FlowLayout: Simple Left-to-Right Layout

FlowLayout arranges components in a row, one after another, wrapping to new lines when there is not enough horizontal space.

Example: Five buttons in a FlowLayout

This example uses FlowLayout.CENTER with horizontal and vertical gaps of 10 pixels between buttons.

FlowLayoutDemo.java

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

class MyFrame extends JFrame {
    MyFrame() {
        setTitle("Layouts - FLowLayout");

        setLayout(new FlowLayout(FlowLayout.CENTER, 10, 10));

        /*
        Here FlowLayout can be called as: 
            1) FLowlayout(): General flow;
            2)FlowLayout(int allign): specific allignment of items
                    allignment can be done in two ways: 

                    0 or LEFT
                    1 or CENTER
                    2 or RIGHT
                    3 or LEADING
                    4 or TRALING

    FlowLayout(1) or FlowLayout(FlowLayout.CENTER) is same

            3) FlowLayout(int align, int hgap, int vgap): 
                giving specific horizontal gap and Vertical gap between items
        */

        JButton b1 = new JButton("Button 01");
        JButton b2 = new JButton("Button 02");
        JButton b3 = new JButton("Button 03");
        JButton b4 = new JButton("Button 04");
        JButton b5 = new JButton("Button 05");

        add(b1);
        add(b2);
        add(b3);
        add(b4);
        add(b5);

        setVisible(true);
        setSize(500, 500);
        setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
    }
}

public class FlowLayoutDemo {
    public static void main(String arr[]) {
        new MyFrame();
    }
}

Reference & full codeView on GitHub

What is FlowLayout?

FlowLayout is the simplest layout manager. Components are placed in a row from left to right, then wrap to the next line.

Good for small toolbars or simple test programs.
Supports alignment: LEFT, CENTER, RIGHT, LEADING, TRAILING.
Can set horizontal and vertical gaps between components.

Line-by-line: Understanding the FlowLayout code

We focus on how the layout is set and how components are added.

setLayout(new FlowLayout(FlowLayout.CENTER, 10, 10));

Uses FlowLayout with CENTER alignment and 10-pixel gaps horizontally and vertically between components.

JButton b1 = new JButton("Button 01"); ...
add(b1); add(b2); add(b3); add(b4); add(b5);

Creates five buttons and adds them to the frame. FlowLayout decides where they appear.

When to use FlowLayout

Use FlowLayout for quick demos, simple forms, or when you only have a few components in a row. For more control, use GridLayout or other managers.

←Back to Layouts Overview Next: GridLayout→