Swing Button Look and Feel Based On Size?

Question

I have made a JButton:

JButton button = new JButton("Button");

Then added it to a JPanel:

panel.add(button, BorderLayout.CENTER);

Photo of the Button:

JButton

I have noticed 2 different types of JButtons:

thin thick

I like the button titled "OK", is there any way I can set this as the preferred style of the button? Or if this can not be done, is there a way to make a panel with a fixed height, and add it to the center of another panel?

Thanks.

Braj · Accepted Answer · 2014-05-25T15:42:15.587

1

Overrride getPreferredSize() method but I never suggest you to use it. It's required only in case of custom painting in AWT and Swing.

JButton btn = new JButton(){
    @Override
    public Dimension getPreferredSize(){
        return new Dimension(40, 40);
    }
};

edited May 25 '14 at 15:42

answered May 25 '14 at 15:23

Braj

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Beware of this kind of [pitfall](http://stackoverflow.com/a/12532237/230513) when substituting an arbitrary size for the UI delegate's preferred size. – trashgod May 25 '14 at 16:50

score 1 · Answer 2 · edited May 23 '17 at 11:50

You could just set the margins of the button, and let the layout manager determine the preferred size for you.
```
button.setMargin(new Insets(0, 30, 0, 30));
                    // top, left, bottom, right
```
Make sure the container you add the button to, has a layout manager that respects preferred sizes of its components. See here to see which layouts will and wont respect the preferred sizes

score 1 · Answer 3 · edited May 23 '17 at 12:12

1

Use a layout that respects the preferred size calculated by the button's UI delegate. In this example, each button is added to a panel having FlowLayout; the button retains its preferred size. In contrast, this example adds buttons to a GridLayout; resize the enclosing container to see the effect. A helpful guide is cited here.

edited May 23 '17 at 12:12

Community

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answered May 25 '14 at 16:20

trashgod

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score 0 · Answer 4 · answered May 25 '14 at 15:18

0

This is not a style. You have to define size of JButton.

JButton btn = new JButton(String.valueOf(i));
btn.setPreferredSize(new Dimension(40, 40));

answered May 25 '14 at 15:18

unknown

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Don't use `setPreferredSize()` method. – Braj May 25 '14 at 15:24
1

Read it here [Should I avoid the use of set(Preferred|Maximum|Minimum)Size methods in Java Swing?](http://stackoverflow.com/questions/7229226/should-i-avoid-the-use-of-setpreferredmaximumminimumsize-methods-in-java-swi) – Braj May 25 '14 at 15:25

Swing Button Look and Feel Based On Size?

4 Answers4