Layout

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Functions

A Layout is a virtual and transparent grid always linked with a Panel which serves to locate the different interface elements (Figure 1). Its inner cells have the ability to be automatically sized according to their content, which results in great portability because it is not necessary to indicate specific coordinates or sizes for the controls. To illustrate the concept, we will slightly simplify the code of Hello Edit and UpDown! (Listing 1), whose result we can see in (Figure 2).

• Use layout_create to create a new layout.
• Use layout_label and similars to place controls in the different cells.



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Layout *layout = layout_create(2, 5); Label *label1 = label_create(); Label *label2 = label_create(); Label *label3 = label_create(); Label *label4 = label_create(); Label *label5 = label_create(); Edit *edit1 = edit_create(); Edit *edit2 = edit_create(); Edit *edit3 = edit_create(); Edit *edit4 = edit_create(); Edit *edit5 = edit_create(); label_text(label1, "User Name:"); label_text(label2, "Password:"); label_text(label3, "Address:"); label_text(label4, "City:"); label_text(label5, "Phone:"); edit_text(edit1, "Amanda Callister"); edit_text(edit2, "aQwe56nhjJk"); edit_text(edit3, "35, Tuam Road"); edit_text(edit4, "Galway - Ireland"); edit_text(edit5, "+35 654 333 000"); edit_passmode(edit2, TRUE); layout_label(layout, label1, 0, 0); layout_label(layout, label2, 0, 1); layout_label(layout, label3, 0, 2); layout_label(layout, label4, 0, 3); layout_label(layout, label5, 0, 4); layout_edit(layout, edit1, 1, 0); layout_edit(layout, edit2, 1, 1); layout_edit(layout, edit3, 1, 2); layout_edit(layout, edit4, 1, 3); layout_edit(layout, edit5, 1, 4);

1. Natural sizing

The result of (Figure 2), although it is not very aesthetic, it is what we call natural sizing which is the default layout applied depending on the content of the cells. In (Table 1) we have the default measurements of each control. The column width is fixed to that of the widest element and the height of the rows is calculated in the same way. The final size of the layout will be the sum of the measures of both columns and rows.

The margins and constants applied to the controls are those necessary to comply with the human guidelines of each window manager. This means that a PushButton with the text "Hello" will not have the same dimensions in WindowsXP as in macOS Mavericks or Ubuntu 16.

Empty cells will be 0-sized and will not affect the composition.

2. Margins and format

The natural sizing we have just seen adjusts the panel to the minimum size necessary to correctly house all the controls, but it is not always aesthetic. We can shape it by adding margins or forcing a given size for rows and columns (Listing 2) (Figure 3).

• Use layout_hsize to force the width of a column.
• Use layout_vsize to force the height of a row.
• Use layout_hmargin to establish an inter-column margin.
• Use layout_vmargin to establish an inter-row margin.
• Use layout_margin to set a margin at the edge of the layout.

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layout_hsize(layout, 1, 235); layout_hmargin(layout, 0, 5); layout_vmargin(layout, 0, 5); layout_vmargin(layout, 1, 5); layout_vmargin(layout, 2, 5); layout_vmargin(layout, 3, 5); layout_margin(layout, 10);

3. Alignment

It is usual for the width of a control to be less than the width of the column that contains it, either because a fixed width has been forced or because there are wider elements in the same column. In these cases, we can indicate the horizontal or vertical alignment of the control with respect to the cell (Figure 4). In (Table 2) you have the default alignments.

• Use layout_halign to change the horizontal alignment of a cell.
• Use layout_valign to change the vertical alignment of a cell.



Control	Horizontal	Vertical
Label	ekLEFT	ekCENTER
Button (push)	ekJUSTIFY	ekCENTER
Button (others)	ekLEFT	ekCENTER
PopUp	ekJUSTIFY	ekCENTER
Edit	ekJUSTIFY	ekTOP
Edit (multiline)	ekJUSTIFY	ekJUSTIFY
Combo	ekJUSTIFY	ekCENTER
ListBox	ekJUSTIFY	ekJUSTIFY
UpDown	ekJUSTIFY	ekJUSTIFY
Slider (horizontal)	ekJUSTIFY	ekCENTER
Slider (vertical)	ekCENTER	ekJUSTIFY
Progress	ekJUSTIFY	ekCENTER
View	ekJUSTIFY	ekJUSTIFY
TextView	ekJUSTIFY	ekJUSTIFY
ImageView	ekJUSTIFY	ekJUSTIFY
TableView	ekJUSTIFY	ekJUSTIFY
SplitView	ekJUSTIFY	ekJUSTIFY
Layout (sublayout)	ekJUSTIFY	ekJUSTIFY
Panel	ekJUSTIFY	ekJUSTIFY

4. Sub-layouts

Consider now the panel of (Figure 5). It is not difficult to realize that this arrangement does not fit in any way in a rectangular grid, so it is time to use sublayouts. In addition to individual controls, a cell also supports another layout, so we can divide the original panel into as many parts as necessary until the desired layout is achieved. The main layout will size each sublayout recursively and integrate it into the final composition. In Hello Sublayout! you have the code that generates this example.

