Configuring Menus
You can customize the menu system found in the Calc workspace. You can add menu selections to the existing menus, including selections for macros that you have created. You can also rearrange existing menus or create new menus on the menu bar.
Select Tools, Configuration to open the Configuration dialog box, and then click the Menu tab (see Figure 14.10). The menu structure displays the menu name on the left and its respective function on the right. The tilde (~) at the left of the letter indicates the keyboard command (in conjunction with pressing the <Alt> key) that selects the menu (known as the menu command accelerator). The left-most level displays the title of each menu command and the subsequent levels display the menu commands and submenu commands.
Figure 14.10. The Menu tab of the Configuration dialog box is where you edit the current menu structure.
To Confirm Menu Configuration Changes
It is important that you read the following options concerning the buttons at the bottom right of the Menu tab before you perform any menu additions, modifications, and deletions in the sections that follow:
Click the Reset button directly below the Save button (not the one to the right of the Help button) if you decide that you don't want to keep the changes to the Configuration Menu tab. All current changes in the active dialog will be irretrievably lost. The menu configuration in effect the last time you clicked the Save button will reappear, even if you clicked OK and returned to the document (exited and reopened StarOffice).
Click the Save button to open the Save Menu Configuration dialog box to save the configuration settings. Note that if you save the newly created menu configuration as soffice.cfg, the program-specific configuration file will be overwritten. You can select the active configuration file by clicking the Load button.
Click the Load button to access the Load Menu Configuration dialog box. A specific configuration will be active until it is replaced by a new one—perhaps one that you create in the next few sections.
Note
You may want to think through whether or not you really need to customize your menu system. As you will see from the sections that follow, you need to think through your new menu structure and maintain the availability of the commands that you most commonly use. The default menu system provides a logical listing of commands. Try to make your new system just as logical to quickly find a particular command.
To Change a Menu's Structure
You can move existing menu items to a new location as needed.
1. |
Select Tools, Configuration to open the Configuration dialog box. Then, click the Menu tab. |
2. |
Select a menu item that you want to move to a different location. |
3. |
Click and drag the item to a new location in the menu list. A horizontal line displays where the menu item will be inserted when you release the mouse button. |
4. |
Click the Save button to make the changes permanent. |
To Move an Existing Menu Command
You can also change the order of the commands on any existing menu.
1. |
Select Tools, Configuration to open the Configuration dialog box. Then, click the Menu tab. |
2. |
Select the menu item you want to move. |
3. |
Click the up arrow to move a menu item upward in the menu list (moves the item only one menu position at a time). |
4. |
Click the down arrow to move a menu item downward in the menu list (moves the item only one menu position at a time). |
5. |
You can also alter the structure of the menus, for example, by moving a command from the Window menu to the Help menu. You can also drag and drop menu items to move them to different locations in your menu structure. |
6. |
Click the Save button to make the changes permanent. |
To Delete an Existing Menu Item
You can delete existing menu items from the menu system.
1. |
Select Tools, Configuration to open the Configuration dialog box. Then, click the Menu tab. |
2. |
Select the menu item you want to delete. Notice that the main hierarchical menu items (for example, ~File) are not allowed to be selected for deletion. |
3. |
Click Delete to remove the selected element or elements without a confirmation. |
4. |
Click the Save button to make the changes permanent. |
To Modify an Existing Menu Item
You can quicky modify existing items on a menu.
To Create a New Menu (to the Right of Help)
You can also add a new menu to the Menu bar.
1. |
Select Tools, Configuration to open the Configuration dialog box. Then, click the Menu tab. |
2. |
Double-click on all the highest level menus in the hierarchy to condense the menu list. |
3. |
Click the New Menu button to insert “Menu” into the menu list with a menu subdivision bar below it. |
4. |
Rename the menu by clicking on it and waiting for the highlighting; this indicates that you can type in a new name. Don't forget to place the tilde (~) to the left of the letter you want to designate as the keyboard command. |
5. |
Click the desired category and command from the Functions area. The Function list boxes show the program areas and associated functions: Category— This is where you can select the category containing the function you want to assign to a menu item (for example, the Documents category). Command— This is where you can select the command you want to assign to a menu item (for example, the Close Document command within the Documents category). |
6. |
Click the New button to insert the new menu command. Repeat Steps 5 and 6 for each menu command you want added to your new first-level menu. You can rename the menus and move them around as you like. |
7. |
Click the Save button to make the changes permanent. Refer to the section “To Confirm Menu Configuration Changes” to make sure this is what you want to do. |
To Assign a New Function to a Menu Item
You can assign functions to the new menu items that you create. You can also assign a new function to an existing menu item.
1. |
Select Tools, Configuration to open the Configuration dialog box. Then, click the Menu tab. |
2. |
Select the menu item in the list and select the desired function in the Functions area. |
3. |
Click the Modify button to assign the new function to the menu item. |
4. |
Click the Save button to make the changes permanent. |
To Change a Menu Name
You can also customize menus that you create by changing their name (you cannot change the name of a default menu).
1. |
Select Tools, Configuration to open the Configuration dialog box. Then, click the Menu tab. |
2. |
Click directly on the menu item name and wait for the name to be highlighted (only the name will be selected, as opposed to the entire row). |
3. |
Edit the name in a text box and press Enter. |
4. |
Click the Save button to make the changes permanent. Refer to the section “To Confirm Menu Configuration Changes” to make sure this is what you want to do. |