Absolute Layout


Absolute Layout is a design aid that enables you to place components exactly where you want to in the form and move them around by dragging. Ease of use makes this layout particularly useful for making prototypes. You do not have enter any property settings and there are no formal limitations within the layout. It is a substitute for "null" layout (for which there is no layout constraints object) and provides and places components in absolute positions more cleanly.

You can have a grid displayed on the Form Editor window when using Absolute Layout by pressing the Show Grid icon.

Important: Absolute Layout is not recommended for production applications. The fixed location of components in the form does not change, even when the environment changes. Therefore significant distortions in appearance can occur when such an application is run on a different platform or using a look and feel different than the one in which it was created. If you design a form using Absolute Layout, it is recommended that you switch the layout manager to GridBag Layout and then fine tune it before you distribute the application.

Note: Absolute Layout is not in the standard Java layout sets. Rather, it is provided with the IDE and can be found at com.netbeans.developer.awt.AbsoluteLayout and com.netbeans.developer.awt.AbsoluteConstraints. If you do keep Absolute Layout in your application, these two classes must be distributed with it. They are ready for deployment in the AbsoluteLayout.zip file (in the %FORTE4J_HOME%/lib/ext directory). You can freely redistribute this archive with applications developed with the Forte for Java IDE. The source code is also redistributable and is available in %FORTE4J__HOME%/sources/com/netbeans/developer/awt.


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