JPanel will not show ( a

  To: comp.lang.java.gui
So you can see my program in contxt

public class MainPanel extends JPanel implements ActionListener {

    JFrame parent;
// JFrame addPrinterFrame, deletePrinterFrame, changePrinterFrame;
    JButton addButton, changeButton, delButton;
    JTextArea jtarea;
    JScrollPane scrollPane;
    JPanel buttonPanel, scrollPanePanel;

    // View
    MainPanel(JFrame parent) throws IOException {
        Toolkit kit = Toolkit.getDefaultToolkit();
        Dimension screenSize = kit.getScreenSize();
        int screenHeight = screenSize.height;
        int screenWidth = screenSize.width;
        setSize(screenWidth / 2, screenHeight / 2);
        setLocation(screenWidth / 4, screenHeight / 4);
// snipping a bunch of stuff
// Here is my action

public void actionPerformed(ActionEvent e) {
        String command = e.getActionCommand();
        if (command.equals("Add Printer")) {
            JPanel addPanel = createAddPanel();
            addPanel.setVisible(true);
            addPanel.setEnabled(true);
            } else if (command.equals("Change Printer")) {
        // JPanel addPanel = createChangePanel();
        } else if (command.equals("Delete Printer")) {
            //JPanel addPanel = createDeletePanel();
        }
    }
// more snipped stuff
// Here is the method it calls

    private JPanel createAddPanel()
    {
        JPanel box = new JPanel();
        JButton testButton = new JButton("test");
        box.setLayout(new BoxLayout(box, BoxLayout.PAGE_AXIS));
        JPanel pane = new JPanel(new BorderLayout());
        pane.add(box, BorderLayout.NORTH);
        pane.add(testButton, BorderLayout.SOUTH);
// I see this line in my eclipse console so I know that the code is
getting here!!
        System.out.println("returning pane");
        return pane;
    }
// snipped stuff at the end
}

How do I make my panel appear? Do I need to add it to the main JFrame,
or is there a way to use the JPanel and have it a distinct window that
can be moved around and resized independantly of the main window....
ideas where I can look to figure this out? Will I find the answer in
the sun java swing tutorial or is there somewhere else I should be
looking?

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