Widgets in the editing area are displayed schematically as boxes within a larger box which represents the Form. The editing area displays a sketch of the layout. This displays the dialog shown in Figure 4-3. Click on the Layout button on the toolbar. You can display the Layout Editor for any layout widget in your hierarchy by selecting it and either selecting 'Layout' from the Widget menu or clicking on the Layout button on the toolbar, as shown in Figure 4-2.Ģ. By attaching two widgets edge-to-edge, you can ensure that the spacing between them will be preserved even if one of them moves or changes size. For example, by attaching a widget to both sides of the Form, you can make it stretch when the main window becomes larger. These additional features of the Form allow you to design a layout which retains its appearance when the main window or an individual widget is resized. Facilities are also provided for you to align and distribute a group of widgets. Attachments can be made edge to edge or top to bottom. Widget attachments let you attach two of the Form's children to each other at a specified absolute distance (measured in pixels). When you use position attachments, widgets get farther apart when the window gets larger so that the interface can take advantage of extra space when it is available. The Form also has position attachments, which are specified as a percentage of the total width or height of the Form. In the case of the Form, this type of attachment is called a Form attachment to distinguish it from other types of attachments available for the Form. This has the effect of positioning the widget at a specific x,y location, like the attachments provided by the BulletinBoard and DrawingArea. The Form widget lets you attach a side of a child widget to a side of the Form at a specified distance (measured in pixels). These are the only attachments offered by the BulletinBoard and DrawingArea widgets. If you also constrain its lower right corner, you also fix its size. If you constrain the upper left corner of a widget, you fix its location.

All three types of layout widget let you attach their children's upper left and lower right corners at any x,y location relative to the layout widget. WorkShop Visual provides an interactive Layout Editor for laying out the children of these widgets.Īttachments are constraints that force a widget to be in a certain location relative to the layout widget or to another child of the layout widget.

These three widget classes are called layout widgets. Three types of widget, Form, BulletinBoard and DrawingArea, allow more flexible layout of their children. In a RowColumn, all children are laid out in a grid. In a MenuBar, the CascadeButtons are laid out in a single row.

You have already seen that the children of a RadioBox, RowColumn and MenuBar are laid out in specific ways. Several classes of Motif widgets can impose geometric rules on their children. Set position attachments for proportional spacing of the three ToggleButtons. Align the tops of the three ToggleButtons located at the bottom of the layout.ĥ. Attach the RowColumn to the Frame at a fixed offset.Ĥ. Attach the top and left side of the Frame to the sides of the Form at a fixed offset.ģ. Move widgets around to the approximate layout you want.Ģ. To make these changes in the layout, you will perform the following steps with WorkShop Visual's interactive Layout Editor:ġ.

The arrangement of widgets inside the Form is called the layout. However, the arrangement of widgets inside the Form is up to you.įigure 4-1 shows the present appearance of the tutorial interface and how it will appear when you finish making the modifications in this chapter.įigure 4-1 Default and Modified Layout for Tutorial Interface The DialogTemplate automatically places the menu bar at the top of the window and arranges the buttons at the bottom. The next step in designing your interface is to rearrange the widgets geometrically. WorkShop: Visual User's Guide: 4 - The Layout Editor

Layouteditor user group