• Use layout_layout to assign a complete layout to a cell in another layout.

In this case we have applied the philosophy of divide and conquer, to ensure that each part fits into an individual grid (Figure 6). Each sublayout has been coded in an independent function to give greater consistency to the code, applying margins and format individually within each of them (Listing 3).

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static Layout *i_main_layout(void)
{
    Layout *layout1 = layout_create(1, 2);
    Layout *layout2 = i_top_layout();
    Layout *layout3 = i_bottom_layout();
    layout_layout(layout1, layout2, 0, 0);
    layout_layout(layout1, layout3, 0, 1);
    layout_margin(layout1, 5);
    layout_vmargin(layout1, 0, 5);
    return layout1;
}

5. Cell expansion

On certain occasions, the size of a layout is forced by external conditions. This happens when we have a sublayout in a cell with ekJUSTIFY alignment (internal expansion) or when the user changes the size of a resizable window (external expansion). This will produce an "pixel excess" between the natural sizing and the actual cell size (Figure 7). This situation is resolved by distributing the pixel surplus equally among all the sublayout columns, which in turn, will be recursively expanding until they reach an empty cell or an individual control. We can change this equitable distribution through these functions:

• Use layout_hexpand to expand a single cell and leave the rest with its default size.
• Use layout_hexpand2 to expand two cells indicating the growth rate of each.
• Use layout_hexpand3 to expand three cells.

The vertical expansion works exactly the same, distributing the excess space between the rows of the layout.

6. Tabstops

Normally we will use the [TAB] key and the [SHIFT]+[TAB] combination to navigate through the different controls of a window or form. Terms like taborder or tabstop refer to both the navigation order and the membership (or not) of an element in said list. While it is possible to arrange the elements of a tab-list randomly, layouts provide a coherent natural order based on the placement of controls. By default, each layout creates a tab-list going through all its cells by rows (Figure 8), but we can change it:

• Use layout_taborder to arrange the tab-list by rows or columns.
• Use layout_tabstop to add or remove controls from the tab-list.

Not every cell in a layout has to be a tabstop, since it doesn't make sense for static controls like Label to receive keyboard focus. In (Table 3) you have which controls are included by default in that list. With layout_tabstop you can add or remove controls from the tab-list. Most of the time we will use it than allowing certain custom views View to receive keyboard focus.

When the taborder enters a sublayout, it will follow the local order of the latter. When exiting the sublayout it will continue with the main order.

layout_create ()

Create a new layout specifying the number of columns and rows.

Layout*
layout_create(const uint32_t ncols,
              const uint32_t nrows);

Return

The layout.

layout_cell ()

Get a layout cell.

Cell*
layout_cell(Layout *layout,
            const uint32_t col,
            const uint32_t row);

Return

The cell.

layout_control ()

Gets the control assigned to a cell in the layout.

GuiControl*
layout_control(Layout *layout,
               const uint32_t col,
               const uint32_t row);

Return

The control.

layout_label ()

Insert a Label control in a layout.

void
layout_label(Layout *layout,
             Label *label,
             const uint32_t col,
             const uint32_t row);

layout_button ()

Insert a Button control in a layout.

void
layout_button(Layout *layout,
              Button *button,
              const uint32_t col,
              const uint32_t row);

layout_popup ()

Insert a PopUp control in a layout.

void
layout_popup(Layout *layout,
             PopUp *popup,
             const uint32_t col,
             const uint32_t row);

layout_edit ()

Insert an Edit control in a layout.

void
layout_edit(Layout *layout,
            Edit *edit,
            const uint32_t col,
            const uint32_t row);

layout_combo ()

Insert a Combo control in a layout.

void
layout_combo(Layout *layout,
             Combo *combo,
             const uint32_t col,
             const uint32_t row);

layout_listbox ()

Insert a ListBox control in a layout.

void
layout_listbox(Layout *layout,
               ListBox *list,
               const uint32_t col,
               const uint32_t row);

layout_updown ()

Insert an UpDown control in a layout.

void
layout_updown(Layout *layout,
              UpDown *updown,
              const uint32_t col,
              const uint32_t row);

layout_slider ()

Insert an Slider control in a layout.

