BorderLayout.BEFORE_FIRST_LINE has the following syntax.
public static final String BEFORE_FIRST_LINE
In the following code shows how to use BorderLayout.BEFORE_FIRST_LINE field.
/*from www . ja v a 2s . c o m*/ import java.awt.BorderLayout; import javax.swing.JFrame; import javax.swing.JLabel; import javax.swing.JPanel; import javax.swing.JTextField; public class Main { public static void main(String[] a) { JFrame frame = new JFrame(); frame.setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE); JPanel outerPanel = new JPanel(new BorderLayout()); JPanel topPanel = new JPanel(new BorderLayout()); JLabel label = new JLabel("Name:"); JTextField text = new JTextField(); topPanel.add(label, BorderLayout.BEFORE_LINE_BEGINS); topPanel.add(text, BorderLayout.CENTER); outerPanel.add(topPanel, BorderLayout.BEFORE_FIRST_LINE); frame.add(outerPanel); frame.setSize(300, 200); frame.setVisible(true); } }