Panel files are portions of a web page – chunks of HTML – that encapsulate functionality such as displaying a group of fields from a database record, displaying a table, or a navigation menu. Panels usually contain standard code generation tags that are replaced when the application is built. They specify the graphics and organization that will be used on layout pages created by Iron Speed Designer and ultimately the ASPX pages derived from these layout pages.
Panels are visible in Iron Speed Designer’s toolbox and are placed onto the web pages you create with Iron Speed Designer. When you drag a panel onto a web page in Iron Speed Designer, the contents of the panel file are copied into the page’s layout page file.
Panels are specific to an individual design theme. There is no requirement that all design themes contain all panels. In fact, it is possible (though not very useful) to create a design theme with no panels. It’s quite common to add custom panel files to an existing design theme but not to others. Panels can contain any HTML and code generation tags you want. In fact, a panel doesn’t need to contain any code generation tags at all, nor does it even have to contain any HTML.
Panels provided by Iron Speed Designer in various design themes include:
Record panels
Table panels
Menu panels
Header and footer panels
ASPX controls
Certain designated panel files are used by the Application Wizard in Iron Speed Designer to automatically create “standard” data access layout pages, such as:
Add Record, Edit Record or Show Record: These pages allow you to create a standard page to add, edit or display a record. In general, the underlying page layout for each of these templates is exactly the same. The properties set by the Application Wizard determine whether the page is to add, edit or display a record.
Show Table or Edit Table: These pages display multiple records in a table. The properties set as part of the Application Wizard determines whether the page is used to display or edit records.
A special set of code generation tags can be used within panels to make them “smart” by interacting with Iron Speed Designer and its various wizards. For example, a ForEach code generation tag can be used to “expand” the set of fields in a table without specifying the actual table within the panel file. Iron Speed Designer expands the ForEach code generation tag when you configure the panel within a web page.
Creating and Customizing Design Themes
Creating Your Own Design Theme