Java – converts an integer to an equivalent number of spaces

I want to know that the easiest way is to convert an integer to an equivalent number of spaces When printing a binary search tree, I need its spaces between nodes I tried

int position = printNode.getPosition(); 
  String formatter = "%1"+position+"s%2$s\n";
  System.out.format(formatter,"",node.element);

But compared with the int value of the position, my space is almost three times I'm not sure if I format the string correctly Any suggestion would be great! If it is clearer, say position = 6; I want to print six spaces before my node element

Solution

I think you mean:

int n = 6;
    String s = String.format("%1$#"+n+"s","");

System.out.format("[%13s]%n","");  // prints "[             ]" (13 spaces)
System.out.format("[%1$3s]%n",""); // prints "[   ]" (3 spaces)