   [java] min width / preferred width
  using Java 1.5.0_update6basic setup:main window: JApplet:getContentPane().setLayout( new BorderLayout() );map: JApplet (getMainView returns JApplet):getContentPane().add( mainView.getMainView(), BorderLayout.CENTER );menu: JApplet (getMenuView returns JApplet):getContentPane().add( menuView.getMenuView(), BorderLayout.WEST );i want the menu to be a fixed width (180 pixels). For height i need it to be a minimum of 480, but it can be bigger.1) is there a way to prevent the user from resizing it to anything below minimum size (automatically)? I have researched this but any document i found was older than 1_5_0 (... i think). If not, i'll probably use something similar to this:// modified from "Liz" at http://www.codecomments.com/archive245-2004-5-199793.htmlpublic void componentResized(ComponentEvent e){Component c = e.getComponent();MyClass.HandleWindowResize(c.getX(), c.getY(), c.getSize().width, c.getSize().height);}public void handleResize(...){if(width < minWidth) resize = true;//etcresize(x,y);}It doesn't really bother me that a user could make the window smaller than it should be, long as it doesn't update while he's dragging (i would get arrays of size 0 or maybe even negative i dunno, it could produce some unpredictable things) :)2) i've been messing around for a bit now, was having trouble getting the menu to show if i added the main (the main's still not showing, but that's another matter). In the end the problem was solved with setPreferredSize(Dimension d)://menuView.setMinimumSize( new Dimension( 180, 480 ) );//menuView.getContentPane().setMinimumSize( new Dimension( 180, 480 ) );//menuView.setPreferredSize( new Dimension( 180, 480 ) );menuView.getContentPane().setPreferredSize( new Dimension( 180, 480 ) );why do lines 1-2 do absolutely nothing (is there any use to them?), out of lines 3-4 (or 1-2), which is preferable? They *seem* to have the same effect (but 1/3 set it for JApplet, where 2/4 set it for... JApplet's default JPanel, i think).   
  The minimum, preferred, and maximum sizes are component properties that the layout manager of that component's parent can freely ignore.The BorderLayout Javadoc is very explicit:Quote: The components are laid out according to their preferred sizes and the constraints of the container's size. The NORTH and SOUTH components may be stretched horizontally; the EAST and WEST components may be stretched vertically; the CENTER component may stretch both horizontally and vertically to fill any space left over.Setting the minumum or maximum size has no effect.I'm surprised thatmenuView.getContentPane().setPreferredSize( new Dimension( 180, 480 ) ); works; JApplet must deduce its preferred size from that of its contentPane.The direct form is simpler and works for any component type.Putting two JApplets in something's content pane seems a bit redundant; what about  JPanels? ;  i'll switch in JPanels instead (just based it off a really old program i had laying around, and hey, it worked).Thanks for the advice and the explanation :)<edit> swapped in the JPanels, that old project was made with school lessons so i dunno why they made us do it that way, it's even clearer this way, thanks againi did search the API (course, it's a big API, if you don't know where to look...), i'll keep that in mind from now on (that fields may be ignored) </edit>   