...

...

Well, ..duhh!  Have you discovered the JavaDocs yet, or
are you programming using 'The Force'?
<http://java.sun.com/j2se/1.5.0/docs/api/java/awt/FlowLayout.html#FlowLayout()>
"Constructs a new FlowLayout with a centered alignment ...."
<http://java.sun.com/j2se/1.5.0/docs/api/java/awt/FlowLayout.html#FlowLayout(int)>
..read on.

[ I was about to mention the JavaDocs specifically in my last post,
but resisted - hoping you would get the hint! ]

A BorderLayout with the JLabel in WEST position and the ProgressBar in
CENTER should work.

- Mitch Gart

GridBagLayout, though this is not the easiest one. Here's a runnable
example:
import java.awt.*;
import java.text.*;
import java.util.Date;
import javax.swing.*;

public class Statusbar {
   public static final int FixedWidth = 120;
   public static void main(String[] args) {
      // final only for access in Runnable below
      final JLabel statusText = new JLabel();
      statusText.setText(" ");// for determining initial dimension
      statusText.setBorder(BorderFactory.createLoweredBevelBorder());

      Dimension d = statusText.getMinimumSize();
      d.width = FixedWidth;
      // leave min height as defined by the font
      statusText.setMinimumSize(d);

      d = statusText.getMaximumSize();
      d.width = FixedWidth;
      // leave max height as defined by the font
      statusText.setMaximumSize(d);

      d = statusText.getPreferredSize();
      d.width = FixedWidth;
      // leave prefd height as defined by the font
      statusText.setPreferredSize(d);

      JProgressBar statusProgress = new JProgressBar();
      statusProgress.setBorder(
            BorderFactory.createLoweredBevelBorder());
      statusProgress.setIndeterminate(true);

      JPanel statusBar = new JPanel();
      statusBar.setLayout(new GridBagLayout());

      // label on position 0,0
      statusBar.add(statusText, new GridBagConstraints(0, 0, 1, 1,
            0.0, 0.0,
            GridBagConstraints.SOUTHWEST, GridBagConstraints.BOTH,
            new Insets(0, 0, 0, 0), 0, 0));
      // progressbar on position 1,0
      statusBar.add(statusProgress, new GridBagConstraints(1, 0, 1, 1,
            1.0, 0.0,
            GridBagConstraints.EAST, GridBagConstraints.BOTH,
            new Insets(0, 0, 0, 0), 0, 0));

      JFrame app = new JFrame();
      app.setDefaultCloseOperation(JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE);
      app.getContentPane().setLayout(new BorderLayout());
      app.getContentPane().add(new JScrollPane(new JTextArea()),
            BorderLayout.CENTER);
      app.getContentPane().add(statusBar, BorderLayout.SOUTH);
      app.setSize(400, 300);
      app.setLocationRelativeTo(null); // center on screen;
      app.setVisible(true);

      // a thread to simulate changing status text
      new Thread(new Runnable() {
         public void run() {
            StringBuffer buf = new StringBuffer();
            DateFormat timeFormatter = new SimpleDateFormat("HH:mm:ss");
            int dots = 0;
            while (true) {
               buf.setLength(0);
               buf.append(timeFormatter.format(new Date()));
               for (int i = 0; i < dots; i++) {
                  buf.append(" _");
               }
               statusText.setText(buf.toString());
               dots = (dots + 1) % 10;
               try {
                  Thread.sleep(100);
               } catch (InterruptedException ex) {
                  ex.printStackTrace();
                  return;
               }
            }
         }
      }).start();
   }
}