Setting Component Alignment

When you snap a component to an edge of another component or the side of the a container, you also set the component's alignment. For example, in Figure 6-6, the JLabel is right-aligned to the edge of the JTextField. As you enter longer text, the JLabel expands to the left.

Figure 6-6. JLabel right-aligned to a JTextField's edge

In some cases, you have to manually adjust the alignment of components. Consider the form in Figure 6-7. The two labels were entered first, and their display text set. The text fields were then entered and snapped to the right edges of the labels.

Figure 6-7. Form before realigning the JLabels

We want to make the JLabels right-aligned so the two JTextFields line up along their left edges. To do so, shift-click the two JLabels to select them and click the button in the Form Designer toolbar. The result is shown in Figure 6-8.

Figure 6-8. Form after realigning the JLabels