
package com.smartgwt.client.docs;

/**
 * <h3>Form Layout</h3>
 * <b>FormItem Placement in Columns and Rows</b> <P> With the default tabular layout mechanism,
 * items are laid out in rows from left to right until the number of columns, specified by {@link
 * com.smartgwt.client.widgets.form.DynamicForm#getNumCols form.numCols}, is filled, then a new
 * row is begun.  Flags on FormItems, including {@link
 * com.smartgwt.client.widgets.form.fields.FormItem#getStartRow startRow}, {@link
 * com.smartgwt.client.widgets.form.fields.FormItem#getEndRow endRow}, {@link
 * com.smartgwt.client.widgets.form.fields.FormItem#getColSpan colSpan} and {@link
 * com.smartgwt.client.widgets.form.fields.FormItem#getRowSpan rowSpan}, control row and column
 * placement and spanning.   <P> Note that the most common form items (TextItem, SelectItem, etc)
 * take up <b>two</b> columns by default: one for the form control itself, and one for it's title.
 * The default setting of {@link com.smartgwt.client.widgets.form.DynamicForm#getNumCols
 * form.numCols:2} will result in one TextItem or SelectItem per row. <P> Note also that
 * ButtonItems have both startRow:true and endRow:true by default.  You must set startRow and/or
 * endRow to <code>false</code> on a ButtonItem in order to place a button in the same row as any
 * other item. <P> The log category "tablePlacement" can be enabled from the Developer Console to
 * watch items being placed.  You can also set {@link
 * com.smartgwt.client.widgets.form.DynamicForm#getCellBorder form.cellBorder:1} to reveal the
 * table structure for layout troubleshooting purposes. <P> <b>Row and Column Sizing</b> <P>
 * {@link com.smartgwt.client.widgets.form.DynamicForm#getColWidths DynamicForm.colWidths}
 * controls the widths of form columns.  FormItems that have "*" for {@link
 * com.smartgwt.client.widgets.form.fields.FormItem#getWidth FormItem.width} will fill the column.
 * FormItems with a numeric width will have that width in pixels regardless of the column's
 * specified width, which may cause the column to overflow as described under {@link
 * com.smartgwt.client.widgets.form.DynamicForm#getFixedColWidths DynamicForm.fixedColWidths}. <P>
 * For row heights, the largest pixel height specified on any item in the row is taken as a
 * minimum size for the row.  Then, any rows that have "*" or "%" height items will share any
 * height not taken up by fixed-sized items. <P> Individual item heights are controlled by {@link
 * com.smartgwt.client.widgets.form.fields.FormItem#getHeight item.height}. This may be specified
 * as an integer (pixel value), or a percentage string, or the special string "*", which 
 * indicates an item should fill the available space.<br> Percentages allow developers to
 * determine how the available space in the form is split amongst items. For example if a form has
 * 4 items in a single column, 2 of which have an  absolute pixel height specified, and 2 of which
 * are have heights of <code>"30%"</code> and <code>"70%"</code> respectively, the percentage
 * sized items will split up the available space after the fixed size items have been
 * rendered.<br> Note that {@link com.smartgwt.client.widgets.form.fields.FormItem#getCellHeight
 * item.cellHeight} may be specified to explicitly control the height of  an item's cell. In this
 * case the specified {@link com.smartgwt.client.widgets.form.fields.FormItem#getHeight
 * item.height} will govern the size of the item within the cell (and if set to a percentage, this
 * will be interpreted as a percentage of the cellHeight). <P> <b>Managing Overflow</b> <P> Forms
 * often contain labels, data values, or instructional text which can vary in size based on the
 * skin, data values, or internationalization settings.  There are a few ways to deal with a form
 * potentially varying in size: <ol> <li> Allow scrolling when necessary, using {@link
 * com.smartgwt.client.widgets.Canvas#getOverflow overflow:auto}, either on the immediate form, or
 * on some parent. <li> Place the form in a Layout along with a component that can render any
 * specified size, such as a {@link com.smartgwt.client.widgets.grid.ListGrid}.  In this case, the
 * Layout will automatically shrink the grid in order to accommodate the form. <li> Ensure that
 * the form can always render at a designed minimum size by reducing the number of cases of
 * variable-sized text, and testing remaining cases across all supported skins.  For example, move
 * help text into hovers on help icons, or clip  long text values at a maximum length and provide
 * a hover to see the rest. </ol> Several examples of Form Layout are available @see <a
 * href="http://www.smartclient.com/smartgwtee/showcase/#formsLayout" target="examples">here</a>.
     * @see com.smartgwt.client.widgets.form.fields.FormItem#getWidth
     * @see com.smartgwt.client.widgets.form.fields.FormItem#getHeight
     * @see com.smartgwt.client.widgets.form.DynamicForm#getItemLayout
 * @see com.smartgwt.client.widgets.form.DynamicForm#getItemLayout
 * @see com.smartgwt.client.widgets.form.DynamicForm#getNumCols
 * @see com.smartgwt.client.widgets.form.DynamicForm#getFixedColWidths
 * @see com.smartgwt.client.widgets.form.DynamicForm#getColWidths
 * @see com.smartgwt.client.widgets.form.DynamicForm#getMinColWidth
 * @see com.smartgwt.client.widgets.form.DynamicForm#getCellPadding
 * @see com.smartgwt.client.widgets.form.DynamicForm#getCellBorder
 * @see com.smartgwt.client.widgets.form.DynamicForm#getSectionVisibilityMode
 * @see com.smartgwt.client.widgets.form.fields.FormItem#getWidth
 * @see com.smartgwt.client.widgets.form.fields.FormItem#getHeight
 * @see com.smartgwt.client.widgets.form.fields.FormItem#getStaticHeight
 * @see com.smartgwt.client.widgets.form.fields.FormItem#getTitleColSpan
 * @see com.smartgwt.client.widgets.form.fields.FormItem#getColSpan
 * @see com.smartgwt.client.widgets.form.fields.FormItem#getRowSpan
 * @see com.smartgwt.client.widgets.form.fields.FormItem#getStartRow
 * @see com.smartgwt.client.widgets.form.fields.FormItem#getEndRow
 * @see com.smartgwt.client.widgets.form.fields.ButtonItem#getStartRow
 * @see com.smartgwt.client.widgets.form.fields.ButtonItem#getEndRow
 * @see com.smartgwt.client.widgets.form.fields.SelectItem#getHeight
 * @see com.smartgwt.client.widgets.form.fields.TextAreaItem#getStaticHeight
 */
public interface FormLayout {
}
