Package com.jgoodies.forms.builder

Class PanelBuilder

  • Direct Known Subclasses:
    ButtonBarBuilder, ButtonStackBuilder, I15dPanelBuilder
    public class PanelBuilder
extends AbstractFormBuilder
    An general purpose panel builder that uses the FormLayout to lay out JPanels. It provides convenience methods to set a default border and to add labels, titles and titled separators.

    The PanelBuilder is the working horse for layouts when more specialized builders like the ButtonBarBuilder or DefaultFormBuilder are inappropriate.

    The Forms tutorial includes several examples that present and compare different style to build with the PanelBuilder: static row numbers vs. row variable, explicit CellConstraints vs. builder cursor, static rows vs. dynamically added rows. Also, you may check out the Tips & Tricks section of the Forms HTML documentation.

    The text arguments passed to the methods #addLabel, #addTitle, and #addSeparator can contain an optional mnemonic marker. The mnemonic and mnemonic index are indicated by a single ampersand (&). For example "&Save", or "Save &as". To use the ampersand itself duplicate it, for example "Look&&Feel".

    Example:
    This example creates a panel with 3 columns and 3 rows. 

     FormLayout layout = new FormLayout(
      "right:pref, 6dlu, 50dlu, 4dlu, default",  // columns
      "pref, 3dlu, pref, 3dlu, pref");           // rows

 PanelBuilder builder = new PanelBuilder(layout);
 CellConstraints cc = new CellConstraints();
 builder.addLabel("&Title",      cc.xy  (1, 1));
 builder.add(new JTextField(),   cc.xywh(3, 1, 3, 1));
 builder.addLabel("&Price",      cc.xy  (1, 3));
 builder.add(new JTextField(),   cc.xy  (3, 3));
 builder.addLabel("&Author",     cc.xy  (1, 5));
 builder.add(new JTextField(),   cc.xy  (3, 5));
 builder.add(new JButton("..."), cc.xy  (5, 5));
 return builder.getPanel();
    Version:
    $Revision$
    Author:
    Karsten Lentzsch
    See Also:
    ComponentFactory, I15dPanelBuilder, DefaultFormBuilder

    • Constructor Detail

      • PanelBuilder

        public PanelBuilder​(FormLayout layout)
        Constructs an instance of PanelBuilder for the given layout. Uses an instance of JPanel as layout container with the given layout as layout manager.
        Parameters:
        layout - the FormLayout to use

      • PanelBuilder

        public PanelBuilder​(FormLayout layout,
                    javax.swing.JPanel panel)
        Constructs an instance of PanelBuilder for the given FormLayout and layout container.
        Parameters:
        layout - the FormLayout to use
        panel - the layout container to build on

      • PanelBuilder

        @Deprecated
public PanelBuilder​(javax.swing.JPanel panel,
                    FormLayout layout)
        Deprecated.
        Replaced by PanelBuilder(FormLayout, JPanel).
        Constructs an instance of PanelBuilder for the given panel and layout.
        Parameters:
        panel - the layout container to build on
        layout - the form layout to use

    • Method Detail

      • getPanel

        public final javax.swing.JPanel getPanel()
        Returns the panel used to build the form.
        Returns:
        the panel used by this builder to build the form

      • setBorder

        public final void setBorder​(javax.swing.border.Border border)
        Sets the panel's border.
        Parameters:
        border - the border to set

      • setDefaultDialogBorder

        public final void setDefaultDialogBorder()
        Sets the default dialog border.
        See Also:
        Borders

      • addLabel

        public final javax.swing.JLabel addLabel​(java.lang.String textWithMnemonic)
        Adds a textual label to the form using the default constraints. 
         addLabel("Name");       // No Mnemonic
 addLabel("N&ame");      // Mnemonic is 'a'
 addLabel("Save &as");   // Mnemonic is the second 'a'
 addLabel("Look&&Feel"); // No mnemonic, text is "look&feel"
        Parameters:
        textWithMnemonic - the label's text - may contain an ampersand (&) to mark a mnemonic
        Returns:
        the new label
        See Also:
        ComponentFactory

      • addLabel

        public final javax.swing.JLabel addLabel​(java.lang.String textWithMnemonic,
                                         CellConstraints constraints)
        Adds a textual label to the form using the specified constraints. 
         addLabel("Name",       cc.xy(1, 1)); // No Mnemonic
 addLabel("N&ame",      cc.xy(1, 1)); // Mnemonic is 'a'
 addLabel("Save &as",   cc.xy(1, 1)); // Mnemonic is the second 'a'
 addLabel("Look&&Feel", cc.xy(1, 1)); // No mnemonic, text is "look&feel"
        Parameters:
        textWithMnemonic - the label's text - may contain an ampersand (&) to mark a mnemonic
        constraints - the label's cell constraints
        Returns:
        the new label
        See Also:
        ComponentFactory

