabbedPane);
}
protected JComponent makeTextPanel(String text)
{
    JPanel panel = new JPanel(false);
    JLabel filler = new JLabel(text);
    filler.setHorizontalAlignment(JLabel.CENTER);
    panel.setLayout(new GridLayout(1, 1));
    panel.add(filler);
    return panel;
    }
    protected JComponent makeConversionsLabel()
    {
JPanel panel = new JPanel();
String feet = "Feet";
String meters = "Meters";
String span = "Span";
String toran = "Toran";
String degrees = "Degrees";
 
JLabel surfaceMeasure = new JLabel(feet);
JLabel dniMeasure = new JLabel(span);
JLabel surfaceDegree = new JLabel(degrees);
JLabel dniDegree = new JLabel(toran);
 
//JTextArea surfaceMeasureText = new
 
JPanel panel1 = new JPanel();
panel1.setLayout(new BorderLayout());
panel.add(panel1, BorderLayout.NORTH);
 
JPanel panel2 = new JPanel();
panel2.setLayout(new BorderLayout());
panel1.add(panel2, BorderLayout.WEST);
panel2.add(surfaceMeasure, BorderLayout.WEST);
panel2.add(dniMeasure, BorderLayout.EAST);
 
JPanel panel3 = new JPanel();
panel3.setLayout(new BorderLayout());
panel.add(panel3, BorderLayout.CENTER);
//panel3.add(
return panel;
}
}
 
class addMenu extends JPanel
{
//Creating the Menu Bar
JMenuBar menuBar = new JMenuBar();
 
//The File Menu
JMenu file = new JMenu("File");
 
//Items for the File Menu
JMenuItem exit = new JMenuItem("Exit");
 
//The View Menu
JMenu view = new JMenu("View");
 
//Items for the View Menu
JMenuItem main = new JMenuItem("Main");
JMenuItem time = new JMenuItem("Time");
JMenuItem conversions = new JMenuItem("Conversions");
JMenuItem numbers = new JMenuItem("Numbers");
JMenuItem colors = new JMenuItem("Colors");
JMenuItem dictionary = new JMenuItem("Dictionary");
JMenuItem encylopedia = new JMenuItem("Encylopedia");
JMenuItem textpad = new JMenuItem("Text Pad");
 
//The Standards Menu
JMenu standards = new JMenu("Standards");
 
//Items for the Standards Menu
JRadioButtonMenuItem american = new JRadioButtonMenuItem("American");
JRadioButtonMenuItem metric = new JRadioButtonMenuItem("Metric");
 
//Grouping the Standard items together
ButtonGroup group = new ButtonGroup();
 
//The Help Menu
JMenu help = new JMenu("Help");
 
//Items for the Help Menu
JMenuItem howToUse = new JMenuItem("How to use");
JMenuItem about = new JMenuItem("About");
JMenuItem version = new JMenuItem("Version");
 
public addMenu()
{
//Adding items to the File menu
file.add(exit);
 
//Creating Mnemonic for the items in the File menu
exit.setMnemonic(KeyEvent.VK_F4);
 
//Adding items to the View menu
view.add(main);
view.add(time);
view.add(conversions);
view.add(numbers);
view.add(colors);
view.add(dictionary);
view.add(encylopedia);
view.add(textpad);
 
//Adding items to the Standards menu
standards.add(american);
standards.add(metric);
 
//Adding items to the Help menu
help.add(howToUse);
help.add(about);
help.add(version);
 
//Adding menus to the menu bar
menuBar.add(file);
menuBar.add(view);
menuBar.add(standards);
menuBar.add(help);
 
//Adding to the group
group.add(american);
group.add(metric);
 
//Making it visible
add(menuBar);

Ignore makeConversionsLabel, for it was not finished at the time of posting.

Thanks in advance for your help.

[Atrus Greyor]

Ah ha! I fixed the TabbedPane problem, but the menu bar still does not reach from side to side, how do I fix this?

