Including more than two Panels in a JFrame?

Question

We are working on a project where we encountered a problem with including more than two Panels on the same JFrame .What we want is one Panel above the other.

Can the community help give an example of ho to implement this or refer me to a good tutorial or guide related to our Java Swing needs?

Answer 1

Assuming you want two panels added to a single frame:

Set a layout for your parent JFrame and add the two panels. Something like the following

JFrame frame = new JFrame();
//frame.setLayout(); - Set any layout here, default will be the form layout
JPanel panel1 = new JPanel();
JPanel panel2 = new JPanel();
frame.add(panel1);
frame.add(panel2);

Assuming you want to add one panel over the other

JFrame frame = new JFrame();
JPanel panel1 = new JPanel();
JPanel panel2 = new JPanel();
frame.add(panel1);
panel1.add(panel2);

There is no limit on the number of panels to be added on the JFrame. You should understand that they all are containers when seen on a higher level.

Answer 2

if you want each of the frames/panels the same size, use the GridLayout, with a grid of 1(column) and 2(rows)

Frame myFrame;  
GridLayout myLayout = new GridLayout(2,1);  

myFrame.setLayout(myLayout);  

Panel p1;  
Panel p2;  

myFrame.add(p1);
myFrame.add(p2);

if the panels are different size use the BorderLayout.... set the upper frame to "North" and the lower one to "South" or "Center"

Frame myFrame;  

myFrame.setLayout(new BorderLayout() );  

Panel p1;  
Panel p2;  

myFrame.add(p1, BorderLayout.NORTH);  
myFrame.add(p2, BorderLayout.CENTER);  

Answer 3

//you can also use card Layout, that enables you to add multiple card-panels on Main panel.

CardLayout cl;
JPanel main,one,two,three;
JButton button1,button2;

cl = new CardLayout();
main.setLayout(cl);

main.add(one,"1");
main.add(two,"2");
main.add(three,"3");

cl.show(main,"1");

public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e){
 if(e.getSource() == button1)
     cl.show(main,"2");
 else if(e.getSource() == button2)
     cl.show(main,"3");
}