This article is tutorial on layout management in JavaFX.
Layouts are an important part of GUI’s in JavaFX. Without a proper layout system, there would be no proper order to the GUI components. Layouts manage the spacing between components, the margins between the window and the outermost component and most importantly the arrangement of GUI components in the window.
JavaFX has a variety of different Layout components (that we’ll cover in this tutorial), each with their own unique ability and style. You’ll have to pick the layout that most suits the type of GUI application you’re trying to build.
List of Different JavaFX Layouts
Below is a list of the different layout systems available in JavaFX, along with a brief description and an image, explaining how they manage layouts.
VBox – The JavaFX VBox layout component creates a layout which positions all the GUI components in it, in a vertical column on top of each other.
HBox – The JavaFX HBox layout component creates a layout which positions all the GUI components in a horizontal row next to each other.
StackPane – The JavaFX StackPane is a rather unusual layout component when compared to the others. As the name implies, StackPane “stacks” all the components in it onto each other. For this reason, the kind of GUI components we use with StackPane will be completely different.
Did you know that you can place a layout within another layout? This is what we call “nested layouts” in JavaFX. Follow the link to find out more about how this possible!
TilePane – TilePane is a popular JavaFX layout component which uses a tile-based approach. For better understanding, you can think of it as a grid-based system which uses rows and columns to organised it’s components.
GridPane – Unlike TilePane, which has a semi-grid-like approach, the JavaFX GridPane layout is completely based off a structure of rows and columns and comes with the appropriate functions required to manipulate this structure. Each component you add into the layout is added at a specific location in the grid, at a specific row and column number.
BorderPane – The JavaFX BorderPane layout is unique because unlike the (most) others it has pre-defined locations for where the components are to be set. Your 5 choices are the Top, Bottom, Center, Left and Right.
Head over to our main tutorial series on JavaFX to learn about the other great GUI components and widgets.
This marks the end of the JavaFX layout tutorial. Any suggestions or contributions for CodersLegacy are more than welcome. Questions regarding the article can be asked in the comments section below.
