Editing pages with free layout tables
You can use free layout tables and cells so that you can easily position items on your Web page.
For example, you can control the exact placement of an image on the page by placing the image anywhere in a free layout table. You can also drag and drop components from the Palette to cells in the table.
With free layout tables you can arrange text and images by absolute coordinates. (Note that the actual free layout tables and cells are usually hidden when displayed in a browser.)
With free layout tables, you can easily lay out a Web page. You can create free layout tables and text cells via the menu or by dragging them from the
HTML Tags drawer of the palette and dropping them on a page. Adding a text cell will create a free layout cell, where you can add text or any other controls.
The free layout tables and cells give the page its basic structure. The underlying HTML source is automatically updated to create that cell. When the cursor is inside a text cell, it behaves just like a standard HTML table cell. If you add text or an object within an existing text cell, it is added at the cursor position. You can use the Properties view for modifying the free layout table and cells.
Adding objects to a free layout table
When you add objects (e.g., form controls) to empty areas of the free layout table, the object is added at that location. A text cell is automatically created and the object is placed within the text cell. You can add objects in the following ways:
If you add an object outside the existing free layout table, the object is inserted to the caret position.
- Selecting an object from the Insert menu
- Dragging and dropping from the palette to an empty area of the table
- Clicking the object in the palette, then clicking on an empty area of the table
Editing objects in a free layout table
You can edit objects in a free layout table in the following ways:
- Edit the text layout cell by clicking on the cell once, or clicking on the cell border. Then edit the properties in the Properties view.
- Edit the text or objects within the cell by clicking the cell a second time. Select the object within the cell that you want to modify, and edit the properties in the Properties view.
- Move an existing cell by selecting the cell and dragging and dropping it.
- Move an object by clicking the cell twice. Ensure the object is selected, and drag and drop it. If it is the only object in the cell, the entire cell will be moved. If there is more than one object in the cell, only that object is moved.
- Resize a text cell by clicking it once, and then moving the borders
You can change design-time settings such as adding grid lines, setting snap-to settings, etc. Select
Window | Preferences | Web | Page Design | Layout
Related concepts
Related tasks
Creating pages in a free layout table
Creating and deleting a table in a Web page
Manipulating columns and rows in Web page tables
Laying out a page template with tables