Class BorderLayout

java.lang.Object
java.awt.BorderLayout
All Implemented Interfaces:
LayoutManager, LayoutManager2, Serializable
public class BorderLayout extends Object implements LayoutManager2, Serializable
A border layout lays out a container, arranging and resizing its components to fit in five regions: north, south, east, west, and center. Each region may contain no more than one component, and is identified by a corresponding constant: NORTH, SOUTH, EAST, WEST, and CENTER. When adding a component to a container with a border layout, use one of these five constants, for example: 
   Panel p = new Panel();
   p.setLayout(new BorderLayout());
   p.add(new Button("Okay"), BorderLayout.SOUTH);
As a convenience, BorderLayout interprets the absence of a string specification the same as the constant CENTER: 
   Panel p2 = new Panel();
   p2.setLayout(new BorderLayout());
   p2.add(new TextArea());  // Same as p.add(new TextArea(), BorderLayout.CENTER);

In addition, BorderLayout supports the relative positioning constants, PAGE_START, PAGE_END, LINE_START, and LINE_END. In a container whose ComponentOrientation is set to ComponentOrientation.LEFT_TO_RIGHT, these constants map to NORTH, SOUTH, WEST, and EAST, respectively.

For compatibility with previous releases, BorderLayout also includes the relative positioning constants BEFORE_FIRST_LINE, AFTER_LAST_LINE, BEFORE_LINE_BEGINS and AFTER_LINE_ENDS. These are equivalent to PAGE_START, PAGE_END, LINE_START and LINE_END respectively. For consistency with the relative positioning constants used by other components, the latter constants are preferred.

Mixing both absolute and relative positioning constants can lead to unpredictable results. If you use both types, the relative constants will take precedence. For example, if you add components using both the NORTH and PAGE_START constants in a container whose orientation is LEFT_TO_RIGHT, only the PAGE_START will be laid out.

NOTE: Currently, BorderLayout does not support vertical orientations. The isVertical setting on the container's ComponentOrientation is not respected.

The components are laid out according to their preferred sizes and the constraints of the container's size. The NORTH and SOUTH components may be stretched horizontally; the EAST and WEST components may be stretched vertically; the CENTER component may stretch both horizontally and vertically to fill any space left over.

Here is an example of five buttons in a window laid out using the BorderLayout layout manager:

Diagram of a window demonstrating BorderLayout. Each section of the BorderLayout contains a Button corresponding to its position in the layout, one of: North, West, Center, East, or South.

The code for this program is as follows: 

import java.awt.BorderLayout;
import java.awt.Button;
import java.awt.EventQueue;
import java.awt.Frame;

public class BorderLayoutExample {

    public static void main(String[] args) throws Exception {
        EventQueue.invokeAndWait(() -> {
            Frame frame = new Frame("BorderLayout");
            frame.setLayout(new BorderLayout());
            frame.add(new Button("North"), BorderLayout.NORTH);
            frame.add(new Button("South"), BorderLayout.SOUTH);
            frame.add(new Button("East"), BorderLayout.EAST);
            frame.add(new Button("West"), BorderLayout.WEST);
            frame.add(new Button("Center"), BorderLayout.CENTER);
            frame.setSize(300, 300);
            frame.setVisible(true);
        });
    }
}
Since:
1.0
See Also:

  • Field Summary

    Fields
    Modifier and Type
    Field
    Description
    static final String
    AFTER_LAST_LINE
    Synonym for PAGE_END.
    static final String
    AFTER_LINE_ENDS
    Synonym for LINE_END.
    static final String
    BEFORE_FIRST_LINE
    Synonym for PAGE_START.
    static final String
    BEFORE_LINE_BEGINS
    Synonym for LINE_START.
    static final String
    CENTER
    The center layout constraint (middle of container).
    static final String
    EAST
    The east layout constraint (right side of container).
    static final String
    LINE_END
    The component goes at the end of the line direction for the layout.
    static final String
    LINE_START
    The component goes at the beginning of the line direction for the layout.
    static final String
    NORTH
    The north layout constraint (top of container).
    static final String
    PAGE_END
    The component comes after the last line of the layout's content.
    static final String
    PAGE_START
    The component comes before the first line of the layout's content.
    static final String
    SOUTH
    The south layout constraint (bottom of container).
    static final String
    WEST
    The west layout constraint (left side of container).

  • Constructor Summary

    Constructors
    Constructor
    Description
    BorderLayout()
    Constructs a new border layout with no gaps between components.
    BorderLayout(int hgap, int vgap)
    Constructs a border layout with the specified gaps between components.

