Drag and Drop Layouts

User Problem

Users find the current method for rearranging and resizing components in their Plotly Studio applications to be cumbersome and confusing. They must navigate to the Layout tab and manually edit a descriptive prompt that lists components and their sizes (e.g., "Sales Revenue (50%)"). This indirect, text-based approach is often a source of frustration and errors, detracting from the intuitive experience users expect when designing their app's layout.

What Is It?

This feature is an interactive, drag-and-drop layout editor integrated directly into the Plotly Studio application interface. It replaces the current text-prompt-based layout editing process. The editor provides a visual canvas that represents the app's current layout, allowing users to manipulate components directly, similar to a modern design tool.

What Does It Allow Users to Do?

This new editor allows users to:

• Move Components: Users can click, hold, and drag any component—such as a graph, table, or control—to a new position within the application layout, instantly repositioning it.

• Resize Components: Users can click and drag the edges or corners of a component to easily adjust its width (and row height?) visually, seeing the changes immediately reflected in the layout.

• Intuitively Design Layouts: Users can manage the entire application design process—including component placement, spacing, and sizing—with a direct manipulation interface, eliminating the need to interpret or edit a code-like descriptive prompt.

• Simplify Workflow: Users can eliminate context-switching by making layout changes directly within the visual interface, speeding up the design and iteration process.