Setting up MForm environment - Description

In the previous chapter you have created your first MForm control. However you did that in the project where everything was already set up. If you plan to use MForm in your own project, you will need to set up the environment.

MForm stylesheets

Some default stylesheets have been prepared to make MForm look appealing. These stylesheets are divided into several files, each file controls different parts of the MForm framework.

The most important stylesheet that is always consumed by the MForm controls is:

  • ~/Resources/MForm/Common/Css/main.css,

Depending on which MForm features you use, you will need some of the following stylesheets:

  • ~/Resources/MForm/Title/Css/main.css - stylesheet used with the MForm Title control,
  • ~/Resources/MForm/VerticalTableDisplay/Css/main.css - stylesheet used with the VerticalTableDisplayModifier,
  • ~/Resources/MForm/HorizontalTableDisplay/Css/main.css - stylesheet used with the HorizontalTableDisplayModifier,
  • ~/Resources/MForm/Leaf/Css/main.css - stylesheet used with the MForm Leaf item control,
  • ~/Resources/MForm/ValueHandler/Css/main.css - stylesheet used with standard MForm value handlers,
  • ~/Resources/MForm/BubbleTooltip/Css/main.css - stylesheet used with the BubbleTooltipAddition,
  • ~/Resources/MForm/ErrorLabel/Css/main.css - stylesheet used with the error descriptions,
  • ~/Resources/MForm/Tabs/Css/main.css - stylesheet used with the MForm tab functionality,

There are also some other stylesheets defined in this project that are not necessary for the MForm framework, but you may find them interesting:

  • ~/Resources/Controls/Column/Css/main.css - stylesheet used to display MForm leaf items in two columns,

Finally, this project uses its own stylesheets that affect the display. If you just want to start your new project and you are happy with this project's display, you can use it too.

  • ~/Resources/Example/Layout/Css/main.css - stylesheet that defines the standard page layout,
  • ~/Resources/Example/Typography/Css/main.css - stylesheet that defines the standard page typography,

You are encouraged to modify the stylesheets while preserving the provided file structure. Then you can share the stylesheets with the community. We plan to provide a public space with MForm "themes".

Libraries needed to use MForm

The following libraries should be added to the project that uses MForm control:

  • BM.Tools.WebControls.MForm - MForm library
  • BM.Tools.Xml.Schema - a library that facilitates reading XML schema files. It is needed to run the MForm generator
  • AjaxControlToolkit - MForm controls use some concepts from this library
MForm controls namespaces

The following namespaces may be used inside .aspx pages:

  • BM.Tools.WebControls.MForm.Controls - the namespace for MForm definition controls.
  • BM.Tools.WebControls.MForm.Controls.Additions - the namespace for MForm Addition controls.
  • BM.Tools.WebControls.MForm.Controls.Additions.Actions - the namespace for MForm actions.
  • BM.Tools.WebControls.MForm.Controls.Modifiers - the namespace for MForm Modifier controls.
  • BM.Tools.WebControls.MForm.Controls.ValueHandlers - the namespace for MForm value handler controls.

You can also simply paste in the page register part:

<%@ Register Assembly="BM.Tools.WebControls.MForm" Namespace="BM.Tools.WebControls.MForm.Controls" TagPrefix="mf" %>
<%@ Register Assembly="BM.Tools.WebControls.MForm" Namespace="BM.Tools.WebControls.MForm.Controls.Additions" TagPrefix="mfadd" %>
<%@ Register Assembly="BM.Tools.WebControls.MForm" Namespace="BM.Tools.WebControls.MForm.Controls.Additions.Actions" TagPrefix="mfac" %>
<%@ Register Assembly="BM.Tools.WebControls.MForm" Namespace="BM.Tools.WebControls.MForm.Controls.Modifiers" TagPrefix="mfmod" %>
<%@ Register Assembly="BM.Tools.WebControls.MForm" Namespace="BM.Tools.WebControls.MForm.Controls.ValueHandlers" TagPrefix="mfvh" %>

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