  • Method Summary

    Modifier and Type
    Method
    Description
    void
    addLayoutComponent(Component comp, Object constraints)
    Adds the specified component to the layout, using the specified constraint object.
    void
    addLayoutComponent(String name, Component comp)
    Deprecated.
    replaced by addLayoutComponent(Component, Object).
    Object
    getConstraints(Component comp)
    Gets the constraints for the specified component
    int
    getHgap()
    Returns the horizontal gap between components.
    float
    getLayoutAlignmentX(Container parent)
    Returns the alignment along the x axis.
    float
    getLayoutAlignmentY(Container parent)
    Returns the alignment along the y axis.
    Component
    getLayoutComponent(Container target, Object constraints)
    Returns the component that corresponds to the given constraint location based on the target Container's component orientation.
    Component
    getLayoutComponent(Object constraints)
    Gets the component that was added using the given constraint
    int
    getVgap()
    Returns the vertical gap between components.
    void
    invalidateLayout(Container target)
    Invalidates the layout, indicating that if the layout manager has cached information it should be discarded.
    void
    layoutContainer(Container target)
    Lays out the container argument using this border layout.
    Dimension
    maximumLayoutSize(Container target)
    Returns the maximum dimensions for this layout given the components in the specified target container.
    Dimension
    minimumLayoutSize(Container target)
    Determines the minimum size of the target container using this layout manager.
    Dimension
    preferredLayoutSize(Container target)
    Determines the preferred size of the target container using this layout manager, based on the components in the container.
    void
    removeLayoutComponent(Component comp)
    Removes the specified component from this border layout.
    void
    setHgap(int hgap)
    Sets the horizontal gap between components.
    void
    setVgap(int vgap)
    Sets the vertical gap between components.
    String
    toString()
    Returns a string representation of the state of this border layout.

    Methods declared in class Object

    clone, equals, finalize, getClass, hashCode, notify, notifyAll, wait, wait, wait
    Modifier and Type
    Method
    Description
    protected Object
    clone()
    Creates and returns a copy of this object.
    boolean
    equals(Object obj)
    Indicates whether some other object is "equal to" this one.
    protected void
    finalize()
    Deprecated, for removal: This API element is subject to removal in a future version.
    Finalization is deprecated and subject to removal in a future release.
    final Class<?>
    getClass()
    Returns the runtime class of this Object.
    int
    hashCode()
    Returns a hash code value for this object.
    final void
    notify()
    Wakes up a single thread that is waiting on this object's monitor.
    final void
    notifyAll()
    Wakes up all threads that are waiting on this object's monitor.
    final void
    wait()
    Causes the current thread to wait until it is awakened, typically by being notified or interrupted.
    final void
    wait(long timeoutMillis)
    Causes the current thread to wait until it is awakened, typically by being notified or interrupted, or until a certain amount of real time has elapsed.
    final void
    wait(long timeoutMillis, int nanos)
    Causes the current thread to wait until it is awakened, typically by being notified or interrupted, or until a certain amount of real time has elapsed.

  • Field Details

  • Constructor Details

    • BorderLayout

      public BorderLayout()
      Constructs a new border layout with no gaps between components.

    • BorderLayout

      public BorderLayout(int hgap, int vgap)
      Constructs a border layout with the specified gaps between components. The horizontal gap is specified by hgap and the vertical gap is specified by vgap.
      Parameters:
      hgap - the horizontal gap.
      vgap - the vertical gap.

  • Method Details

    • getHgap

      public int getHgap()
      Returns the horizontal gap between components.
      Returns:
      the horizontal gap between components
      Since:
      1.1

    • setHgap

      public void setHgap(int hgap)
      Sets the horizontal gap between components.
      Parameters:
      hgap - the horizontal gap between components
      Since:
      1.1

    • getVgap

      public int getVgap()
      Returns the vertical gap between components.
      Returns:
      the vertical gap between components
      Since:
      1.1

    • setVgap

      public void setVgap(int vgap)
      Sets the vertical gap between components.
      Parameters:
      vgap - the vertical gap between components
      Since:
      1.1

    • addLayoutComponent

      public void addLayoutComponent(Component comp, Object constraints)
      Adds the specified component to the layout, using the specified constraint object. For border layouts, the constraint must be one of the following constants: NORTH, SOUTH, EAST, WEST, or CENTER.

      Most applications do not call this method directly. This method is called when a component is added to a container using the Container.add method with the same argument types.

      Specified by:
      addLayoutComponent in interface LayoutManager2
      Parameters:
      comp - the component to be added.
      constraints - an object that specifies how and where the component is added to the layout.
      Throws:
      IllegalArgumentException - if the constraint object is not a string, or if it not one of the five specified constants.
      Since:
      1.1
      See Also:

    • addLayoutComponent

      @Deprecated public void addLayoutComponent(String name, Component comp)
      Deprecated.
      replaced by addLayoutComponent(Component, Object).
      Description copied from interface: LayoutManager
      If the layout manager uses a per-component string, adds the component comp to the layout, associating it with the string specified by name.
      Specified by:
      addLayoutComponent in interface LayoutManager
      Parameters:
      name - the string to be associated with the component
      comp - the component to be added

