Arranging fields using Grid and Fixed controls

By default, page fields are arranged automatically in two columns. For more information, see Field Arrangement on FastTabs. You can use a Grid control or a Fixed control to arrange fields in rows and columns on a page and design it to look like a grid-like format. This article outlines the differences between the two controls to help you determine which control to use.

Note

Due to restrictions on design capabilities in the web client, it's currently not possible to customize or personalize the controls within the grid and fixed syntax. It applies to all design modes.

Important

Arranging fields in rows only works in the Dynamics NAV Client connected to Business Central. In the Web client, fields can only be arranged in columns.

Comparing Grid and Fixed controls

The Grid control is a new control and is the preferred method because it gives you more layout options. The following table outlines the Grid and Fixed control characteristics and their differences.

Characteristics	Grid Control	Fixed Control
General usage and field layout	Places fields in a uniform grid. When setting up a grid control, you can decide to set up fields in a row-by-row or column-by-column basis.	Places fields in a table or matrix-like configuration that has a row and column headings. You can only set up fields on a column-by-column basis. You typically use the Fixed control to display statistical data in a FastTab or information in the details section of a Worksheet page. If you're using the CRONUS International Ltd. demonstration database, then you can see examples of these uses in page 151, Customer Statistics, and page 40, Item Journal.
Field captions	Shows or hides captions above each field. Place captions before or above the field.	Shows captions as a heading to the rows and columns. You can't specify a heading for each field.
Row and column spanning	Can span rows and columns.	Can't span rows and columns.
Field appearance	Shaded with a border.	No shading or border.

Supported structure for using the Grid and Fixed controls

The following table shows the supported structure to get the layout results that you expect. The page layout of the page object determines what the page looks like. You must specify the structure in the layout section.

Type	SubType
Container	area(content)
Control	group
Control	grid or fixed
Control	group
Control	field

The Grid and the Fixed control must be placed in the group control in a area(content) subtype. The Group control doesn't have to be the first group under the area(content).

Important

If the Grid or Fixed control is not placed in a Group control, it will inherit properties as if it were a typical Group control and none of the Grid or Fixed properties will apply to it.

The Grid or Fixed control must have Group controls as direct children and Field controls as children of those Group controls.

Supported control types for using a Grid control

The Grid control is supported on all page types and for a selected range of control types. The following table lists the types of controls that can be nested in a Grid control.

Tip

Although nesting groups such as Group, Fixed, and Grid is possible, we do not recommend it because of lower UI performance and less optimal layout.

Control Type	Control Subtype
Fields
Groups	Group
	Repeater
	CueGroups
	Fixed
	Grid
Part	Page

The following table lists the types of controls that aren't supported in a Grid control.

Control Type	Control Subtype
Add-Ins
Parts	Chart Parts
	System Parts

For more information on how to use the Grid control, see Arranging Fields in Rows and Columns Using the Grid Control. For more information on how to use the Fixed control, see Arranging Fields in Rows and Columns Using the Fixed Control.

See also

Arranging Fields on a FastTab
Pages Overview
GridLayout Property