Changing component width

• 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) allocated for components. The number of form columns is set when creating the template and each newly added page inherits this value.

• Sections and column layout: The Section component by default inherits the number of page columns, but you can set its own number of columns. This means that if a page has, for example, 10 columns, a 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 up to the full width (all columns) within its section/page. The component width (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 shrink the element. While dragging, a green shadow appears showing the new size of the component and a number in the center of the component indicating how many columns it will occupy after releasing. The current component width (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 to the right side of the form. Decreasing the number of columns is also possible, however before reducing this value you should first narrow 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 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 dragto 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 occupy the full width of the page/section. Drag its edge to reduce 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 position itself next to the first in the same row. For example: in a 10-column layout two components of width 5 columns 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's 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's properties (the Number of columns field in the StylingLayout

). A component set to full width will occupy all columns available in that 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 not changed, all application pages will use this default number of columns. Page What is the difference between a section layout and a page layout? has a globally set number of columns (shared across 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 defining an independent grid inside the section (for example, a section can have more columns than the page), giving freedom in arranging elements within that section. How to set a custom column layout? The number of page columns can be changed after creating the form by editing its definition. In the application edit mode go to the Source tab and find the definition of the given page, then change the attribute field in the numColumns in 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 (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 appropriately narrow components in that layout so that none exceeds the new smaller width.

Note that before decreasing the number of columns you must first narrow the components. This can be done in the Application view or in the Source by setting the option horizontalSpan to the same as the number of columns or smaller.