JavaFX | HBox Class

Namachila November 15, 2025

0 0 3 minutes read

HBox is a part of JavaFX. HBox lays out its children in form of horizontal columns. If the HBox has a border and/or padding set, then the contents will be layed out within those insets. HBox class extends Pane class.

Constructors of the class:

HBox(): Creates an HBox object with no nodes.
HBox(double s): Creates an HBox with spacing in between nodes.

Commonly Used Methods:

Method	Explanation
getAlignment()	Returns the value of property alignment.
getSpacing()	Returns the spacing between its children.
setAlignment(Pos value)	Sets the Alignment of the HBox.
getChildren()	Returns the nodes in HBox.

Below programs illustrate the use of HBox class:

Java Program to create a HBox and add it to the stage: In this program we will create a HBox named hbox. Now create a label and add it to the hbox. We will also create some buttons and add them to the HBox using the getChildren().add() function. Now create a scene and add the hbox to the scene and add the scene to the stage and call show() function to display the final results.

// Java Program to create a HBox
// and add it to the stage
import javafx.application.Application;
import javafx.scene.Scene;
import javafx.scene.control.*;
import javafx.scene.layout.*;
import javafx.stage.Stage;
import javafx.event.ActionEvent;
import javafx.event.EventHandler;
import javafx.scene.canvas.*;
import javafx.scene.web.*;
import javafx.scene.Group;
  
public class HBOX_1 extends Application {
  
    // launch the application
    public void start(Stage stage)
    {
  
        try {
  
            // set title for the stage
            stage.setTitle("HBox");
  
            // create a HBox
            HBox hbox = new HBox();
  
            // create a label
            Label label = new Label("this is HBox example");
  
            // add label to hbox
            hbox.getChildren().add(label);
  
            // add buttons to HBox
            for (int i = 0; i < 10; i++) 
            {
                hbox.getChildren().add(new Button("Button " 
                                           + (int)(i + 1)));
            }
  
            // create a scene
            Scene scene = new Scene(hbox, 800, 300);
  
            // set the scene
            stage.setScene(scene);
  
            stage.show();
        }
  
        catch (Exception e) {
  
            System.out.println(e.getMessage());
        }
    }
  
    // Main Method
    public static void main(String args[])
    {
  
        // launch the application
        launch(args);
    }
}

Output:

Java Program to create a HBox, add spaces between its elements and add it to the stage: In this program we will create a HBox named hbox. Set the spacing by passing a double value of space as an argument to the constructor. Now create a label and add it to the hbox. To add some buttons to the HBox use the getChildren().add() function. Finally, create a scene and add the hbox to the scene and add the scene to the stage and call show() function to display the final results.

// Java Program to create a HBox, add
// spaces between its elements and add
// it to the stage
import javafx.application.Application;
import javafx.scene.Scene;
import javafx.scene.control.*;
import javafx.scene.layout.*;
import javafx.stage.Stage;
import javafx.event.ActionEvent;
import javafx.event.EventHandler;
import javafx.scene.canvas.*;
import javafx.scene.web.*;
import javafx.scene.Group;
  
public class HBOX_2 extends Application {
  
    // launch the application
    public void start(Stage stage)
    {
  
        try {
  
            // set title for the stage
            stage.setTitle("HBox");
  
            // create a HBox
            HBox hbox = new HBox(10);
  
            // create a label
            Label label = new Label("this is HBox example");
  
            // add label to hbox
            hbox.getChildren().add(label);
  
            // add buttons to HBox
            for (int i = 0; i < 5; i++) 
            {
                hbox.getChildren().add(new Button("Button " 
                                          + (int)(i + 1)));
            }
  
            // create a scene
            Scene scene = new Scene(hbox, 800, 300);
  
            // set the scene
            stage.setScene(scene);
  
            stage.show();
        }
  
        catch (Exception e) {
  
            System.out.println(e.getMessage());
        }
    }
  
    // Main Method
    public static void main(String args[])
    {
  
        // launch the application
        launch(args);
    }
}

Output:

Java Program to create a HBox, add spaces between its elements, set an alignment and add it to the stage: In this program we will create a HBox named hbox. Set the spacing by passing a double value of space as an argument to the constructor. Set the alignment of the HBox using the setAlignment() function. Then create a label and add it to the hbox. Add some buttons to the HBox using the getChildren().add() function. Finally, create a scene and add the hbox to the scene and add the scene to the stage and call show() function to display the final results.

// Java Program to create a HBox, add spaces
// between its elements, set an alignment
// and add it to the stage
import javafx.application.Application;
import javafx.scene.Scene;
import javafx.scene.control.*;
import javafx.scene.layout.*;
import javafx.stage.Stage;
import javafx.event.ActionEvent;
import javafx.event.EventHandler;
import javafx.scene.canvas.*;
import javafx.scene.web.*;
import javafx.scene.Group;
import javafx.geometry.*;
  
public class HBOX_3 extends Application {
  
    // launch the application
    public void start(Stage stage)
    {
  
        try {
  
            // set title for the stage
            stage.setTitle("HBox");
  
            // create a HBox
            HBox hbox = new HBox(10);
  
            // setAlignment
            hbox.setAlignment(Pos.CENTER);
  
            // create a label
            Label label = new Label("this is HBox example");
  
            // add label to hbox
            hbox.getChildren().add(label);
  
            // add buttons to HBox
            for (int i = 0; i < 5; i++) 
            {
                hbox.getChildren().add(new Button("Button " 
                                          + (int)(i + 1)));
            }
  
            // create a scene
            Scene scene = new Scene(hbox, 800, 300);
  
            // set the scene
            stage.setScene(scene);
  
            stage.show();
        }
  
        catch (Exception e) {
  
            System.out.println(e.getMessage());
        }
    }
  
    // Main Method
    public static void main(String args[])
    {
  
        // launch the application
        launch(args);
    }
}