Java - set opacity in JPanel

Question

Let's say I want to make the opacity of a JPanel %20 viewable? I don't mean setOpaque (draw or not draw) or setVisible (show or hide)... I mean make it see-through JPanel.. you know?

Is this possible?

Answer 1

panel.setBackground( new Color(r, g, b, a) );

You should also look at Backgrounds With Transparency to understand any painting problems you might have when you use this.

Answer 2

Use the alpha attribute for the color.

For instance:

panel.setBackground(new Color(0,0,0,64));

Will create a black color, with 64 of alpha ( transparency )

Resulting in this:

Here's the code

package test;

import javax.swing.*;
import java.awt.Color;
import java.awt.BorderLayout;

public class See {
    public static void main( String [] args ){
        JFrame frame = new JFrame();
        frame.setBackground( Color.orange );


        frame.add( new JPanel(){{
                        add( new JLabel("Center"));
                        setBackground(new Color(0,0,0,64));
                    }} , BorderLayout.CENTER );
        frame.add( new JLabel("North"), BorderLayout.NORTH);
        frame.add( new JLabel("South"), BorderLayout.SOUTH);

        frame.pack();
        frame.setVisible( true );
    }
}

With out it it looks like this:

setBackground( new Color( 0,0,0 )  ); // or setBackground( Color.black );