    • removeLayoutComponent

      public void removeLayoutComponent(Component comp)
      Removes the specified component from this border layout. This method is called when a container calls its remove or removeAll methods. Most applications do not call this method directly.
      Specified by:
      removeLayoutComponent in interface LayoutManager
      Parameters:
      comp - the component to be removed.
      See Also:

    • getLayoutComponent

      public Component getLayoutComponent(Object constraints)
      Gets the component that was added using the given constraint
      Parameters:
      constraints - the desired constraint, one of CENTER, NORTH, SOUTH, WEST, EAST, PAGE_START, PAGE_END, LINE_START, LINE_END
      Returns:
      the component at the given location, or null if the location is empty
      Throws:
      IllegalArgumentException - if the constraint object is not one of the nine specified constants
      Since:
      1.5
      See Also:

    • getLayoutComponent

      public Component getLayoutComponent(Container target, Object constraints)
      Returns the component that corresponds to the given constraint location based on the target Container's component orientation. Components added with the relative constraints PAGE_START, PAGE_END, LINE_START, and LINE_END take precedence over components added with the explicit constraints NORTH, SOUTH, WEST, and EAST. The Container's component orientation is used to determine the location of components added with LINE_START and LINE_END.
      Parameters:
      target - the Container used to obtain the constraint location based on the target Container's component orientation.
      constraints - the desired absolute position, one of CENTER, NORTH, SOUTH, EAST, WEST
      Returns:
      the component at the given location, or null if the location is empty
      Throws:
      IllegalArgumentException - if the constraint object is not one of the five specified constants
      NullPointerException - if the target parameter is null
      Since:
      1.5
      See Also:

    • getConstraints

      public Object getConstraints(Component comp)
      Gets the constraints for the specified component
      Parameters:
      comp - the component to be queried
      Returns:
      the constraint for the specified component, or null if component is null or is not present in this layout
      Since:
      1.5
      See Also:

    • minimumLayoutSize

      public Dimension minimumLayoutSize(Container target)
      Determines the minimum size of the target container using this layout manager.

      This method is called when a container calls its getMinimumSize method. Most applications do not call this method directly.

      Specified by:
      minimumLayoutSize in interface LayoutManager
      Parameters:
      target - the container in which to do the layout.
      Returns:
      the minimum dimensions needed to lay out the subcomponents of the specified container.
      See Also:

    • preferredLayoutSize

      public Dimension preferredLayoutSize(Container target)
      Determines the preferred size of the target container using this layout manager, based on the components in the container.

      Most applications do not call this method directly. This method is called when a container calls its getPreferredSize method.

      Specified by:
      preferredLayoutSize in interface LayoutManager
      Parameters:
      target - the container in which to do the layout.
      Returns:
      the preferred dimensions to lay out the subcomponents of the specified container.
      See Also:

    • maximumLayoutSize

      public Dimension maximumLayoutSize(Container target)
      Returns the maximum dimensions for this layout given the components in the specified target container.
      Specified by:
      maximumLayoutSize in interface LayoutManager2
      Parameters:
      target - the component which needs to be laid out
      Returns:
      the maximum size of the container
      See Also:

    • getLayoutAlignmentX

      public float getLayoutAlignmentX(Container parent)
      Returns the alignment along the x axis. This specifies how the component would like to be aligned relative to other components. The value should be a number between 0 and 1 where 0 represents alignment along the origin, 1 is aligned the furthest away from the origin, 0.5 is centered, etc.
      Specified by:
      getLayoutAlignmentX in interface LayoutManager2
      Parameters:
      parent - the target container
      Returns:
      the x-axis alignment preference

    • getLayoutAlignmentY

      public float getLayoutAlignmentY(Container parent)
      Returns the alignment along the y axis. This specifies how the component would like to be aligned relative to other components. The value should be a number between 0 and 1 where 0 represents alignment along the origin, 1 is aligned the furthest away from the origin, 0.5 is centered, etc.
      Specified by:
      getLayoutAlignmentY in interface LayoutManager2
      Parameters:
      parent - the target container
      Returns:
      the y-axis alignment preference

    • invalidateLayout

      public void invalidateLayout(Container target)
      Invalidates the layout, indicating that if the layout manager has cached information it should be discarded.
      Specified by:
      invalidateLayout in interface LayoutManager2
      Parameters:
      target - the target container

    • layoutContainer

      public void layoutContainer(Container target)
      Lays out the container argument using this border layout.

      This method actually reshapes the components in the specified container in order to satisfy the constraints of this BorderLayout object. The NORTH and SOUTH components, if any, are placed at the top and bottom of the container, respectively. The WEST and EAST components are then placed on the left and right, respectively. Finally, the CENTER object is placed in any remaining space in the middle.

      Most applications do not call this method directly. This method is called when a container calls its doLayout method.

      Specified by:
      layoutContainer in interface LayoutManager
      Parameters:
      target - the container in which to do the layout.
      See Also:

    • toString

      public String toString()
      Returns a string representation of the state of this border layout.
      Overrides:
      toString in class Object
      Returns:
      a string representation of this border layout.