Is there known bugs in positioning controls absolutely? 
In design view I can not select multiple controls using Ctrl-click as in vwd 2005.  Need to do that to line up controls using the layout toolbar.
When I drag and drop an asp:label onto the form it does not get the position:absolute set. Textbox, button and others do (havent tested all yet).

/Big

Multiple selection is not supported in 2008. Here is another thread on the issue: http://forums.asp.net/t/1170907.aspx. You can make designer to set position to absolute on drop, please look here: http://blogs.msdn.com/mikhailarkhipov/archive/2007/09/18/how-to-set-control-to-absolute-positioning-automatically-on-drag-drop.aspx

Sorry for not posting in the other thread. I did not consider older threads as they were comments about the previous beta release. 

HOW VERY DISAPPOINTING. Sorry for the caps, but that is my reaction.  I moved away from Expression Web to VWD2005 just because of the lack of multiple selection when I was creating asp forms. Guess the only option for us users is to be very outspoken about our thoughts on multiple selection so that M$ puts in the manpower to fix it.  Expression Web needs it too.

Most of the control aligning functionality on the Layout toolbar depends on multiple selection. Guess some parts of the VWD team thought multiple selection would be in the product.

Yes, I had used the [Tools/Option/HTML Designer/CSS Styling] option to position absolute on drag and drop.  But it does not work for asp:label, it does not get a CSS style class attached to it with position absolute when you drop it. As I said I have not tested for all controls, so I do not know if it is only asp:label that misbehaves.

In xWeb it is possible to rename a CSS class and get all the references to that class changed, it is a right-click option in the CSS properties, Manage styles and Apply styles task panes.  I can not find this in VWD2008. Am I missing something?

 /Big

The feature is planned for VS10. It is not really a question of manpower, but rather question of time. Adding more people does not necessarily make project finish earlier . As for <asp:label>, the control is technically a span element, so it cannot, per CSS rules, be positioned absolutely unless it is has display:block in its style. workaround is either to add display:block manually (I will file a bug to possibly make it automatic) or wrap label in a div.

CSS rename is planned for VS10 as well. VS IDE and project system does not provide certain functionality Expression designer needs, so we could not incorporate this feature from xWeb into VS in this cycle.

Mikail, thanks for your answers. I am sorry I used the word manpower, maybe priority is more correct. 

My two cents on multiple selection will not go a long way with the CSS layout puritans in the xWeb camp. Don't get me wrong here, I do understand that CSS is essential in creating standards, but I do not understand their dislike for absolute positioning. I want to use both xWeb and VWD as I do think xWeb is great, even though you can feel it is version 1.0. Looks like xWeb and VWD understand table layout the same way, so thats the way I am going to go for my asp forms. I know that is also not liked by the CSS puritans.

I notice that you do not comment the layout toolbar. But I can not find any use for it without multiple selection of controls. Am I wrong?

/Big

I'm just learning this asp.net and downloaded the VWD 2008, before I use to use 2005, and notice the same thing with the asp:label and was wondering how does one go about doing the work arounds you mentioned?

Try adding display:block to the label inline style.

First thank you so much for suppling answers to our many questions.

In your last response to this thread you speak of adding display:block to the inline style. I would appreciate so much if you would explain more in detail how to do that.

Thank you,

Charlie

Add style="display:block" attribute to the element. 

yes, the decision to not support multiple selection of controls is just plain idiotic.  Don't know about the rest of you, but I use that capability *heavily*.  For the love of Pete, who made that bone-headed decision?

There was no particilar decision to remove the feature or anything anong these lines. VS 2008 designer has nothing in common with VS 2005 one. 2005 was based on IE while 2008 is based on former FrontPage (as is Expression Web). 2008 designer never had this functionality. Adding new feature simply did not fit into the schedule.

That's insane, why is there a toolbar made just for that feature? I think somebody fell asleep when they should have been programming...

I have added the style = "display:block" attribute to a control.  But what does this doe for me.  what downside is there for creating the form in an earlier version of VS, and then upgrading it to 2008?

Mikhail,

 Which feature is planned for VS10, just curious? Also, is there a wiki where we can all throw our two cents in towards features we would like to see or think are important?

crab
 

1. To lunch a product like Visual Studio 2008, with a user interface designer that does NOT support multiple control selection to set common properties, etc., is foolish. I believe this to be a GREAT  BUG, as there is no purpose for the alginment & sizing toolbar.  This introduces an important LACK of productivy and it should be provided as a Hotfix as soon as possible.

 2. I have tried to use CSS relative positioning within various panel controls, including ASP:Panel and ASPxPanel, and using the IDE to drop-in controls and drag them to position them inside is buggy. I have to try two or three time to get it right.

 3. More on CSS positioning.  Contrary to many "CSS positioning" extremists, I, as many like me around the world, strongly believe that the best solution to handle web page layout is a balance between CSS layout and what I call "relative absolute positionning" (what was previously possible by dropping a DIV using flow layout, but setting the DIV ms_positionning="GridLayout"), so all controls inside de DIV would be positionned relative to the position of the DIV but with absolute positionning inside of it.). We need to be able to use absolute positionning relative to the coordinates of a container control like a panel or DIV.   CSS positionning and table layout DO NOT provide an easy, fast, and most of all PRODUCTIVE way to get a form with many input controls properly aligned and positionned as the programmer intends. Both CSS and table layout are great, and definitely needed, but is NOT the fix-all solution. Absolute positionning of children controls relative to their container control is something this technology is LACKING, and NEEDED to make this a much more productive developement environment. I think it would be very easy for CSS to add an absolute positionning relative to the container and it would greatly improve the technology and at the same time make it standard. One is the complement of the other, that way you can quickly use flow layout and/or table layout with DIV/Panels to structure the page and is some panels where input forms are needed use absolute positionning relative to the container to que controls always aligned the way they were intended.