Question

Pretty straightforward issue. My Java AWT (not Swing) label is simply not showing up. Most of the following code isn’t even being used (for debugging this issue).

Just a note: this is within a Frame’s constructor (and yes I have added several other panels and such that work just fine). Secondly, the frame’s layout has been set to null.

I’m stumped.

File inf = new File("instructions.txt");
        Label ilb;
        if(inf.exists())
        {
            Log.v("Loading instructions");

            try
            {
                FileInputStream fis = new FileInputStream(inf);
                byte[] insb = new byte[65535];
                fis.read(insb);
                fis.close();
                String inst = new String(insb);
                ilb = new Label("test", Label.LEFT);
                File fntfile = new File("font/pf_tempesta_seven.ttf");
                Font infnt = null;
                try {
                    FileInputStream ffis = new FileInputStream(fntfile);
                    infnt = Font.createFont(Font.TRUETYPE_FONT, ffis);
                    ffis.close();
                } catch (FontFormatException e) {
                    Log.e("Could not format LCD font!", e);
                } catch (IOException e) {
                    Log.e("Could not read LCD font file!", e);
                }

                if(infnt == null)
                    infnt = new Font("Trebuchet MS", Font.PLAIN, 8);
                else
                    infnt = infnt.deriveFont(8.0f);

                //ilb.setFont(infnt);
                //ilb.setForeground(new Color(123, 123, 123));

                //ilb.setPreferredSize(new Dimension(350, 400));
                //ilb.setSize(350, 400);

                //ilb.setLocation(580, 190);

                Log.d("adding label");
                add(ilb);

            } catch(IOException e) {
                Log.e("Could not read instructions!", e);
            }
        }else
            Log.w("Instructions file not found!");

Answer 1

As @JBNizet suggested, null layouts don’t work with all AWT components.

I was thrown off since my Panels were positioned just fine with a null layout on my Frame, whereas Labels require a basic layout in order to display. I was tempted to go as far as saying all other components had the same ‘feature’, but another part of my code proved that point wrong:

// Load Image
        Log.v("Loading header image");
        _iBG = new ImageIcon("img/hpcount_top_bg.png").getImage();

        // Set size
        setSize(1024, 152);
        setPreferredSize(new Dimension(1024, 152));

        // Set position
        setLocation(0, 0);

        // Set visible
        setVisible(true);

        // Set layout
        setLayout(null);

        // Add children
        add(new Exit()); // Exit extends java.awt.Button

The above code (which is located within the constructor of a class extending java.awt.Panel) works perfectly.

My workaround is to put the label inside another Panel with a layout (messy, but it works) and position that panel within the Frame absolutely to achieve the same effect.