In order to make any form layout customizations, you must be in Template Editing mode. See Creating and Assigning Desktop Client Templates to Staff Users for more information.
This page explains how to use the customization form to make layout changes to the Home, Request, Activity, and User Information forms as well as other forms in the Aeon Desktop Client. The customization form is a complete and interactive editing tool that allows you to redesign a workspace.
Aeon Desktop Client template form customizations are automatically saved to a template at the time the change is made and when applied to users, are stored in the database and appear each time the user logs on. Template form layouts are retained until the applied template is removed and the user is restored to the default layout. Form customizations are made using the Customization form. Form customizations can be saved as .xml files that can be applied to templates and therefore shared with other users.
- On the Home page, the groups and all of the elements within those groups are customizable.
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On the Request, User Information, and Appointment forms, the grids beneath the Detail tab and History tab are customizable.
Note: The Appointment form is only customizable in Aeon 5.2 and later. - On the Activity form, the grids beneath the Detail and User tabs are customizable.
- The Ribbons along the top of the forms are not customizable.
The Customization Form
Each of the items on the Customization form has different features and options, explained below. To access the Customization form:
- Enter Template Edit Mode in order to have access to customization editing options. See Creating and Assigning Desktop Client Templates to Staff Users for more information.
- To open the Customize Layout form:
- From the Home page, right-click on any of the headings or tabs in the Requests & Activities groups, or other groups, and choose Customize Layout.
- From the Request or User Information form, right-click on any of the headings under the Detail tab and choose Customize Layout.
- From the Activity form, right-click on any of the headings under the Detail or User tabs and choose Customize Layout.
Right-click again in any of the panes and a Customization popup menu appears.
- All of the groups on the page and the formatting elements of the page are now movable and interactive.
- New tabs can be created and groups can be resized, hidden, or moved to new areas by clicking and dragging and by using the features in the popup menu.
Options on the Customization Form
The Customization form contains two main sections: the Hidden Items tab and the Layout Tree View tab.
Hidden Items Tab
The first four items are formatting tools to change the look and layout of the page. These tools are used by clicking, dragging, and dropping them where you want them on the page. The layout options are dynamic and limitless and it is a good idea to play with the tools to see just how many options you have for creating new layout designs. For instance, you can add an empty space item to the bottom of the page, click and drag to enlarge it, and then drop a new field in the space. You can move and drop items almost anywhere; if a move is not allowed, a circle with a line through it will appear warning you the move is not allowed. The remaining items are fields from database tables that you can click and add to your desktop client forms.
Examples of some formatting options and fields you can add to forms:
- Empty space
- Labels
- Separators
- Splitters
- Item Info 1-5, User Info 1-5, Activity Info 1-5
- Custom fields defined in the CustomFieldDefinitions table of the Aeon Customization Manager
- Bundle information
- User information such as name, address, birthday, and expiration date
- Billing category
- Photoduplication date and status
Layout Tree View
The Layout Tree view is a very handy view that outlines where items are on your page. You can click on the item in the Layout Tree View and the corresponding item on the page is selected. Click on the item on the page, and the same item will be highlighted in the Layout Tree View. This can spare you from losing information on your page and having to revert back to the default layout.
Additional Options
The Customization popup window contains some extra features for editing page layout. You can get to these features by right-clicking anywhere on the Customization form.
| Layout Option | Description |
|---|---|
| Hide Customization Form | Closes the Customization form. |
| Rename | Creates a custom name for a label. |
| Hide Text / Show Text | Hides and unhides a label. |
| Text Position | Changes text position to the top, bottom, left, or right of the row. |
| Hide Item | Hides label from the form and moves it to the Hidden Items section of the layout tree. |
| Ungroup / Group | Groups and ungroups selected rows. |
| Create EmptySpace Item | Places an empty space in the row. |
| Size Constraints | Choose from default or free sizing or lock the size, width, or height |
| Create Tabbed Group | Creates a grouping with a tab header. |
| Restore Default | Return to the default layout. |
Restoring To Default
All customizations made within the Aeon Desktop Client are stored and saved for the logged-in staff username. If you customize the layout of the desktop client at your workstation, that layout will appear on any Aeon Desktop Client workstation that the user logs into. The customized layout information is stored in the Aeon database, so you don't have to worry about keeping those settings on your local machine or a server share. Closing the customization form saves the layout changes to the database for the staff user, but at any point, you can right-click and choose to Restore Default.