A layout is a pre-arranged layout of objects. It can represent a game level, menu or title screen. In other tools layouts may be referred to as scenes, rooms, frames or stages. They can be added, renamed and deleted from the Project Bar. Layouts are edited in the Layout View. Every layout has an associated event sheet which defines how the layout works.
Layouts contain a stack of layers. Objects that appear on the screen do not belong directly to a layout - they always sit on one of the layers in the layout.
Layouts do not have a background color. To set a background color, make the bottom layer opaque and set its background color. This can be done in the Layers Bar.
Layouts can also have effects applied, which affects all content appearing in the display.
Adding and removing layouts
To add a layout, right-click a layout folder (such as the root level Layouts) in the Project Bar and select Add layout.
To rename or remove a layout, right-click the layout itself in the Project Bar and select Rename or Delete.
Layout properties
The properties for a layout can be edited in the Properties Bar after clicking a space in the layout or selecting the name of the layout in the Project Bar.
- Name
- The name of this layout.
- Event sheet
- The associated event sheet that defines how this layout works. Event sheets can be shared between layouts using includes if you have a lot of similar events between layouts.
- Active layer
- This is the layer new objects are placed on to. It is also set by selecting a layer in the Layers Bar. The active layer is displayed in the status bar and is also shown as a tooltip when inserting a new object. All newly inserted objects are added to the active layer.
- Unbounded scrolling
- By default the game window cannot scroll past the edges of the layout. Set this to Yes to allow unlimited scrolling in any direction, even past the edges of the layout.
- Layout size
- The size, in pixels, of the layout area. If Unbounded scrolling is On, this still affects how much of the layout area is shown in the Layout View.
- Margins
- The size, in pixels, of the margins. The margins are the grey areas outside the layout area. This only affects the Layout View and has no effect when previewing.
- Project properties
- A shortcut to view the project's properties.