Customising the ABACUS interface

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Customising the interface

You can change the appearance and behaviour of the ABACUS interface in many ways. ABACUS includes several predefined settings combinations that you can use to apply a group of customisations to the interface.

Arrange and Dock Windows

You have many options for arranging windows within the interface for ABACUS, including the following:

•Tab-dock windows.

•Dock windows to the edge of a frame in the interface.

•Minimize tool windows along the edge of the interface.

•Reset window placement to the default layout.

Docking Windows

When a window is dockable, it can be fastened to one side of a frame within the interface or it can be arranged on tabbed panes within the frame. A guide diamond appears when you drag windows from their current location to another location in the interface. The guide diamond allows you to quickly re-dock a window on one of the four sides of the frame or in the centre as a tabbed pane. When a window is undocked or not dockable, it floats on top of the other windows.

To dock windows

1.Click the window you want to dock, to give it focus.

2.On the Window menu, click Dockable.

3.Drag the window from its current location towards the middle of the frame you want to dock it with.

A guide diamond appears. The four arrows of the diamond point towards the four edges of the frame and the centre represents the tabbed pane.

Tip

To move a dockable window without snapping it into place, press CTRL while dragging it.

4.When the window you are dragging reaches the position where you want to dock it, move the pointer over the corresponding portion of the guide diamond. An outline of the window appears in the designated area.

5.To dock the window in the position indicated, release the mouse button.

For example, if Explorer is docked on the left edge of the interface and you want to dock it on the right edge, you would drag Explorer towards the middle of the interface, move the pointer over the right side of the guide diamond, and then release the mouse button.

Minimising Windows

Windows (whether they are Tool Windows - appearing on the View menu, or Document Windows - appearing on the Window menu) support a feature called Auto Hide. Auto Hide enables you to see more of your architecture at one time by minimising windows along the edges of the interface when not in use.

To turn on Auto Hide

1.Click the window you want to hide to give it focus.

2.On the Window menu, click Auto Hide.

- or -

2.Click the pushpin icon on the title bar of the window.

Auto Hide Enabled

When an auto-hidden window loses focus, it automatically slides back to its tab on the edge of the interface. While a window is auto-hidden, its name and icon are visible on a tab at the edge of the interface. To display an auto-hidden window, move your pointer over the tab. The window slides back into view and is ready for use.

Note

A window that is auto-hidden can not be docked. To dock a window you will need to turn off Auto Hide as described below.

To turn off Auto Hide

1.Click the window you want to keep visible to give it focus.

2.On the Window menu, click Auto Hide to clear the check mark.

- or -

2.Click the pushpin icon on the title bar of the window.

Auto Hide Disabled

Tip

Windows that have Auto Hide enabled temporarily slide into view when the window has focus. To hide the window again, select an item outside of the current window. Once the window loses focus, it slides back out of view.

Resetting Windows Layouts

You can return the interface to the default window layout using the Reset Window Layout command. When you run this command, the following actions occur:

•All windows are moved to their default positions.

•Windows that are closed in the default window layout are closed by the command.

•Windows that are open in the default window layout are opened by the command.

•Windows that are hidden/visible in the default window layout are made hidden/visible by the command.

To reset window placement to the default layout

1.On the Windows menu, click Reset Window Layout.