Simple flow left to right, top to bottom stream of components. This is a very rough and ready, quick and dirty layout for prototypes. If you want fine control and professional looks, try another. Sun's Javadoc on FlowLayout : available: on the web at java.Sun.com in the JDK 1.6.0 or in the older JDK 1.5.0_06 or the even older JDK 1.4.2_11 on your local J: drive. Sun's tutorial on FlowLayout