What is a layout manager? Java applets use layout managers to arrange display components, e.g. buttons, text fields, lists, etc. Choose a good one to give your applet a first-class appearance. ALE Adaptable Layout Environment (ALE) which can layout display components according to sophisticated rules in an ASCII file -- therefore the layout can be changed without re-compiling the applet. AlignLayout Align components in a form with specific coordinates or other components. Limited to JDK 1.1 (NS 3.0 can't use it). BorderLayout Places each component in one of five possible areas: north, south, east, west, or center. CardLayout Like a rolodex, view one card at a time depending upon the menu selection. DiagonalLayout Arranges components diagonally from left to right. EasyLay EasyLay was a commercial JDK 1.0.2 and JDK 1.1 Swing compliant layout manager that combines ease of use with powerful and flexible features. Each display component's position in the container is expressed in terms of relationships to other components using layout elements such as direction, gap, alignment, size and fill. FlexGridLayout Yet another grid layout. See GridLayout below. FlowLayout Arranges components the same way a typewriter positions letters, one at a time from left to right and starts a new row when necessary. FormLayout Separation of concerns between layout task from panel construction. FractionalLayout Apparently inspired by the ParcPlace-Digitalk VisualWorks layout implementation. GridLayout Creates an imaginary checkboard, and puts each component on its own square. GridBagLayout Advanced version of GridLayout, components may span more than one square, rows and columns may have unequal heights and widths. GroupLayout Developed for GUI builders, also usable manually. HigLayout similar to GridBagLayout GuideLayout Used in conjunction with the XuiEditor. HtmlLayout Similar to GridBagLayout, it positions based on HTML-like syntax. LogFontLayout Positions based on logical units derived from the selected font so layouts look the same regardless of screen resolution MigLayout Versatile, helpful quick start. MJTPacker Was inspired by the TCL/TK packer geometry manger.

MosaicLayout Arrange components hierarchically, user can resize them by dragging sashes. MultisplitLayout For constructing split panes without nesting. PackerLayout Also inspired by the TCL/TK packer geometry manger. PageLayout Encapsulates the functionality of several other layout managers. PercentLayout Similar to PositionLayout except that the component name contains coordinates expressed in percentage values rather than pixels. PnutsLayout Similar to the <TABLE> tag in HTML. PositionLayout The component name is used as the coordinate, e.g. a name like "22 25" will position a component at (x=22,y=25). RiverLayout Intuitive, less is more. SGLayout Direct control over margins, gaps between rows and columns. SplitterLayout Handles segmented displays with optional draggable bars between them. More complex uses can create some interesting GUIs. StackLayout Arranges components in vertical stack, all components have same width, but different heights. gui.StackLayout Arrange components in vertical or horizontal strip, aligning them to the left, right, or center. ProportionalLayout Designed to make it easy to create user interfaces that look nearly the same in different sizes. RelativeLayout Arranges components relative to each other or to the parent panel. StretchyLayout Designed for use with Visual Cafe. TableLayout Arranges components in a tabular form, inspired by the XmpTable widget. New version is here. TreeLayout Arranges components in a tree, it can display things like an organization chart or file-system hierarchy. VFlowLayout Similar to FlowLayout except that it lays out components vertically instead of horizontally. XmFormLayout Inspired by the Motif XmForm widget. Nice! XyLayout The name says it all. Similar to PositionLayout, and you can also do this kind of thing without any layout manager (see below). Doing without any layout manager Absolute positioning is a useful technique for porting MS Windows interfaces to Java. Write your own layout manager And when you are done e-mail the URL to me so I can add it to this list!