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How to Use GridBagLayout: Specifying Constraints

The following code is typical of what goes in a container that uses a GridBagLayout. You'll see a more detailed example in the next section.

GridBagLayout gridbag = new GridBagLayout();
GridBagConstraints c = new GridBagConstraints();

JPanel pane = new JPanel();
pane.setLayout(gridbag);

//For each component to be added to this container:
//...Create the component...
//...Set instance variables in the GridBagConstraints instance...
gridbag.setConstraints(theComponent, c);
pane.add(theComponent);

As you might have guessed from the above example, you can reuse the same GridBagConstraints instance for multiple components, even if the components have different constraints. The GridBagLayout extracts the constraint values and doesn't use the GridBagConstraints again. You must be careful, however, to reset the GridBagConstraints instance variables to their default values when necessary.

You can set the following GridBagConstraints instance variables:

gridx, gridy

Specify the row and column at the upper left of the component. The leftmost column has address gridx=0 and the top row has address gridy=0. Use GridBagConstraints.RELATIVE (the default value) to specify that the component be placed just to the right of (for gridx) or just below (for gridy) the component that was added to the container just before this component was added. We recommend specifying the gridx and gridy values for each component; this tends to result in more predictable layouts.

gridwidth, gridheight

Specify the number of columns (for gridwidth) or rows (for gridheight) in the component's display area. These constraints specify the number of cells the component uses, not the number of pixels it uses. The default value is 1. Use GridBagConstraints.REMAINDER to specify that the component be the last one in its row (for gridwidth) or column (for gridheight). Use GridBagConstraints.RELATIVE to specify that the component be the next to last one in its row (for gridwidth) or column (for gridheight).

Note: GridBagLayout doesn't allow components to span multiple rows unless the component is in the leftmost column or you've specified positive gridx and gridy values for the component.

fill

Used when the component's display area is larger than the component's requested size to determine whether and how to resize the component. Valid values (defined as GridBagConstraints constants) are NONE (the default), HORIZONTAL (make the component wide enough to fill its display area horizontally, but don't change its height), VERTICAL (make the component tall enough to fill its display area vertically, but don't change its width), and BOTH (make the component fill its display area entirely).

ipadx, ipady

Specifies the internal padding: how much to add to the minimum size of the component. The default value is zero. The width of the component will be at least its minimum width plus ipadx*2 pixels, since the padding applies to both sides of the component. Similarly, the height of the component will be at least its minimum height plus ipady*2 pixels.

insets

Specifies the external padding of the component -- the minimum amount of space between the component and the edges of its display area. The value is specified as an Insets object. By default, each component has no external padding.

anchor

Used when the component is smaller than its display area to determine where (within the area) to place the component. Valid values (defined as GridBagConstraints constants) are CENTER (the default), NORTH, NORTHEAST, EAST, SOUTHEAST, SOUTH, SOUTHWEST, WEST, and NORTHWEST.

weightx, weighty

Specifying weights is an art that can have a significant impact on the appearance of the components a GridBagLayout controls. Weights are used to determine how to distribute space among columns (weightx) and among rows (weighty); this is important for specifying resizing behavior.

Unless you specify at least one nonzero value for weightx or weighty, all the components clump together in the center of their container. This is because when the weight is 0.0 (the default), the GridBagLayout puts any extra space between its grid of cells and the edges of the container.

Generally weights are specified with 0.0 and 1.0 as the extremes: the numbers in between are used as necessary. Larger numbers indicate that the component's row or column should get more space. For each column, the weight is related to the highest weightx specified for a component within that column, with each multicolumn component's weight being split somehow between the columns the component is in. Similarly, each row's weight is related to the highest weighty specified for a component within that row. Extra space tends to go toward the rightmost column and bottom row.

The next section discusses constraints in depth, in the context of explaining how the example program works.

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