Customizing the workspace

To customize the Layout Editor

You can customize the Layout Editor to show or hide tabs, resize pages, and zoom in and out.

To show or hide tabs

To show or hide the Design View tab, select View > Design View.
To show or hide the Master Pages tab, select View > Master Pages.
To show or hide the XML Source tab, select View > XML Source.
To show or hide the Preview PDF tab, select View > Preview PDF.

To zoom in and out

To size the page to 100%, select View > Actual Size.
To size the page to fit in the Layout Editor, select View > Fit Page.
To size the page to fit the width of the Layout Editor, select View > Fit Width.
To zoom in or out of the Layout Editor, select View > Zoom, enter a value from 25% to 500% in the Zoom To box, and then click OK. You can also use the Zoom To box in the toolbar.
To magnify an area, select View > Zoom Area. The pointer changes to a magnifying glass. Using the magnifying glass, click and drag the area that you want to magnify.
To display a specific page, zoom out so that you can see the entire page and scroll down to the page that you want to display.

To customize the Script Editor

You can show or hide the Script Editor and change the view from single-line to multiline.

To show or hide the Script Editor, select Window > Script Editor.
To change from single-line to multiline view, drag the Expand button on the Script Editor palette border until the palette is the required size.

For more information, see Scripting Using Designer.

To customize the palettes

You can customize the palettes to show or hide palettes, dock or move palettes, or size or reset palettes.

To show or hide palettes

To show a palette, select Window > [name of palette].
To hide a palette, select palette menu > Hide Palette.
To show or hide all palettes on one side of the Layout Editor, click Expand on the palette border. Click it again to collapse the palettes.
To show or hide all the palettes that are in the selected location, select Window > Workspace, and then select one of the commands.

To dock or move palettes

To dock a palette on the side of the window, drag the palette bar to the side of the Designer window.
To dock palettes together, drag the palette bar to the bottom of another palette. This procedure applies only to palettes that are docked to the Designer window; it does not apply to floating palettes.
To move and dock a palette, drag the palette bar.
To move a palette without docking it, Ctrl+drag the palette bar.
To move a palette into another palette window, drag the palette tab to the target palette. You cannot move a sub-tab.

To size or reset palettes

To change the size of a palette, drag any side of the palette.
To reset palette locations, select Window > Reset Palette Locations.

To use the drawing aids

You can use the Drawing Aids palette to show or hide rulers and object boundaries, set the grid, and set other preferences.

To show or hide the drawing aids

To quickly show the Drawing Aids palette, double-click the rulers.
To show or hide the object boundaries, select Show Object Boundaries.
To show or hide guidelines, or the grid, select Show Guidelines and Show Grid.
To show or hide rulers, select Horizontal Ruler and Vertical Ruler.
To show or hide cross hairs, select Long Crosshairs.

To use the grid

To enable snap to grid, select Snap To Grid.
To set the grid’s origin, type new coordinates for the origin in the X and Y Origin boxes.
To set the grid’s interval, type new values in the X and Y Interval boxes. For example, if the grid is in 1-inch units and you specify an interval of 10, 10 grid points are displayed per inch.

To set snapping options

To automatically place objects at locations on the grid, select Snap To Grid.
To automatically place objects on guidelines you define, select Snap To Guideline.
To automatically position the edge of an object using another object, select Snap To Object.
To automatically place the center of an object at the vertical or horizontal center of the page, select Snap To Guideline.

To use guidelines

To automatically place objects on guidelines, select Snap To Guideline.
To add a guideline, starting from the upper-left corner of the Layout Editor, drag the pointer onto the page. To remove a guideline, select its triangle in the ruler and drag it off the page.
Alternatively, under Guideline Definitions, to add a horizontal or vertical guideline, click and enter a numeric location. To remove a guideline, select it and click.
Use the Drawing Aids palette menu to select preset guidelines (for example, to add guidelines for a standard US Letter or Legal-sized page).

To set other drawing aids

To set the rulers’ unit of measurement, select a unit from the Units list.
To set the color of object boundary borders, click Styles, click the Color box, select More Colors, and either choose a predefined color from a palette or create a custom color by clicking Define Custom Color.
To set the object boundary border style, click Styles and select the border style for the required object.
To set the color of grids or guidelines, click the Color box, select More Colors, and either choose a predefined color from a palette or create a custom color by clicking Define Custom Color.

To customize the toolbars

You can customize the toolbars to show, hide, dock, or move toolbars, create new toolbars, remove toolbars that are no longer needed, add frequently-used commands or remove unused commands from a toolbar, or reset to the default toolbars.

To show, hide, dock, or move a toolbar

To show or hide a toolbar, right-click a toolbar and select or deselect the toolbar that you want to show or hide.
To dock a toolbar, drag the toolbar to the top of the Designer window.
To move a toolbar, drag the toolbar to the new location.

To create a toolbar

Select Tools > Customize.
In the Toolbars tab, click New.
Type a name for the toolbar and click OK.
Add commands to the toolbar as required.

To delete a toolbar

Select Tools > Customize.
In the Toolbars tab, select the toolbar that you want to delete and click Delete.

Note: You can only delete user-created toolbars.

To rename a toolbar

Select Tools > Customize.
In the Toolbars tab, select the toolbar that you want to rename and click Rename.
Rename the toolbar and click OK.

Note: You can only rename user-created toolbars.

To show or hide tool tips

Select Tools > Customize.
Show or hide toolbar tool tips:
- To show tool tips , select the Show Tool Tips check box.
- To hide tool tips, clear the Show Tool Tips checkbox.

To add or remove a command on a toolbar

Select Tools > Customize.
In the Commands tab, select the toolbar that you want to edit in the Edit Toolbar list.

Add or remove a button:
- To add a command to a toolbar, select the command that you want to add and then click Add Tool to Toolbar. Use Move Tool Up and Move Tool Down to position the command in the toolbar.
- To add a separator after a command in the toolbar, select the command in the toolbar, and then click Add Separator to Toolbar. Use Move Tool Up and Move Tool Down to position the separator in the toolbar.
- To remove a command or separator from a toolbar, select the command or separator and then click Remove Tool from Toolbar.
Click Close.

To reset toolbar commands to the default

Select Tools > Customize.
In the Commands tab, select the toolbar that you want to reset in the Edit Toolbar list.
Click Reset Toolbar to Default.

Note: You cannot reset user-created toolbars.

To customize the tool tips for objects

You can display tool tips that show the position, the size, and the name of the object as you work on a form design.

To show or hide the position of tool tips, select Tools > Options > Workspace, select or deselect Display Position And Size Tool Tips While Editing, and then click OK.
To show or hide the object tool tips, select Tools > Options > Workspace, select or deselect Display Object Name Tool Tips While Pointing, and then click OK.