void
layout_slider(Layout *layout,
              Slider *slider,
              const uint32_t col,
              const uint32_t row);

layout_progress ()

Insert a Progress control in a layout.

void
layout_progress(Layout *layout,
                Progress *progress,
                const uint32_t col,
                const uint32_t row);

layout_view ()

Insert View in a layout.

void
layout_view(Layout *layout,
            View *view,
            const uint32_t col,
            const uint32_t row);

layout_textview ()

Insert a TextView control in a layout.

void
layout_textview(Layout *layout,
                TextView *view,
                const uint32_t col,
                const uint32_t row);

layout_imageview ()

Insert an ImageView control in a layout.

void
layout_imageview(Layout *layout,
                 ImageView *view,
                 const uint32_t col,
                 const uint32_t row);

layout_tableview ()

Insert an TableView control in a layout.

void
layout_tableview(Layout *layout,
                 TableView *view,
                 const uint32_t col,
                 const uint32_t row);

layout_splitview ()

Insert an SplitView control in a layout.

void
layout_splitview(Layout *layout,
                 SplitView *view,
                 const uint32_t col,
                 const uint32_t row);

layout_panel ()

Insert a Panel control in a layout.

void
layout_panel(Layout *layout,
             Panel *panel,
             const uint32_t col,
             const uint32_t row);

layout_layout ()

Insert a layout into a cell in another layout.

void
layout_layout(Layout *layout,
              Layout *sublayout,
              const uint32_t col,
              const uint32_t row);

layout_get_label ()

Gets the Label of a cell.

Label*
layout_get_label(const Layout *layout,
                 const uint32_t col,
                 const uint32_t row);

Return

The control.

layout_get_button ()

Gets the Button of a cell.

Button*
layout_get_button(const Layout *layout,
                  const uint32_t col,
                  const uint32_t row);

Return

The control.

layout_get_popup ()

Gets the PopUp of a cell.

PopUp*
layout_get_popup(const Layout *layout,
                 const uint32_t col,
                 const uint32_t row);

Return

The control.

layout_get_edit ()

Gets the Edit of a cell.

Edit*
layout_get_edit(const Layout *layout,
                const uint32_t col,
                const uint32_t row);

Return

The control.

layout_get_combo ()

Gets the Combo of a cell.

Combo*
layout_get_combo(const Layout *layout,
                 const uint32_t col,
                 const uint32_t row);

Return

The control.

layout_get_listbox ()

Gets the ListBox of a cell.

ListBox*
layout_get_listbox(const Layout *layout,
                   const uint32_t col,
                   const uint32_t row);

Return

The control.

layout_get_updown ()

Gets the UpDown of a cell.

UpDown*
layout_get_updown(const Layout *layout,
                  const uint32_t col,
                  const uint32_t row);

Return

The control.

layout_get_slider ()

Gets the Slider of a cell.

Slider*
layout_get_slider(const Layout *layout,
                  const uint32_t col,
                  const uint32_t row);

Return

The control.

layout_get_progress ()

Gets the Progress of a cell.

Progress*
layout_get_progress(const Layout *layout,
                    const uint32_t col,
                    const uint32_t row);

Return

The control.

layout_get_view ()

Gets the View of a cell.

View*
layout_get_view(const Layout *layout,
                const uint32_t col,
                const uint32_t row);

Return

The view.

layout_get_textview ()

Gets the TextView of a cell.

TextView*
layout_get_textview(const Layout *layout,
                    const uint32_t col,
                    const uint32_t row);

Return

The control.

layout_get_imageview ()

Gets the ImageView of a cell.

ImageView*
layout_get_imageview(const Layout *layout,
                     const uint32_t col,
                     const uint32_t row);

Return

The control.

layout_get_tableview ()

Gets the TableView of a cell.

TableView*
layout_get_tableview(const Layout *layout,
                     const uint32_t col,
                     const uint32_t row);

Return

The control.

layout_get_splitview ()

Gets the SplitView of a cell.

SplitView*
layout_get_splitview(const Layout *layout,
                     const uint32_t col,
                     const uint32_t row);

Return

The control.

layout_get_panel ()

Gets the Panel of a cell.

Panel*
layout_get_panel(const Layout *layout,
                 const uint32_t col,
                 const uint32_t row);

Return

The panel.

layout_get_layout ()

Gets the Layout of a cell.

