I want to show many different labels over a map, so I'm using null layout in my panel, and calling setLocation for each label. For some reason, though, the labels don't show. If I remove the pan.setLayout(null), then the label appears in the top-center of the panel. Why isn't null layout working with setPosition?
package mapa;
import java.awt.*;
import javax.swing.*;
public class Mapa extends JFrame {
private static JPanel pan;
private static JLabel lab;
public Mapa() {
}
private static void createAndShowGUI() {
Mapa frame = new Mapa();
frame.setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
lab = new JLabel("TEXTO");
lab.setBackground(Color.black);
lab.setForeground(Color.white);
lab.setOpaque(true);
lab.setVisible(true);
pan = new JPanel();
pan.setLayout(null);
pan.setPreferredSize(new Dimension(640,480));
pan.add(lab);
lab.setLocation(100, 100);
frame.getContentPane().add(pan, BorderLayout.CENTER);
frame.pack();
frame.setVisible(true);
}
public static void main(String[] args) {
javax.swing.SwingUtilities.invokeLater(new Runnable() {
@Override
public void run() {
createAndShowGUI();
}
});
}
}
This is the problem with absolute positioning (or null
layout). It requires you to set the sizes of all your components, otherwise they will stay are their default zero-size and won't appear. That's why it's always better to use a layout manager.