java gui - overlapping panels?

Question

Hi all,

i'm just trying to create this little simulator. in a gui, i have two main components - a map, taking up most of the window, and a control panel on the right hand side. now, i'd like to add a time slider across the bottom of the window (running only under the map, not under the control panel). i can do it in the runner class (which initialises the main window), but it should logically belong to the control panel - it fires all the relevant events. is there a way to do it? what swing components should i use and how should i wrap them? (i tried using netbeans for this, but, this being the first time i ever used it, i had little luck).

thanks a lot for your help

Answer 1

A layout manager like MiG layout or DesignGridLayout will help you layout your controls better. Layout of the controls is one thing and logical separation is another. You can have all the controls in the control panel at the right side and the slider at the bottom be members of the same logical unit.

Answer 2

You could use BorderLayout to achieve the desired result very simply; e.g.

JPanel pnl = new JPanel(new BorderLayout());

pnl.add(mapPnl, BorderLayout.CENTER);
pnl.add(controlPnl, BorderLayout.EAST);
pnl.add(timerPnl, BorderLayout.SOUTH);

If you anticipate more components being added to your top level JPanel I would suggest looking into GridBagLayout as it offers greater flexibility.

The fact that your controls and timer are related isn't relevant for the layout of the visual components. Typically you would maintain this relationship at the business object level; e.g.

Controller controller = new Controller();
JPanel controlPnl = new MyControlPanel(controller);
JPanel timerPnl = new MyTimerPanel(controller.getTimer());

Answer 3

Just use multiple panels to control the different regions like this:

JPanel centerContent = new JPanel(new BorderLayout());
centerContent.add(map, BorderLayout.CENTER);
centerContent.add(timeSlider, BorderLayout.SOUTH);

JPanel content = new JPanel(new BorderLayout());
content.add(controlPanel, BorderLayout.WEST);
content.add(centerContent, BorderLayout.CENTER);

Using this approach the layout manager - java.awt.BorderLayout in this case - takes care of the resizing of the window containing the controls.