Changing component widths

• Column grid: Eximee Designer bases the form layout on a column grid. Each request page has a fixed number of columns (10 columns by default) intended for components. The number of form columns is set when the template is created, and each newly added page inherits this value.
• Sections and column layout: The Section component by default inherits the number of columns of the page, but it can be assigned its own number of columns. This means that if a page has, for example, 10 columns, the selected section can have, for example, 16 columns - inside such a section, components will be arranged in a finer grid, giving greater layout flexibility.
• Component width: Each component can occupy from one column to the full width (all columns) in its section/page. The width of a component (in columns) can be changed directly in the editor - in edit mode, grab the component by its right or left edge and drag to expand or narrow the element. During dragging, a green shadow appears showing the new size of the component and a number in the middle of the component indicating how many columns it will occupy after release. The current width of the component (in columns) is also visible in the properties of that component, in the Styling.
• Layout flexibility: The number of layout columns can be increased if needed - new columns will be added on the right side of the form. Decreasing the number of columns is also possible, however before lowering this value, first narrow the components on the page/section so that none of them occupies more columns than the new planned width. This keeps the layout consistent and components will not “fall out” beyond the new grid size.

Examples

• Expanding a component to more columns: In edit mode, hover over the component, grab its right or left edge and drag, to increase its width. While dragging the component, you will see a green highlighted area indicating the new size and the number of columns the component will occupy. When you release the mouse button, the component will expand to the new width.
• Two components in one row: To place two components side by side in the same row, make sure the first one does not take up the full width of the page/section. Drag its edge, reducing the width so that free columns remain in the row. Then add (or move) the second component - if the total width of both elements does not exceed the total number of columns, the second component will be placed next to the first one in the same row. For example: for a 10-column layout, two components 5 columns wide each will together fill the entire row.
• Setting a component to full width: If you want a component to occupy the full width of a section or page, expand it to the maximum number of columns. This can be done by dragging the component edge to the end of the row (to the full width of the container) or by entering the target number of columns in the component properties (the Number of columns field Styling). A component set to full width will occupy all columns available in the given row.

Frequently asked questions (FAQ)

• How many columns does a standard page have? By default, a newly created form (request) is divided into 10 columns - this value can be changed when creating the template. If it is not changed, all request pages will use this default number of columns.
• How does the section layout differ from the page layout? Page has a globally set number of columns (shared for the entire page). A section is a container component inside a page - by default it inherits the number of columns from the page, but it can be assigned a different number of columns. In practice, this allows you to define an independent grid within a section (e.g. a section can have more columns than the page), which gives freedom in arranging elements within that section.
• How do I set a custom column layout? The number of page columns can be changed after the form is created by editing its definition. In request edit mode, go to the Source tab and find the definition of the given page, then change the attribute numColumns field system:Page.layout to the desired value (e.g. 12). In the case of sections changing the column layout is available directly in the Designer - in the properties of the Section component (section Layout) disable column inheritance and enter your own number of columns for that section. Increasing the number of columns is not a problem (new columns will be added on the right); when decreasing the number of columns, however, remember to first narrow the components in the given layout so that none exceeds the new smaller width.

Remember that before decreasing the number of columns, you must first narrow the components. You can do this in the Request or in Source by setting the option horizontalSpan to a value equal to the number of columns or smaller.