JavaFX - Layout Panes VBox

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If we use VBox as the layout in our application, all the nodes are set in a single vertical column.

The class named VBox of the package javafx.scene.layout represents the VBox pane. This class contains five properties, which are −

• alignment − This property represents the alignment of the nodes inside the bounds of the VBox. You can set value to this property by using the setter method setAlignment().

• fillHeight − This property is of Boolean type and on setting this to be true; the resizable nodes in the VBox are resized to the height of the VBox. You can set value to this property using the setter method setFillHeight().

• spacing − This property is of double type and it represents the space between the children of the VBox. You can set value to this property using the setter method setSpacing().

In addition to these, this class also provides the following methods −

• setVgrow() − Sets the vertical grow priority for the child when contained by a VBox. This method accepts a node and a priority value.

• setMargin() − Using this method, you can set margins to the VBox. This method accepts a node and an object of the Insets class (A set of inside offsets for the 4 sides of a rectangular area)

Example

The following program is an example of the VBox layout. In this, we are inserting a text field and two buttons, play and stop. This is done with a spacing of 10 and each having margins with dimensions – (10, 10, 10, 10).

Save this code in a file with the name VBoxExample.java.

import javafx.application.Application; 
import javafx.collections.ObservableList; 
import javafx.geometry.Insets; 
import javafx.scene.Scene; 
import javafx.scene.control.Button; 
import javafx.scene.control.TextField; 
import javafx.stage.Stage; 
import javafx.scene.layout.VBox; 
         
public class VBoxExample extends Application { 
   @Override 
   public void start(Stage stage) {       
      //creating a text field 
      TextField textField = new TextField();       
      
      //Creating the play button 
      Button playButton = new Button("Play");
	   
      //Creating the stop button 
      Button stopButton = new Button("stop"); 
      
      //Instantiating the VBox class  
      VBox vBox = new VBox();   
      
      //Setting the space between the nodes of a VBox pane 
      vBox.setSpacing(10);   
      
      //Setting the margin to the nodes 
      vBox.setMargin(textField, new Insets(20, 20, 20, 20));  
      vBox.setMargin(playButton, new Insets(20, 20, 20, 20)); 
      vBox.setMargin(stopButton, new Insets(20, 20, 20, 20));  
      
      //retrieving the observable list of the VBox 
      ObservableList list = vBox.getChildren(); 
      
      //Adding all the nodes to the observable list 
      list.addAll(textField, playButton, stopButton);       
      
      //Creating a scene object 
      Scene scene = new Scene(vBox);  
      
      //Setting title to the Stage 
      stage.setTitle("Vbox Example"); 
         
      //Adding scene to the stage 
      stage.setScene(scene); 
         
      //Displaying the contents of the stage 
      stage.show(); 
   } 
   public static void main(String args[]){ 
      launch(args); 
   } 
}

Compile and execute the saved java file from the command prompt using the following commands.

javac VBoxExample.java 
java VBoxExample.java

On executing, the above program generates a JavaFX window as shown below.