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delphivcl

Can I alter control layout on the fly?

Is there a way to alter a window or dialog from a vertical layout to a horizontal layout?

e.g. from this (narrow tall window) 

A: -------  
B: -------  
C: --------  
D: --------

To this (square window)

A:-------- C:-------
B:-------- D:--------

To this (wide window).

A:------ B:------- C:-------- D:---------

As I resize the window? A, B, C, D are edit boxes or comboboxes etc

Obviously, I can use a pagecontrol with 3 (or more) pages and invisible tabs and alternate between these, but I'm hoping to do this without such duplication.

I'm hoping for a solution that does not require me to write code.

Solution

  • This example uses a TFlowPanel. It is added to the form with Align set to alClient. Four TEdit controls are added to the TFlowPanel. When resizing the form they automatically realign themselves in the way you've described.

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    Changing the FlowStyle property allows you to customize the layout behaviour. Above shows the default fsLeftRightTopBottom giving:

     A:-------- B:-------
 C:-------- D:--------

    in the square window. Using fsTopBottomLeftRight will give you the layout in the question, however.

     A:-------- C:-------
 B:-------- D:--------