I am sure I am not the first person to post this inquiry, but after searching and searching, I find most post are trying to correct a specific issue when referencing layout. 

My inquiry is more general and I would appreciate advice or pointing me to a post that has the details I am looking for.

I am interested in methods for updating the overall layout of a form.  I grasp the instructions for aligning a field with the previous row, but on a general basis, I would like guidance on how to compact the forms and make the fields and labels closer together (on the top and bottom, not left and right).

It would be nice to be able to temporarily update the table "border = 1" to see the actual table layout, rather than guessing. Toggling border on an off seems quite useful - please educate me if I have missed this feature.

Overall, I am extremely satisfied with the tool and how rapidly forms can be generated, but the look and feel seem to be a bit elusive.

HI, you can switch over to using Custom Dynamic Forms Style Sheet under Module Configuration / Style Sheet. Under the class ".DynamicForms_Maintainable", add in the following command:

line-height: 80%

to decrease the spacing between fields horizontally. Try playing around with different percentages. Make sure to update style sheet / update settings and refresh your browser afterwards. -- David