Changing component widths

• Column grid: Eximee Designer bases the form layout on a column grid. Each application 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 the column layout: The Section component by default inherits the number of columns from the page, but you can set its own custom 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 on 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 number of 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. While dragging, a green shadow appears showing the new size of the component, as well as a number in the middle of the component indicating how many columns it will occupy after release. The current component width (in columns) is also visible in the component properties, 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, you must first narrow the components on the page/section so that none occupies more columns than the new planned width. This keeps the layout consistent and prevents components from “falling” outside 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 dragit 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. After releasing the mouse button, the component will be expanded to the new width.

• Two components in one row: To place two components next to each other 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 sum of the widths of both elements does not exceed the total number of columns, the second component will be placed next to the first in one 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 all the way 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 in the 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 (application) is divided into 10 columns – this value can be changed when creating the template. If it is not changed, all application pages will use this default number of columns.

• How does a section layout differ from a page layout? Page has a globally set number of columns (shared by the entire page). A section is a container component inside a page – by default it inherits the page’s number of columns, but you can assign it 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 inside that section.

• How do I set my own column layout? You can change the number of page columns after creating the form by editing its definition. In the application editing mode, go to the Source tab and find the definition of the given page, then change the attribute numColumns field in the system:Page.layout to the desired value (e.g. 12). In the case of sections the column layout can be changed directly in the Designer – in the Section component properties (the Layoutsection), 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, 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 Application view or in the Source by setting the horizontalSpan option to the same as the number of columns or less.