EDIT: Changed screen to screen to, side to side.
[ October 15, 2005: Message edited by: Atrus Greyor ]

[Michael Dunn]

change this
//panel.add(new addMenu(), BorderLayout.NORTH);
to this
frame.setJMenuBar(new addMenu());

here's the new addMenu() class

class addMenu extends JMenuBar
//class addMenu extends JPanel //<-------
{
  //JMenuBar menuBar = new JMenuBar();//<-------
  JMenu file = new JMenu("File");
  JMenuItem exit = new JMenuItem("Exit");
  JMenu view = new JMenu("View");
  JMenuItem main = new JMenuItem("Main");
  JMenuItem time = new JMenuItem("Time");
  JMenuItem conversions = new JMenuItem("Conversions");
  JMenuItem numbers = new JMenuItem("Numbers");
  JMenuItem colors = new JMenuItem("Colors");
  JMenuItem dictionary = new JMenuItem("Dictionary");
  JMenuItem encylopedia = new JMenuItem("Encylopedia");
  JMenuItem textpad = new JMenuItem("Text Pad");
  JMenu standards = new JMenu("Standards");
  JRadioButtonMenuItem american = new JRadioButtonMenuItem("American");
  JRadioButtonMenuItem metric = new JRadioButtonMenuItem("Metric");
  ButtonGroup group = new ButtonGroup();
  JMenu help = new JMenu("Help");
  JMenuItem howToUse = new JMenuItem("How to use");
  JMenuItem about = new JMenuItem("About");
  JMenuItem version = new JMenuItem("Version");
  public addMenu()
  {
    file.add(exit);
    exit.setMnemonic(KeyEvent.VK_F4);
    view.add(main);
    view.add(time);
    view.add(conversions);
    view.add(numbers);
    view.add(colors);
    view.add(dictionary);
    view.add(encylopedia);
    view.add(textpad);
    standards.add(american);
    standards.add(metric);
    help.add(howToUse);
    help.add(about);
    help.add(version);
    add(file);//<-------
    add(view);//<-------
    add(standards);//<-------
    add(help);//<-------
    group.add(american);
    group.add(metric);
    //add(menuBar);//<-------
  }
}

[Craig Wood]

I came up with a slightly different approach (before seeing Michael's post) and a few other comments:
JMenuBar extends from JComponent so you can add it to a Container just like any other JComponent. When you add the JMenuBar to a JPanel (which has FlowLayout as its default layout manager) it will be centered and shown at its preferred size. When you add the JPanel to the north section of a BorderLayout the panel will expand horizontally to fill the width of the north section allowing the JMenuBar to remain at its preferred size.

You can add the JMenuBar to the JFrame with the 'setJMenuBar' method. Or you could add the JMenuBar to the north section of the JFrames default BorderLayout which will expand it (the menuBar) to fill the north section (which the menuBars parent JPanel was doing before).

Here I used the 'setJMenuBar' method, eliminated the JPanel extension from the (CustomMenu) class that makes the menus and menuBar and added a 'get' method to return the JMenuBar.

About the JFrame: you can extend JFrame and call JFrame methods on it from within the class. Or you can not extend JFrame, create a new JFrame and call JFrame methods on it, ie the reference to the new JFrame (the variable 'frame' in your code). These are two ways of making a JFrame for your gui so choose one or the other but not both. The first uses inheritance. The second uses composition.

import java.awt.*;
import java.awt.event.*;
import javax.swing.*;
 
public class IPDE extends JFrame
{
    public static void main(String[] args)
    {
        IPDE ipde = new IPDE();
        ipde.createAndShowGUI(); //Calls up createAndShowGUI method
    }
 
    /*
    ** Creates the frame, adds the panels and adds the Items
     * if IPDE did not extend JFrame then we would
     * create a JFrame, save a reference to it ('frame')
     * and call the JFrame methods on the reference
     * variable as you did in the original code
     */
    public void createAndShowGUI()
    {
        // since IPDE extends JFrame IPDE is a JFrame
        // so we can call JFrame methods inside IPDE
        // we are calling them on the enclosing class, 'this'
        // some prefer to write these as 'this.setDefault...'
        setDefaultCloseOperation(EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
        setJMenuBar(new CustomMenu().getMenuBar());
        add(new TabbedPanel(), BorderLayout.SOUTH);
        setSize(500,300);
        setVisible(true);
    }
}
 
class TabbedPanel extends JPanel
{
    public TabbedPanel()
    {
        super.setLayout(new BorderLayout());
        ... no other changes to this class
}
 
class CustomMenu
{
    // all the same here...
 
    public CustomMenu()
    {
        // no changes in here either
    }
 
    public JMenuBar getMenuBar()
    {
        return menuBar;
    }
}

[Atrus Greyor]

Thank you, thank you, it looks fine now!