      • addLabel

        public final javax.swing.JLabel addLabel​(java.lang.String textWithMnemonic,
                                         java.lang.String encodedConstraints)
        Adds a textual label to the form using the specified constraints. 
         addLabel("Name",       "1, 1"); // No Mnemonic
 addLabel("N&ame",      "1, 1"); // Mnemonic is 'a'
 addLabel("Save &as",   "1, 1"); // Mnemonic is the second 'a'
 addLabel("Look&&Feel", "1, 1"); // No mnemonic, text is "look&feel"
        Parameters:
        textWithMnemonic - the label's text - may contain an ampersand (&) to mark a mnemonic
        encodedConstraints - a string representation for the constraints
        Returns:
        the new label
        See Also:
        ComponentFactory

      • add

        public final javax.swing.JLabel add​(javax.swing.JLabel label,
                                    CellConstraints labelConstraints,
                                    java.awt.Component component,
                                    CellConstraints componentConstraints)
        Adds a label and component to the panel using the given cell constraints. Sets the given label as the component label using JLabel.setLabelFor(java.awt.Component).

        Note: The CellConstraints objects for the label and the component must be different. Cell constraints are implicitly cloned by the FormLayout when added to the container. However, in this case you may be tempted to reuse a CellConstraints object in the same way as with many other builder methods that require a single CellConstraints parameter. The pitfall is that the methods CellConstraints.xy*(...) just set the coordinates but do not create a new instance. And so the second invocation of xy*(...) overrides the settings performed in the first invocation before the object is cloned by the FormLayout.

        Wrong:

         CellConstraints cc = new CellConstraints();
 builder.add(
     nameLabel,
     cc.xy(1, 7),         // will be modified by the code below
     nameField,
     cc.xy(3, 7)          // sets the single instance to (3, 7)
 );

        Correct:

         // Using a single CellConstraints instance and cloning
 CellConstraints cc = new CellConstraints();
 builder.add(
     nameLabel,
     (CellConstraints) cc.xy(1, 7).clone(), // cloned before the next modification
     nameField,
     cc.xy(3, 7)                            // sets this instance to (3, 7)
 );

 // Using two CellConstraints instances
 CellConstraints cc1 = new CellConstraints();
 CellConstraints cc2 = new CellConstraints();
 builder.add(
     nameLabel,
     cc1.xy(1, 7),       // sets instance 1 to (1, 7)
     nameField,
     cc2.xy(3, 7)        // sets instance 2 to (3, 7)
 );
        Parameters:
        label - the label to add
        labelConstraints - the label's cell constraints
        component - the component to add
        componentConstraints - the component's cell constraints
        Returns:
        the added label
        Throws:
        java.lang.IllegalArgumentException - if the same cell constraints instance is used for the label and the component
        See Also:
        JLabel.setLabelFor(java.awt.Component), DefaultFormBuilder

      • addLabel

        public final javax.swing.JLabel addLabel​(java.lang.String textWithMnemonic,
                                         CellConstraints labelConstraints,
                                         java.awt.Component component,
                                         CellConstraints componentConstraints)
        Adds a label and component to the panel using the given cell constraints. Sets the given label as the component label using JLabel.setLabelFor(java.awt.Component).

        Note: The CellConstraints objects for the label and the component must be different. Cell constraints are implicitly cloned by the FormLayout when added to the container. However, in this case you may be tempted to reuse a CellConstraints object in the same way as with many other builder methods that require a single CellConstraints parameter. The pitfall is that the methods CellConstraints.xy*(...) just set the coordinates but do not create a new instance. And so the second invocation of xy*(...) overrides the settings performed in the first invocation before the object is cloned by the FormLayout.

        Wrong:

         builder.addLabel(
     "&Name:",            // Mnemonic is 'N'
     cc.xy(1, 7),         // will be modified by the code below
     nameField,
     cc.xy(3, 7)          // sets the single instance to (3, 7)
 );
        Correct:
         // Using a single CellConstraints instance and cloning
 CellConstraints cc = new CellConstraints();
 builder.addLabel(
     "&Name:",
     (CellConstraints) cc.xy(1, 7).clone(), // cloned before the next modification
     nameField,
     cc.xy(3, 7)                            // sets this instance to (3, 7)
 );

 // Using two CellConstraints instances
 CellConstraints cc1 = new CellConstraints();
 CellConstraints cc2 = new CellConstraints();
 builder.addLabel(
     "&Name:",           // Mnemonic is 'N'
     cc1.xy(1, 7),       // sets instance 1 to (1, 7)
     nameField,
     cc2.xy(3, 7)        // sets instance 2 to (3, 7)
 );
        Parameters:
        textWithMnemonic - the label's text - may contain an ampersand (&) to mark a mnemonic
        labelConstraints - the label's cell constraints
        component - the component to add
        componentConstraints - the component's cell constraints
        Returns:
        the added label
        Throws:
        java.lang.IllegalArgumentException - if the same cell constraints instance is used for the label and the component
        See Also:
        JLabel.setLabelFor(java.awt.Component), ComponentFactory, DefaultFormBuilder

