How can I get rid of the unwanted space between a Java JTextField and a JLabel using the GridBagLayout

Question

With the Java GridBagLayout why is there a large space to the right of the first JTextField (Labeled A) before the column but the last two JTextField's B and C behave as expected without unwanted spaces between them and how can I eliminate the space? I've attached an image below to show the problem along with the code.

    /* Label digital timer */
    gbcRightPanel.gridx = 0;
    gbcRightPanel.gridy = 0;
    rightPanel.add(labelDitigalTimer, gbcRightPanel);

    /* Text Field Hours */
    gbcRightPanel.gridx = 0;
    gbcRightPanel.gridy = 1;
    gbcRightPanel.weighty = 1;
    rightPanel.add(jtxtFieldHours, gbcRightPanel);

    /* Label colon */
    gbcRightPanel.gridx = 1;
    gbcRightPanel.gridy = 1;
    rightPanel.add(new JLabel(":"), gbcRightPanel);

    /* Text Field Minuites */
    gbcRightPanel.gridx = 2;
    gbcRightPanel.gridy = 1;
    rightPanel.add(jtxtFieldMinuites, gbcRightPanel);

    /*Colon*/
    gbcRightPanel.gridx = 3;
    gbcRightPanel.gridy = 1;
    rightPanel.add(new JLabel(":"), gbcRightPanel);

    /* Text Field Seconds */
    gbcRightPanel.gridx = 4;
    gbcRightPanel.gridy = 1;
    rightPanel.add(jtxtFieldSeconds, gbcRightPanel);    

Answer 1

A GridBagLayout works with cells consisting of row/columns.

The first row has a single column. The second row has 5 columns.

So the width of column 1 is the width of the largest component in all the rows of the first column which happens to be your label so you see the extra space.

One way to change this is to have the label take up 5 columns. So before you add the label you need to use:

gbcRightPane.gridWidth = 5;
rightPanel.add(labelDitigalTimer, gbcRightPanel);
gbcRightPane.gridWidth = 1; // reset for the other components.

Now the label will appear above all 5 of the components. You can then determine whether you want the label centered or left justified by specifying an appropriate constraint.

Read the section from the Swing tutorial on How to Use GridBagLayout for more information about the constraints and working examples.

Another approach is to use nested panels. So you can create a separate panel for the text fields and colon labels. Then in the GridBagPanel you add the label and the panel as two separate components.

Read up on the other layout managers from the tutorial to get an idea how each layout manager works to you can effectively nest panels to get the desired layout.