Inserting Layout Grids
The layout grid provides a way to divide a layout into sections.
It functions similarly to a table in HTML or Word documents to create forms or to provide sophisticated layouts. Use a layout grid to control the exact placement of all other components in the layout.
To insert a layout grid:
- Select and drag the Layout Grid component to the design area.
The following illustration shows the Create a Layout Grid dialog.
In the dialog, enter the number of rows and columns for the grid and click OK to insert the grid to the design area, as shown in the following illustration.
Note the following about a layout grid:
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The grid is created with equidistant columns, and the row size defaults to a minimum of one row of text.
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Although Font properties are not enabled for a layout grid cell (set font properties using the individual component properties), the background color and border properties are enabled.
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When you insert a component to a grid cell, it automatically resizes to accommodate the component.
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Adjust the column width and height by either positioning the mouse pointer over the border and dragging the blue bar, or by changing the grid column properties in the Properties pane.
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The grid supports merging of cells.
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You can insert a grid inside a grid.
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Similar to Microsoft Word, the grid uses a flow layout that is very convenient for designing business documents. Components that do not occupy a full paragraph or block are positioned top-down and left to right.
Adding a Border or Background Color
By default, the gridlines are displayed in the design area only and are not shown during runtime. If you want to display the gridlines in the finished report, then select the grid cell and click the Set Border command button to launch the Border dialog.
To add a background color to a cell:
- Click the Background Color command button to launch the Color Picker.
About the Insert Options
When you have inserted a layout grid, you can add additional rows or columns.
Select the layout grid cell that is the focal point, then click the appropriate command button:
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Add a Row above
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Add a Column to the right
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Add a Row below
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Add a Column to the left
About the Join and Unjoin Options
Follow these steps to know how to join cells and to unjoin cells that have been joined.
To join cells horizontally or vertically:
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Select multiple adjacent cells by holding down the
Ctrlkey and clicking each grid cell. -
Click the Join command button.
To unjoin cells that have been joined:
- Select the joined cell and click the Unjoin button.
Adding an Expand and Collapse Option
When viewing a report in interactive mode, you can expand and collapse a layout grid to toggle the display of the grid's contents. Expand and Collapse are supported at the grid level, (not the cell-level) therefore ensure to insert grids appropriately. For example, if the report contains a chart in the top portion of the layout and a table in the bottom and you want to collapse the chart display, you must insert one layout grid to contain the chart and a second layout grid beneath the first to contain the table. Do not insert one grid with two rows.
To enable the expand and collapse option:
- Set the Interactive: Expand/Collapse property to True. The following figure shows this option on the Properties pane.
