Using layouts in WINDEV and WINDEV Mobile

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Help / Editors / Window editor and page editor / Window editor

Overview
Implementation
Creating a new layout for a WINDEV Mobile window
Creating a new layout for an internal window
Handling layouts
Managing controls in the layouts
Context menu of controls specific to layouts
Special case of the Action Bar
Context menu of layouts
Comparing windows with layouts
Managing layouts at runtime
Default operating mode
Programming

WINDEV

WEBDEV

WINDEV Mobile

Others

See also

Using layouts in WINDEV and WINDEV Mobile

Overview

Layouts allow you to define several views of a window in the same project, without duplicating the window.

Thus, in a WINDEV or WINDEV Mobile application, you can define, for example:

a specific view for portrait mode,
a specific view for landscape mode,
a phone-specific view,
a view specific to the tablet,
...

At runtime, you can:

select the layout to display with WinChangeLayout.
find out the current layout with WinCurrentLayout.

This help page presents:

How to create a layout for a WINDEV Mobile window.
How to create a layout for a WINDEV window.
How to create a layout for an internal window.
How to handle layouts in the editor.
How to handle layouts at runtime.

Note: It is also possible to create layouts in WEBDEV projects to create "mobile friendly" sites.. For more details, see WEBDEV layouts.

Implementation

Creating a new layout for a WINDEV Mobile window

To create a new layout for a window:

Open the relevant window in the editor.
On the "Window" tab, in the "Layouts" group, expand "Layouts" and select "Add layouts".
The wizard for adding a layout starts. Pass the presentation step if necessary.
The wizard prompts you to select an option to manage the differences between phones and tablets.
It is possible to:
- Choose the current platform only (phone only or tablet only).
- Create layouts (because the controls are organized differently on the tablet and on the phone).
- Use the anchors only (because the anchors are sufficient to reposition the controls in the window according to its size).
Proceed to the next step of the wizard.
The wizard prompts you to select an option to manage the Portrait/Landscape orientation of the application.
It is possible to:
- Create layouts (because the controls are organized differently on the tablet and on the phone).
- Use the anchors only (because the anchors are sufficient to reposition the controls in the window according to its orientation).
Proceed to the next step of the wizard.
The wizard proposes to use a different presentation for each platform used (for example, a presentation for iOS and a presentation for Android).
Select the desired option and go to the next step of the wizard.
Finish the wizard.
The different layouts are created if necessary.
The editor displays (on the right) the different layouts that can be used for the window. Double-clicking the badge of the desired layout allows you to open it in the editor and modify it.

Tip:

The creation of a layout is based on the current edit platform. It is faster to position on the layout that is the closest one graphically in order to limit the modifications.
To customize the controls found in the different layouts, we advise you to start with the largest and most complete layout then create the other layouts by reducing or hiding elements.

Creating a new layout for an internal window

Many mobile functions use internal windows: detail windows in a table, appointments in a Scheduler control, etc.

Using layouts on the internal windows allows you to propose an interface for the portrait mode and for the landscape mode.

To create a new layout for an internal window:

Open the relevant internal window in the editor.
On the "Window" tab, in the "Layouts" group, expand "Layouts" and select "Add layouts".
The window for adding layouts is displayed.

Click "Create" to add a new layout.
Validate the window.
The editor displays (on the right) the different layouts that can be used for the internal window.
- Double-clicking the badge of the desired layout allows you to open it in the editor and modify it.
- The "Description" option in the context menu of the layout title bar allows you to define the layout parameters.

Handling layouts

Managing controls in the layouts

Layouts are dissociated by default (

A control created in one layout is created in all layouts, with the same characteristics (size, position, etc.).
A control moved or resized in a layout is moved or resized only in that layout.
The automatic dissociation is enabled by default for all the controls. With this mode, when a control is moved or resized in one of the windows in the layout, the changes will not be applied in the other windows.

So that a field modification (position or size) is carried over to all layouts, it is possible to remove the automatic dissociation (

): the next modification of size or position will be carried out on all layouts.. A red triangle may appear when a control is selected. It indicates that the control has been dissociated, and that any changes made to it will be applied only in the current layout.

Conseil: Toasts appear regularly to inform you of the influence of field modifications in other layouts, depending on whether or not automatic dissociation and/or field dissociation options have been activated..

Context menu of controls specific to layouts

The "Layouts" context menu also allows you to dissociate specific characteristics of controls.

These options are as follows:

Dissociate position: If this option is selected, the field position will only be modified on the current layout.. If this option is not selected, the control will be moved in all the layouts.
Dissociate size: If this option is selected, the field size will be modified only on the current layout.. If this option is not selected, the control will be resized in all the layouts.
Dissociate anchor: If this option is selected, the field anchor will be modified only on the current layout.. If this option is not selected, the anchors of the control will be changed in all the layouts.
Dissociate font: dissociate font in one or more layouts. You can for example use a specific font for Android and another font for iOS. It is also possible to specify a font size for each layout.

Note: If the automatic disassociation mode is not activated, when a disassociation is deactivated via the context menu, the characteristic for the current layout is automatically applied to all layouts..

The "Layouts" context menu includes other options:

Make invisible in this layout: Makes the selected field invisible in the current layout..
Make visible in all layouts: Makes the current field visible in all layouts.

Note: This context menu is available for a selection of fields..

Limitation: For Chart control fields, it is not possible to dissociate title and Legend properties between several layouts..

Special case of the Action Bar

The Action Bar control is available in Android and iOS.

When generating the application, the native control corresponding to the current platform will be automatically selected.

Context menu of layouts

You can manage layouts via the context menu of the thumbnails:

It is possible to:

View the layout description and modify it. For more details, see Layout settings.
Activate the layout, which means display it in order to modify it.
Activate dual-view layout: both layouts can be displayed and modified in parallel.
Create a new layout from the current layout.
Delete the selected layout.
Display proportional thumbnails.
Automatic refresh: Refreshes the layout as soon as a change is made in the window..
Refresh this layout: Immediately refreshes the layout.
Refresh all: Allows you to immediately refresh all layouts.

Comparing windows with layouts

WINDEV and WINDEV Mobile allow you to compare two projects, two elements of a project, etc. For more details, see Project comparator.

When comparing windows containing layouts, the differences found for each layout are listed.

Managing layouts at runtime

Default operating mode

The initial layout is automatically selected according to:

the system,
the orientation,
the platform size,
the size of the window or page (in the editor).

The layout is automatically modified when the device switches from portrait mode to landscape mode.

The layout settings can be defined for each platform ("Description" in the context menu of the layout title bar):

The Phone / Tablet distinction only applies to the size of the window in the editor. This information is ignored at runtime.

These parameters are taken into account to choose the layout at runtime:

Minimum size of device on which the layout can be used.
Operating system. If "Multi OS" is selected, the layout can be used on all OS. You have the ability to select specific systems (the proposed systems correspond to the platforms defined for the project).
Window orientation.
Edit platform.

The order of parameters taken into account depends on the type of window run. Therefore:

If the window is a moving window (maximized or not), the criteria taken into account are: system, orientation and platform size..
If the window is a Windows window, the criteria taken into account are: system. The biggest window is chosen. If several windows have the same size, the choice is made according to the orientation.

The distinction between platform sizes (tablet/phone) is ignored at runtime. The largest layout is used.

Note: If the selected layout is not suitable, it is possible to force the use of a layout by programming..

Programming

You can:

force the layout to be used (WinChangeLayout). Simply indicate the number of the layout to use as parameter. This number is specified in the layout title bar.
get the current layout (WinCurrentLayout).