Layout*
layout_get_layout(const Layout *layout,
                  const uint32_t col,
                  const uint32_t row);

Return

The sublayout.

layout_taborder ()

Set how the keyboard focus will move when you press [TAB].

void
layout_taborder(Layout *layout,
                const gui_orient_t order);

Remarks

See Tabstops.

layout_tabstop ()

Sets whether or not a cell in the layout will receive keyboard focus when navigating with [TAB]-[SHIFT][TAB].

void
layout_tabstop(Layout *layout,
               const uint32_t col,
               const uint32_t row,
               const bool_t tabstop);

Remarks

See Tabstops.

layout_hsize ()

Set a fixed width for a layout column.

void
layout_hsize(Layout *layout,
             const uint32_t col,
             const real32_t width);

layout_vsize ()

Force a fixed height for the layout row.

void
layout_vsize(Layout *layout,
             const uint32_t row,
             const real32_t height);

layout_hmargin ()

Establish an inter-column margin within the layout. It is the separation between two consecutive columns.

void
layout_hmargin(Layout *layout,
               const uint32_t col,
               const real32_t margin);

layout_vmargin ()

Set an inter-row margin within the layout. It is the separation between two consecutive rows.

void
layout_vmargin(Layout *layout,
               const uint32_t row,
               const real32_t margin);

layout_hexpand ()

Set the column to expand horizontally.

void
layout_hexpand(Layout *layout,
               const uint32_t col);

Remarks

See Cell expansion.

layout_hexpand2 ()

Set the two columns that will expand horizontally.

void
layout_hexpand2(Layout *layout,
                const uint32_t col1,
                const uint32_t col2,
                const real32_t exp);

Remarks

The expansion of col2 = 1 - exp. See Cell expansion.

layout_hexpand3 ()

Set the three columns that will expand horizontally.

void
layout_hexpand3(Layout *layout,
                const uint32_t col1,
                const uint32_t col2,
                const uint32_t col3,
                const real32_t exp1,
                const real32_t exp2);

Remarks

exp1 + exp2 < = 1. The expansion of col3 = 1 - exp1 - exp2 . See Cell expansion.

layout_vexpand ()

Set the row that will expand vertically.

void
layout_vexpand(Layout *layout,
               const uint32_t row);

Remarks

See Cell expansion.

layout_vexpand2 ()

Set the two rows that will expand vertically.

void
layout_vexpand2(Layout *layout,
                const uint32_t row1,
                const uint32_t row2,
                const real32_t exp);

Remarks

The expansion of row2 = 1 - exp. See Cell expansion.

layout_vexpand3 ()

Set the three rows that will expand horizontally.

void
layout_vexpand3(Layout *layout,
                const uint32_t row1,
                const uint32_t row2,
                const uint32_t row3,
                const real32_t exp1,
                const real32_t exp2);

Remarks

exp1 + exp2 < = 1. The expansion of row3 = 1 - exp1 - exp2. See Cell expansion.

layout_halign ()

Sets the horizontal alignment of a cell. It will take effect when the column is wider than the cell.

void
layout_halign(Layout *layout,
              const uint32_t col,
              const uint32_t row,
              const align_t align);

layout_valign ()

Sets the vertical alignment of a cell. It will take effect when the row is taller than the cell.

void
layout_valign(Layout *layout,
              const uint32_t col,
              const uint32_t row,
              const align_t align);

layout_show_col ()

Show or hide a layout column.

void
layout_show_col(Layout *layout,
                const uint32_t col,
                const bool_t visible);

layout_show_row ()

Show or hide a layout row.

void
layout_show_row(Layout *layout,
                const uint32_t row,
                const bool_t visible);

layout_margin ()

Set a uniform margin for the layout border.

void
layout_margin(Layout *layout,
              const real32_t mall);

layout_margin2 ()

Set a horizontal and vertical margin for the layout edge.

void
layout_margin2(Layout *layout,
               const real32_t mtb,
               const real32_t mlr);

layout_margin4 ()

Set margins for the layout border.

void
layout_margin4(Layout *layout,
               const real32_t mt,
               const real32_t mr,
               const real32_t mb,
               const real32_t ml);

layout_bgcolor ()

Assign a background color to the layout.

void
layout_bgcolor(Layout *layout,
               const color_t color);

layout_skcolor ()

Assign a color to the edge of the layout.

void
layout_skcolor(Layout *layout,
               const color_t color);

layout_update ()

Update the window associated with the layout.

void
layout_update(Layout *layout);

Remarks

It is equivalent to calling window_update.

layout_dbind ()

Associate a type struct with a layout.

void
layout_dbind(Layout *layout,
             Listener *listener,
             type);

Remarks

See GUI Data binding.

layout_dbind_obj ()

Associate an object with a layout to view and edit it.

void
layout_dbind_obj(Layout *layout,
                 type *obj,
                 type);

Remarks

See GUI Data binding.

layout_dbind_update ()

Updates the interface of the object associated with the layout.

void
layout_dbind_update(Layout *layout,
                    type,
                    mtype,
                    mname);

Remarks

See GUI Data binding.