If you have ever hand coded a simple dialog box to display messages or to get input with a simple form by manually placing each individual widget and arranging them with a layout manager like the GridBagLayout, then behold JOptionPane. JOptionPane is probably one of the least touted and understood widgets in Swing given that it is one of the most labour saving widgets available. The problem lies with the name of the widget. What the heck is an option pane anyway?