![devexpress layout control devexpress layout control](https://docs.devexpress.com/WindowsForms/images/lc-control-alignment18632.png)
The smart control arrangement algorithm implemented by the Layout Control automatically aligns controls within the form, so you’ll never need to tediously line them up to create a polished layout. After the tabbed group is created, you can add more tabs with the Add Tab context menu command and by dragging other groups to the tab header region. The Create Tabbed Group command from the Customization Menu creates a tabbed group from the selection. To provide a more compact data representation, you can place layout items into tabbed groups. To combine neighboring items into a group, select the items and invoke the Group command from the Customization Menu.Īs with any layout item, you can give a meaningful name to the created layout group using the Properties grid or with the Rename command from the group’s context menu.
![devexpress layout control devexpress layout control](https://www.devexpress.com/products/net/controls/winforms/layout/i/devexpress-winforms-layout-assistant.gif)
With the Layout Control, you do not need to add external panels (e.g., PanelControl and GroupControl), as the Layout Control provides built-in support for nested groups and tabbed groups. Sometimes you may need to combine the controls that have common functionality into panels or a tabbed UI. If a control occupies the layout item almost entirely (for instance, when the item’s label is too small or hidden), you can invoke the Customization Menu by clicking the embedded control and then clicking the icon that will appear.īuilt-In Support for Groups and Tabbed Groups The Customization Menu can be opened by right-clicking a layout item’s region that is not occupied by embedded controls (note that different commands are available, depending upon the type of element that has been right-clicked): In addition to these customization features, the Layout Control provides a quick Customization Menu that significantly simplifies the process of customizing the existing layout.
![devexpress layout control devexpress layout control](https://docs.devexpress.com/WindowsForms/images/datalayoutcontrol-wizard-page2127180.png)
For instance, you can specify the caption, caption’s position, indents and size constraints. This allows you to quickly customize the layout as your needs dictate. You can click any layout item on a form to select it and list its settings in the Properties grid. A layout item is a visual component that can display any control and a text label. After the controls have been dropped, you can easily rearrange and resize them using the mouse.Īctually, when a control is dropped onto the Layout Control, a new layout item is created that displays this control. Controls can be added to the layout in an intuitive manner using drag-and-drop. The Layout Control allows you to create an attractive layout within a few seconds. On-the-Fly Layout Design-Time Customization In the following image, the photo has been moved to the right side of the form using drag-and-drop, and the other controls still retain their positions and order.Īlthough the size of controls can change after specific controls are moved or added to the layout, this can be easily corrected by resizing the controls using the mouse. If you try to resize this form, the control layout will not be corrupted, instead, it will be proportionally resized.Įven if you rearrange the controls, the layout will remain consistent. Whether you resize the form or change the font settings of the controls, the layout will never break and the controls will never overlap.Ĭonsider the following form that contains a Layout Control with a few controls on it. The main advantage to the Layout Control is its capability to automatically maintain a consistent layout of controls within a form. The sections below provide more information on these features. Runtime customization capability and the ability to save/restore layouts to/from data storage.Options to customize size constraints, control alignment, label visibility, item appearance, etc.Built-in support for groups, tabbed groups, splitters, labels and separators.Displaying labels for embedded controls.The layout is not corrupted when new controls are added or existing controls are removed or rearranged.Embedded controls never overlap when the font settings are changed or the form is resized.No need to tediously align controls within a form.Automatic maintaining of a consistent layout of controls.The Data Layout Control is a data-aware version of the Layout Control, which provides tools for connecting to a data source, choosing editors for displaying data, specifying bindings, etc.īoth the Layout Control and Data Layout Control share the same layout features, covered in this topic.Ĭompared to manually positioning controls within a form, the Layout Control has the following advantages. It allows you to arrange any controls within a form without them being overlapped and misaligned. The LayoutControl is the main component of the DevExpress Layout Manager Library.