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Organizing and Managing Multiple Sections Within the App User Interface

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When building a simulation app using the Application Builder in COMSOL Multiphysics^®, you can organize and manage multiple parts within the user interface of the app. This is done by adding aForm Collection, which enables you to divide the user interface into sections and better organize it by grouping related functionality together. After which, you can control and customize the visibility of these sections. This is useful when you have many form objects in your app. For example, if your app contains multiple settings, you can choose to not show them all at the same time since some sections can be collapsed by default.

Focusing on organization when building an app also benefits the end result for the app users. A more modular structure enables quick and easy navigation of your apps and helps to avoid a "busy" or cluttered user interface. Here, we will show you how to add and useForm Collectionin your app design and discuss the utility in doing so.

Tutorial: Layout Modes — Form Collection with Sections

This example focuses on thesimplified thermal microactuatortutorial model, which a simulation app was developed forpreviously. Here, changes are made to the app design in order for it to have a more organized structure and clear sequence of steps to follow. To accomplish this, aForm Collectionobject is added to categorize distinct parts of the user interface, which subforms are then added to. This example also highlights variousForm Collectionsettings that enable you to control the display of each section in the app. An overview of the topics covered in the video is as follows:

• Creating a new button
  • Editing settings and arguments for command sequences
• Editing grids
  • Inserting rows and columns
  • Merging cells
  • Editing size via dragging gridlines or changing theForm Editorsettings
  • Inserting lines
  • Drawing and rearranging buttons
• Creating forms of parts of the user interface usingExtract Subform
• AddingForm Collection
  • Selecting local forms
  • Layout type options: tabs, sections, lists
  • Renaming section titles
  • Settings for controlling visibility of each form
  • Ensuring consistent sizing using theInherit columnslist

Further Learning

To learn more about form collections, open theIntroduction to the Application Builderdocumentationand navigate to the:

• "Getting Started with the Application Builder" chapter
• "Form Collection" section of the appendix on form objects

Multiple layout templates built into theForm Wizarduse aForm Collection. See a demonstration of one of these in the tutorial video on theSubwindows, Sections, and Graphicstemplate in our Learning Center entry "Using Layout Templates to Build Simulation Apps".