Workspace Sizing

StarSize Property
Both the KryptonWorkspaceCell and the KryptonWorkspaceSequence have a property called StarSize that is used to define the sizing for that part of the workspace layout. You can define the cell/sequence to have either a fixed size or a proportional sizing value. The StarSize is a string type that is expected to contain two values separated by a comma. The 'Star' in StarSize refers to the notation used when providing a proportional sizing value. This is best explained using a series of pictures. Figure shows two cells that are both defined to have a width of '1*'.

*  Figure 1 - Two cells with '1*' as the width*

The available width is first allocated to whatever fixed size cells are defined. We have none in this example and so the entire width is then allocated to the cells with stars defined. The total number of stars is 2 and so each cell gets half the available width as they each have half the number of total stars. As we increase the size of the Workspace control we get the following change in appearance as seen in Figure 2.

*  Figure 2 - Two cells with '1*' as the width*

Both still get half the total width. If we update the first cell to have a value of '3*' for the width we can see Figure 3 showing the resultant change.

*  Figure 3 - Two cells with '3*' and '1*' for the widths*

The total number of stars is 4 and so the first cell is given 3/4 of the space and the second cell just 1/4. Using star sizing makes it very easy for you to indicate the relative proportions of each cell. These examples only show the width changing but the height works in the same way when the cells are placed in a vertical sequence. Note that in a horizontal sequence the width is defined by using the width of the StarSize and in a vertical sequence the height is defined from the height of the StarSize. The opposite direction from the sequence is always defined as whatever is needed to fill sequence. So in our above examples we are using a horizontal sequence and so the height of each cell is always the entire height of the sequence itself.

Fixed and Proportional
Most real world scenarios will likely include fixed as well as proportional cells. To show this we define three cell with widths defined as '100', '1*' and '1*' respectively. Figure 4 shows how this will appear at runtime.

*  Figure 4 - Three cells with '100', '1*' and '1*' for the widths*

The first cell is fixed in width and so allocated the full 100 pixels with the remaining space split evenly between the other two cells. If we expand the Workspace to be be wider we get the change as seen in Figure 5.

*  Figure 5 - Three cells with '100', '1*' and '1*' for the widths*

As expected the first cell has stayed the same fixed width and the others have split up the larger space between themselves. If we change the width of the third cell to be '4*' we get the Figure 6 appearance.

*  Figure 6 - Three cells with '100', '1*' and '4*' for the widths*

The last cell takes up 4/5 of the remainder space and the second cell just 1/5. Shrinking the window changes the appearance as seen in Figure 7.

Figure 7 - Three cells with '100', '1*' and '4*' for the widths

The combination of fixed and proportional sizing gives the flexibility you need to construct just about any scenario you are likely to need. When you use the splitter to change th sizing it will automatically update the star and fixed sizes correctly to reflect the change. Calling the size fixed only refers to a fixed layout and does not mean the users cannot change the size using the splitter. You prevent a cell from being resized by the user you should set the KryptonWorkspaceCell.AllowResizing property to False.