      • addTitle

        public final javax.swing.JLabel addTitle​(java.lang.String textWithMnemonic)
        Adds a title label to the form using the default constraints. 
         addTitle("Name");       // No mnemonic
 addTitle("N&ame");      // Mnemonic is 'a'
 addTitle("Save &as");   // Mnemonic is the second 'a'
 addTitle("Look&&Feel"); // No mnemonic, text is Look&Feel
        Parameters:
        textWithMnemonic - the title label's text - may contain an ampersand (&) to mark a mnemonic
        Returns:
        the added title label
        See Also:
        ComponentFactory

      • addTitle

        public final javax.swing.JLabel addTitle​(java.lang.String textWithMnemonic,
                                         CellConstraints constraints)
        Adds a title label to the form using the specified constraints. 
         addTitle("Name",       cc.xy(1, 1)); // No mnemonic
 addTitle("N&ame",      cc.xy(1, 1)); // Mnemonic is 'a'
 addTitle("Save &as",   cc.xy(1, 1)); // Mnemonic is the second 'a'
 addTitle("Look&&Feel", cc.xy(1, 1)); // No mnemonic, text is Look&Feel
        Parameters:
        textWithMnemonic - the title label's text - may contain an ampersand (&) to mark a mnemonic
        constraints - the separator's cell constraints
        Returns:
        the added title label
        See Also:
        ComponentFactory

      • addTitle

        public final javax.swing.JLabel addTitle​(java.lang.String textWithMnemonic,
                                         java.lang.String encodedConstraints)
        Adds a title label to the form using the specified constraints. 
         addTitle("Name",       "1, 1"); // No mnemonic
 addTitle("N&ame",      "1, 1"); // Mnemonic is 'a'
 addTitle("Save &as",   "1, 1"); // Mnemonic is the second 'a'
 addTitle("Look&&Feel", "1, 1"); // No mnemonic, text is Look&Feel
        Parameters:
        textWithMnemonic - the title label's text - may contain an ampersand (&) to mark a mnemonic
        encodedConstraints - a string representation for the constraints
        Returns:
        the added title label
        See Also:
        ComponentFactory

      • addSeparator

        public final javax.swing.JComponent addSeparator​(java.lang.String textWithMnemonic)
        Adds a titled separator to the form that spans all columns. 
         addSeparator("Name");       // No Mnemonic
 addSeparator("N&ame");      // Mnemonic is 'a'
 addSeparator("Save &as");   // Mnemonic is the second 'a'
 addSeparator("Look&&Feel"); // No mnemonic, text is "look&feel"
        Parameters:
        textWithMnemonic - the separator label's text - may contain an ampersand (&) to mark a mnemonic
        Returns:
        the added separator

      • addSeparator

        public final javax.swing.JComponent addSeparator​(java.lang.String textWithMnemonic,
                                                 CellConstraints constraints)
        Adds a titled separator to the form using the specified constraints. 
         addSeparator("Name",       cc.xy(1, 1)); // No Mnemonic
 addSeparator("N&ame",      cc.xy(1, 1)); // Mnemonic is 'a'
 addSeparator("Save &as",   cc.xy(1, 1)); // Mnemonic is the second 'a'
 addSeparator("Look&&Feel", cc.xy(1, 1)); // No mnemonic, text is "look&feel"
        Parameters:
        textWithMnemonic - the separator label's text - may contain an ampersand (&) to mark a mnemonic
        constraints - the separator's cell constraints
        Returns:
        the added separator

      • addSeparator

        public final javax.swing.JComponent addSeparator​(java.lang.String textWithMnemonic,
                                                 java.lang.String encodedConstraints)
        Adds a titled separator to the form using the specified constraints. 
         addSeparator("Name",       "1, 1"); // No Mnemonic
 addSeparator("N&ame",      "1, 1"); // Mnemonic is 'a'
 addSeparator("Save &as",   "1, 1"); // Mnemonic is the second 'a'
 addSeparator("Look&&Feel", "1, 1"); // No mnemonic, text is "look&feel"
        Parameters:
        textWithMnemonic - the separator label's text - may contain an ampersand (&) to mark a mnemonic
        encodedConstraints - a string representation for the constraints
        Returns:
        the added separator

      • addSeparator

        public final javax.swing.JComponent addSeparator​(java.lang.String textWithMnemonic,
                                                 int columnSpan)
        Adds a titled separator to the form that spans the specified columns. 
         addSeparator("Name",       3); // No Mnemonic
 addSeparator("N&ame",      3); // Mnemonic is 'a'
 addSeparator("Save &as",   3); // Mnemonic is the second 'a'
 addSeparator("Look&&Feel", 3); // No mnemonic, text is "look&feel"
        Parameters:
        textWithMnemonic - the separator label's text - may contain an ampersand (&) to mark a mnemonic
        columnSpan - the number of columns the separator spans
        Returns:
        the added separator

      • setComponentFactory

        public final void setComponentFactory​(ComponentFactory newFactory)
        Sets a new component factory.
        Parameters:
        newFactory - the component factory to be set
        See Also:
        getComponentFactory()