What's New in ExpressLayout Control v2
Table Of Contents
Tabbed Groups
One of the new ways in which to save form space and organize controls more effectively is to use tabbed groups. By implementing this feature, you can move lesser used controls into a "tabbed" page and arrange more frequently used controls in the primary view area. 
In code, changing a layout group into a tabbed page is as simple as setting a single property. For end-users, it's simply a matter of dragging a group onto a tab container or using the customization menu.
Collapsible Groups
Another new feature that allows you to create more flexible layouts is collapsible groups. End-users can temporarily hide group contents using expand buttons displayed within group captions. Form layout is of course automatically updated to populate the free space that appeared after collapsing a group. 
Additional Elements for Greater Layout Flexibility
Four auxiliary layout items have been introduced to help users easily adjust spacing and sizing parameters and improve form readability.
- Empty space items that provide padding between layout elements.
- Splitters that help to resize adjacent elements.
- Separators that improve readability of related elements.
- Labels that allow users to add custom text to forms.
All auxiliary items can be added and customized via the Customization Form, both at design and runtime.
Support for DevExpress Look and Feel and Skinning Technologies
Support for DevExpress Look and Feel and Skinning Technologies Much like other DevExpress VCL Controls, the ExpressLayout Control v2 now supports all common look and feel styles and skins supplied with the ExpressSkins Library. All layout control elements, including tab headers, group captions, buttons and the entire content of the Customization Form will now be consistent with other DevExpress UI Controls on your forms.
Runtime Layout Customization Improvements
The ExpressLayout Control v2 ships with an improved Customization Form providing the following new capabilities:
Integrated layout persistence and Undo/Redo actions
End-users can easily revert to a previous layout version or repeat their customization actions.
Two-pane structure including Layout Tree View and Available Items panes
You can display these panes side-by-side or using a tabbed container (which can be easily switched in code or using the check box at the bottom of the form). When selecting an item in the Layout Tree, it is automatically highlighted on the form. The same item customization context menu is available for both on-form element and customization form entry.
In customization mode, there's now a context menu available for layout elements selected on form or within the Customization dialog. These menus allow end-users to adjust item/group alignment options, customize group appearance settings and undo/redo changes made to the layout.
Yet another layout customization improvement is support for resizing handles displayed on the selected element's borders. Handle colors indicate whether resizing operations in a given direction are currently allowed. If they are, users can simply drag those handles to change layout element size. 
Version 2 also introduces a more intuitive element positioning system when dragging layout items. The layout control now keeps track of the mouse pointer and estimates the target space relative to neighboring controls - anticipating your action. It simultaneously highlights the target container and the target location, facilitating the drop operation for you.
Design-Time Improvements
With this release, we've significantly enhanced the layout control's design-time usability. Enhancements include:
- Smart layout import
The layout control now recognizes the more advanced layout of controls and provides options to improve import results.
- Design-time keyboard shortcuts support
You can now use DEL to delete elements and ESC to navigate up the control hierarchy.
- Layout item selectors
For quick access to items, each item is provided with a selector - a rectangle with green diagonal stripes. Item selection is enabled if the Customization Form is hidden. These selectors are also used to select linked controls, if the Customization Form is open.
- Drag and drop operations between different layout controls.
Miscellaneous New Features
- Layout group action buttons
In addition to the expand button, you can display any number of action buttons in a group's caption. You can provide these buttons with custom glyphs and click handlers.
- Caption images
Along with the text, an image can also be optionally provided for the item/group caption.
- Easy control focusing
A linked control can be focused at runtime by clicking the layout item's caption.
- Form auto-sizing
The form can be automatically resized to fit its contents best.
|