# Resizing a Component

Once you place a component in a single cell in the gridbag, you can consolidate adjoining cells to create one large cell in a row or column. By creating one large cell, you have the flexibility of positioning the component centrally or to the far left or right side of that cell. You can also expand the component to fill the enlarged cell. This section shows you how to:

- Select a component
- Combine cells in a row or column
- Fill a cell with a component

To set the resize behavior of individual components with respect to a change in window size, see Resizing the Layout.

To select a component in a cell:

- Click in the area between the component and the cell border. Sizing handles appear on the sides and corners of the selected component.

To combine several cells:

1. Select the component.
2. Click on one of the eight handles that surround the component.
3. Drag the handle, stretching the component across rows and columns in the grid.

In the figure on the right, the component can be anchored in the center, east (right), or west (left) position. If the component's cell had been extended across the next row, the component could be anchored in the northwest, northeast, southwest, or southeast positions as well:

To fill a cell with a component:

1. Select the component.

2. Click on the black bar on the cell width control to extend the component horizontally across the cell.

   Arrowheads appear on the ends of the black bar, and the component's size is automatically increased to fill the containing cell.

See also:

  Resizing the Layout
  Generating Java Source Code
  Laying Out the the Interface
  Modifying Components in the Grid