Documentation

Headers

The column and row headers (for grid-based layout managers) show the structure of the layout. This includes column/row indices, alignment, growing and grouping.

Use them to insert, delete or move columns/rows and change column/row properties. Right-clicking on a column/row displays a popup menu. Double-clicking shows a dialog that allows you to edit the column/row properties.

Selecting columns/rows¶

You can select more than one column/row. Hold down the Ctrl key (Mac: Command key) and click on another column/row to add it to the selection. Hold down the Shift key to select the columns/rows between the last selected and the clicked column/row.

Insert column/row¶

Right-click on the column/row where you want to insert a new one and select Insert Column / Insert Row from the popup menu. The new column/row will be inserted before the right-clicked column/row. To add a column/row after the last one, right-click on the area behind the last column/row.

If the layout manager is FormLayout, an additional gap column/row will be added. Hold down the Shift key before selecting the command from the popup menu to avoid this.

Besides using the popup menu, you can insert new columns/row when dropping components on column/row gaps or outside of the existing grid. In the first figure, a new row will be inserted between existing rows. In the second figure, a virtual grid is shown below/right to the existing grid and a new row will be added.

   

Delete columns/rows¶

Right-click on the column/row that you want delete and select Delete Column / Delete Row from the popup menu.

If the layout manager is FormLayout, an existing gap column/row beside the removed column/row will also be removed. Hold down the Shift key before selecting the command from the popup menu to avoid this.

Split columns/rows¶

Right-click on the column/row that you want split and select Split Column / Split Row from the popup menu.

If the layout manager is FormLayout, an additional gap column/row will be added. Hold down the Shift key before selecting the command from the popup menu to avoid this.

Move columns/rows¶

The headers allow you to drag and drop columns/rows (incl. contained components and gaps). This allows you to swap columns or move rows in seconds. Click on a column or row and drag it to the new location. JFormDesigner updates the column/row specification and the locations of the moved components.

If the layout manager is FormLayout, then existing gap columns/rows are also moved. Hold down the Shift key before dropping a column/row to avoid this.

Resize columns/rows¶

To change the (minimum) size of a column/row, click near the right edge of a column/row and drag it.

FormLayout supports minimum and constant column/row sizes. Hold down the Ctrl key to change the minimum size. TableLayout supports only constant sizes and GridBagLayout supports only minimum sizes.

Header symbols¶

Following symbols are used in the headers:

Column Header
	Left aligns components in the column.
	Center components in the column.
	Right aligns components in the column.
	Fill (expand) components into the column.
	Left or right aligns components in the column depending on container's orientation (left-to-right or right-to-left).
	Right or left aligns components in the column depending on container's orientation (left-to-right or right-to-left).
	Aligns components (usually labels) to left, center or right depending on platform style guide. E.g. right align on Mac and left align on other platforms.
	Grow column width.
Row Header
	Top aligns components in the row.
	Center components in the row.
	Bottom aligns components in the row.
	Fill (expand) components into the row.
	Baseline aligns components in the row.
	Aligns components above baseline in the row.
	Aligns components below baseline in the row.
	Grow row height.