Layout managers are an essential part of Swing forms. They lay out components within a container. JFormDesigner provides support for following layout managers:
For "normal" forms use either one of the grid-based layout managers (FormLayout, TableLayout or GridBagLayout) or use "Free Design" (GroupLayout). Each layout manager has its advantages and disadvantages. FormLayout and TableLayout are open source and require that you ship an additional library with your application.
For button bars use FormLayout, TableLayout, GridBagLayout or FlowLayout.
To layout a main window, use BorderLayout. Place the toolbar to the north, the status bar to the south and the content to the center.
For toolbars use JToolBar
, which has its own
layout manager (based
on BoxLayout).
For radio button groups, BoxLayout
may be a good choice. Mainly
because JRadioButton
has a gap between its text and its
border and
therefore the gaps provided by FormLayout, TableLayout and
GridBagLayout are not necessary.
You can change the layout manager at any time. Either in the Properties view or by right-clicking on a container in the Design or Structure view and selecting the new layout manager from the popup menu.
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