Window Layouts Single Dialogs Workspace

Use this workspace to maintain a list of the layouts that are available for each window in Maconomy.

A layout defines which elements (fields, labels, variables, and so on) are displayed when a user opens a window. You can design different layouts and assign them to different user groups. You can also specify that a window should be translated into different languages.

You define layouts in text files, using the MDL programming language. You can edit these text files to create multiple layouts for a single workspace.

Using layouts, you can define several versions of the same window. For example, you can use this feature to implement familiar terminology in Maconomy. In the Window Layout Groups workspace you can associate each layout with a user group, thus ensuring that specific user types only see the necessary fields for their workflows. If you do not associate user groups with the layouts, the users see the default layout that you specify in this workspace.

The Window Layouts tab displays the name of a window in Maconomy. In the Layouts sub-tab you can assign layouts to the window in question.

Editing Layouts

When you assign a layout to a window, Maconomy imports the associated text file to the server and stores it centrally. You assign a layout to a window by pressing Return in the Layouts sub-tab and selecting the text document that contains the appropriate layout description.

In this workspace, you can export layouts from the server to your own computer. You can then edit a layout locally and reimport it to the server using this workspace. Maconomy imports the layout into the Custom layer.

The layouts are divided into layers: Standard, Solution, and Custom. Maconomy displays the window layout in a certain order of priority: Custom, Solution, Standard. When a user opens a window, Maconomy takes the layout of the window from the Custom layer, if it exists. If the window layout does not exist in the Custom layer, Maconomy takes it from the Solution layer or from the Standard layer (which always exists). Note that you can change the order of priority by assigning layouts to user groups. That kind of change is not taken into account in the following description of the layers:

• Standard — The layouts in this layer are the ultimate fallback layouts. That is, this layout is displayed if no layouts exist in any other layer. Maconomy provides the layouts in this layer; they are called the original layout. You cannot delete the original layout, but you can export an original layout, change it, and reimport it into the Custom layer under another name.

• Solution — Deltek designs the layouts in this layer to support a Maconomy solution such as the Maconomy Consulting Solution (MCS) or the Maconomy Agency Solution (MAS). Deltek provides the layouts in this layer.

• Custom — You can customize the layouts in this layer if you have the correct access privileges. Consultants typically create customized layouts. For example, if you are a consultant, you can make small adjustments to a layout to support local terminology or to add a company logo, or you can heavily modify a layout to support different users in their workflows.

Only one Standard and Solution layout typically exists. In some cases, a Maconomy developer or consultant might add more layouts in some cases, but this must be done before the system is installed.

Each window has a default layout. The default layout is the layout that is displayed to the user if no other layout has been defined for the window in question in any of the groups to which the user is assigned. If you delete the layout that is identified as the default layout, Maconomy automatically uses the "Original" layout in the standard layer as the new default layout for the current window.

If you select the Localize Custom Layout field on a line in the Layouts sub-tab, the layout in the custom layer is localized via dynamic translation.

If you installed the "Dynamic Translation" add-on on the server, you can choose a client language in the Language Selection workspace on the Settings menu (in the Maconomy client for the Java™ platform, this is defined elsewhere). Follow these steps to have Maconomy dynamically translate the current window layout:

1. Make sure that you export the layout file using the Export Standard/Solution/Custom Layout action-not the Export Localized Standard/Solution/Custom Layout action. This exports the layout in nonlocalized (US English) form. See also the Export Standard Layout action.
2. Edit the resulting text file in a text editor, as described in the "Window Design using MDL" guide. Note that you cannot enter new items in the layout; you can only edit existing items.
3. Import the edited text file as described in the following section "Import Custom Layout."
4. Verify that the Localize Custom Layout field is selected for the imported window layout.

The imported layout is now localized as any other layout in the system.

The workspace provides actions for exporting the layout on the current line in the Layouts sub-tab on all layers. In addition, you can import and delete layouts in the Custom layer.