Instead of editing the grid using the design-time editing commands, you may prefer to use the Grid Editor (new in SizerOne version 7.0). The grid editor offers a lot more power than the design-time commands, allowing you to resize multiple rows or columns at a time, set precise size values, and more.
Furthermore, the design-time editing commands are not available in certain host environments (Visual C++, for example). In these environments, you have to use the grid editor to set up the grid.
To invoke the grid editor, right-click on the Elastic control and select Properties to display the Elastic's property pages. On the Main property page, click the Grid Editor button. (If the button is disabled, set the AutoSizeChildren property to 8 - azGrid to enable it.)
The grid editor will display a window similar to the one shown below:
The grid editor displays a copy of the Elastic control being edited (without any child controls). Initially, the Elastic control has tags on the center of each column. The tags display the width of each column (in twips) and may be used to select one or more columns. To select a single column, click its tag. To extend the selection, shift-click other tags.
The editor has a toolbar across the top with buttons that allow you to perform several editing functions:
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The first button toggles the editor between the column and row editing modes. |
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The edit control displays the width (height) of the current selection. You may set the width (height) of all selected columns (rows) by typing a new value into the editor and hitting Enter. |
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The check mark button has the same effect as hitting Enter: it applies the value (width or height) in the edit control to the current selection. |
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The plus button increases the size of the selection by one pixel. In most monitors, one pixel corresponds to about 15 twips. |
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The minus button decreases the size of the selection by one pixel. In most monitors, one pixel corresponds to about 15 twips. |
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The equals sign button makes all selected columns (rows) the same size. The selection does not have to be contiguous. |
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The lock button is used to toggle the fixed state of the current selection. (Fixed rows and columns are not resized when the control is resized.) |
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The splitter button is used to toggle the splitter state of the current selection. (Splitter rows and columns may be dragged with the mouse at run time.) |
To add or delete a division, use the grid editor's context menu. Right-click on a division with the mouse and you will get a menu similar to the one used with the design-timer editor. The menu has options for adding and deleting rows and columns.
When you are done editing, click the OK button and the changes you made to the grid layout will be applied to the underlying control.
Note that the grid editor gives you a lot of flexibility when setting up the grid, but there are certain things you cannot do. For example:
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You cannot make all divisions fixed. When the control is resized, at least one division must be resized so that the grid can be expanded to fit the new control size.
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You cannot set division sizes to completely arbitrary values. Ultimately, the grid is displayed on the screen, so all dimensions need to be converted into pixels. This may introduce some round-off errors, which should not be noticeable on the screen.