Default Layout

The default Productivity Suite layout (shown below) is a good starting point for learning how to use the software. See the ‘Main Screen Overview’ section of the help files for details about the software layout. 

Once you become more comfortable using the software you may find that it would work better if the layout was setup differently. Remember that in order to make adjustments to the layout the layout must be unlocked (the author of this post has on several occasions attempted to adjust the layout before unlocking it and wondered why the software wasn’t responding, only to realize he forgot the first step).

Also, if you need to reset the layout to the default condition for any reason, go to the Tools menu and click ‘Reset Screen Layout’.

Panels

If you need to maximize the view of one or more elements in the layout, such as the Ladder Editor window, each of the main panels (Application Tools, Task Management, and Instructions) can be set to auto-hide to achieve this.

You can also move panels to different locations or group them together by dragging and dropping the panel to the location you prefer in the layout.

To group panels together, simply drag one panel on top of another. Panels that are already grouped can also be reordered by dragging the tabs for the panel to where you want them to be. To remove a panel from a group, simply close the panel or drag it away from the group.

One thing to note is that when panels are grouped the entire group of panels cannot be set to auto-hide but individual panels within a group can still be set to auto-hide.

Example 1 (panels moved to different locations)

Example 2 (panels moved to different locations and set to auto-hide)

Example 3 (panels grouped together in the same location)

Application Tool Panels

By default, the application tool panels (such as Hardware Configuration, Tag Database, User Accounts, Data View, etc.) open as stand-alone panels and can be moved, resized, etc., separately from the main Productivity Suite window.

These panels can also be dragged and dropped onto one another to group them (see below).

To “dock” the application tools panels into the main Productivity Suite window, drag and drop them to your preferred location. Once they are “docked”, you can auto-hide these panels just like the other panels.

You can also group the application tools panels together within the main Productivity Suite window.

Please click this link to proceed to part 2.