JLabel dimension question

Question

Hi,
I have a need to automatically set the preferred height of a JLabel based on a given width.
Normally, if you call setPreferredSize(null), the JLabel will automatically adjust its preferred size to fit the text it has. What I want is to have this functionality, but only for the height, while being able to set the width. I have a multi-line JLabel using HTML, and I wish there was something like a setPreferredWidth(int) function that would allow me to fix the width but have the JLabel automatically fit the height.
Does this functionality exist anywhere? If not, is there a simple workaround? I mean I could create my own component that does this but it would be a huge pain especially if Swing has a method somewhere that implements this functionality.
Thanks,
-Mike

Answer 1

perhaps you could dummy-up a textArea to simulate a label the way you want
something like this
import javax.swing.*;
import java.awt.*;
import java.awt.event.*;
class Testing
  JTextArea[] ta = new JTextArea[3];
  public void buildGUI()
    JPanel p = new JPanel();
    for(int x = 0; x < ta.length; x++)
      ta[x] = new JTextArea();
      ta[x].setColumns(10);
      ta[x].setBorder(null);
      ta[x].setFocusable(false);
      ta[x].setLineWrap(true);
      ta[x].setWrapStyleWord(true);
      ta[x].setOpaque(false);
      p.add(ta[x]);
    ta[0].setText("I have a need to automatically set the preferred height"+
                                     " of a JLabel based on a given width.");
    ta[1].setText("Normally, if you call setPreferredSize(null), the JLabel"+
    " will automatically adjust its preferred size to fit the text it has. "+
    "What I want is to have this functionality, but only for the height,"+
    " while being able to set the width.");
    ta[2].setText("I have a multi-line JLabel using HTML, and I wish there was"+
    " something like a setPreferredWidth(int) function that would allow me to "+
    "fix the width but have the JLabel automatically fit the height.\n"+
    "Does this functionality exist anywhere? If not, is there a simple workaround?"+
    " I mean I could create my own component that does this but it would be a "+
    "huge pain especially if Swing has a method somewhere that implements this functionality.");
    JFrame f = new JFrame();
    f.getContentPane().add(p);
    f.setSize(600,500);
    f.setLocationRelativeTo(null);
    f.setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
    f.setVisible(true);
  public static void main(String[] args)
    SwingUtilities.invokeLater(new Runnable(){
      public void run(){
        new Testing().buildGUI();
}