Moving and resizing panes and views

You can move a pane or a view to any location in the painter window. You might find it takes a while to get used to moving panes and views around. If you try a new layout and do not like it, you can always revert to the default layout and start again. To restore the default layout, select View>Layouts>Default.

To move a pane, select and drag the title bar of the view that is at the top of the stack. If the pane contains stacked views, all views in the stack move together. To move one of the views out of the stack, drag the tab for the view you want to move.

The outline changes size as you drag it. When the pointer is over the middle of a pane, the outline fills the pane. As you drag the pointer toward any border, the outline becomes a narrow rectangle adjacent to that border. When the pointer is over a splitter bar that separates two panes, rows, or columns, the outline straddles the splitter bar.

Figure 2-2: Moving a pane in the workspace area

The sample combines two different pictures of a selected pane in the workspace area. In both pictures, there are gray bars at top, bottom, right side, and left side of the selected pane. In the second picture, a black line appears between two panes as you move one of the panes over the splitter bar that separates them

StepsTo move a pane:

  1. Place the pointer anywhere on the title bar of the view at the top of the stack, hold down the left mouse button, and start moving the pane.

    A gray outline appears around the pane.

  2. Drag the outline to the new location.

    NoteWhen you move the pointer to a corner When you move the pointer to a corner, you have many places where you can drop the outline. To see your options, move the pointer around in all directions in the corner and see where the outline displays as you move it.

  3. Release the mouse button to drop the outline in the new location.

    Table 2-2: Where you can move a painter view (pane)

    To move a pane here

    Drop the outline here

    Between two panes

    On the splitter bar between the panes.

    Between a border and a pane

    At the side of the pane nearest the border.

    Into a new row

    On the splitter bar between two rows or at the top or bottom of the painter window.

    Into a new column

    On the splitter bar between two columns or at the left or right edge of the painter window.

    Onto a stack of panes

    On the middle of the pane. If the pane was not already tabbed, tabs are created.

StepsTo move a view in a stacked pane:

  1. Place the pointer anywhere on the view’s tab, hold down the left mouse button, and start moving the view

    You can now move the view as in the previous procedure. If you want to rearrange the views in a pane, you can drag the view to the left or right within the same pane.

StepsTo resize a pane:

  1. Drag the splitter bars between panes