Composite Layout allows your nodes to be displayed in complex layouts. Currently, two and three column layouts are provided. You can also add other nodes, blocks, and even CCK fields to your node's layout. The content area of your node is divided into zones and you decide what should appear in those zones. Zones are essentially the same as Drupal blocks, but they apply to nodes rather than the entire site.

You can think of Composite Layout as Drupal blocks for nodes.

There is overlap in functionality between Composite Layout and Panels. Both address the issue of complex layouts, but each has a different approach.

Here is an informal comparison:

  • Panels is more powerful and flexible (I think, I'm not a Panels expert).
  • Composite Layout is simpler (I hope).
  • The user interface is different. You may prefer one or the other.
  • Composite Layout applies on content types, so it can be turned on for any node. Furthermore, you can have more than one composite layout node type.
  • If you use the Content Construction Kit, Composite Layout allows you to manage the layout of your CCK fields.

Otherwise, it will probably come down to personal preference as to which is more suitable.

You can download Composite Layout at the project page.

How to install Composite Layout

  • Install the Composite Layout module like you would install any normal module (ie. unextract it into .../sites/all/modules or somewhere else if you know what you're doing)
  • Goto Administer // Site building // Modules and enable Composite Layout
  • Edit the content type(s) for which you would like to enable Composite Layout (ie. Goto Administer // Content management // Content types // Story), tick Composite node -> Make this type a composite node type and click Save content type.
  • You may also want to experiment with the other values in this fieldset.

How to use Composite Layout

  • Edit a node for which you want to have a composite layout.
  • There should be a collapsed fieldset called "Composite layout". Expand it, select the layout you wish, and click Save.
  • New tabs should appear which let you manage the composite layout. The rest should be self explanatory from here on.

The Fine Print

Composite Layout was written by ThinkLeft for ProsePoint.

ThinkLeft is available for Drupal website or module development.

ProsePoint is a derivative of Drupal for publishing newspapers and magazines online.

Credits: The layout icons in Composite Layout are from the Panels module.

Comments

Vc Developer’s picture

How could I use this to post with Window Live Writer. Could this be possible? I would like to compose a layout using Expression Web and post it using WLW.

escoles’s picture

You wouldn't really be able to do that with Composite Layout. That's not really what it's for. What Composite Layout does is let you stipulate that certain node types (ideally, a custom node type) can have "composite layout". You then add blocks, other nodes, or CCK fields to the layout "zones". By default the zones are in a regular grid, but with a little source-viewing you can see that it's possible to re-size and position the boxes in the grid.

So, you could figure out a way to use blogapi to post something that would be displayed in a certain place on a Composite Layout page (I would do it using a View and a custom content type), but there's not really a way to use blogapi to create & populate a Composite Layout page.

If what you want is a complex layout that you design in Live Writer or the like, that you can then just post to the web, I can think of ways to do that. (Though: does Live Writer even let you do that kind of thing? I thought it was a pretty straightforward blog posting tool.) But they basically forego any dynamic capabilities. E.g., you could create a content type template that displays just the bare node, set it to use a completely unfiltered input filter (using Better Formats), then post your complex layouts to that content type using blogapi. But at that rate you'd probably be better off using Contribute, or Dreamweaver templates.

Vc Developer’s picture

Ok Thanks!

duckzland’s picture

It would be great if this module has the option to set "all the nodes" of certain content type to be transformed to composite layout rather than transforming one node at a time.

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