Information

  • Panels are used to summarize several, mostly functionally interrelated modules in PLANTA which are opened at the same time when the panel link is clicked on. E.g. in the Project panel, all modules required for the creation and editing of a project are summarized: Dashboard, Project Core Data, Schedule, Status etc.

Panel Structure

  • Each panel always contains the user menu as well as possibly a Hauptmodul and one or more Untermodule.
    • The main module and the submodules can be arranged (docked) at different positions on the screen. They can be lapped like tabs or positioned next to or above/below one another.
  • Main module
    • is the primary module of the panel.
    • is usually displayed in the first position when the panel is opened.
    • Via customizing you can define which module is the main module of the panel.
  • Submodule
    • is any other module of the panel which is neither the main nor the user menu module.
    • Submodules can, but do not have to be, structural and/or contextual child modules of the main module.
    • Via customizing you can set which submodules are displayed in a panel.
    • If submodule tabs do not fit into the screen window, a blue triangle will be displayed in the tab bar indicating that the panel contains further modules.
      • By clicking on this triangle, a list of all modules of the panel will be opened.
      • By clicking on the module title, the corresponding module will be activated.
    • If a submodule is closed, it will no longer be available and will not be displayed in the panel. To have the closed submodule displayed again, you have to reopen the panel.
  • User menu
    • is a module window which is aligned at the left side of the display and contains links which lead to the panels with editing and view modules. For further information, see here.
  • Panel title
    • is always displayed in the title bar of the screen, no matter which module of the panel is currently activated.
    • is the title of the main module, unless an extra panel title was defined by the customizer
  • Task bar
    • Each open panel has an own entry in the task bar. If a new panel is opened, a new entry in the task bar is displayed.
  • Dialog module
    • Dialog modules are auxiliary modules which do not have any stand-alone function. They are opened from another module and have an immediate functional relation to the source module.
    • Dialog modules are closed:
      • by pressing Escape (Esc) or
      • by clicking on the x in the title bar of the dialog module or by clicking in the panel from the dialog module (if it has been customized accordingly)

Dialog modules are to be distinguished from dialog messages.

  • Dialog messages show information, notes or simple queries to the user which the user must then confirm or answer. They are panel independent. Without having confirmed a dialog message, you will not be able to continue to work with the program. The system title is displayed in the header bar of a dialog message.
  • Dialog modules, in contrast, are real modules. They do, however, not have a stand-alone function but they provide options for more complex actions or selection operations. They are panel independent and can be closed without having carried out the required actions or operations. In the header bar of a dialog module, the name of the dialog module is displayed.

Panel Operation

Open Panel/Modules

Procedure

  • There are several ways to open panels/modules:
    • by clicking on a link in the user menu
    • within a panel: by clicking on the respective tab (if the required tab is invisible, click on the blue triangle in the tab bar and select the name of the module from the list).
    • within a module: by clicking on a button
    • within a module: by clicking on a link
    • within a module: by right-clicking to display the Context Menu and to select the required command.

Close Panel/Modules

Procedure

  • Closing
    • a panel:
      • by closing the main module:
        • click on the x button in the main module tab or
        • select the Close command from the Context Menu on the main module tab or
        • select the Data → Close panel/module menu item or press CTRL + F4.
      • by clicking on the x button in the title bar.
    • submodules:
      • click on the x button in the submodule tab or
      • select the Close command from the Context Menu on the submodule tab or
      • select the Data → Close panel/module menu item or press CTRL + F4.

Details

  • On the module tab in the Context Menu, two further context menu commands are available in addition to the Close context menu command:
    • If the Close all submodule tabs except the active one is selected in a submodule, all other submodules except this submodule and the main module of the panel will be closed. If you select this command in a main module, all submodules of the panel are closed.
    • Via the Close all submodule tabs to the right of the active one command, all modules to the right of the module for which the context menu command has been selected are closed.

Note

  • The user menu module cannot be closed.

Module Behavior (Floating/Fix)

Information

  • All modules (main and submodules) can be arranged as tabs within a panel or docked as floating/frozen windows at the margin of the panel.
  • A module window with "floating" behavior is a movable module window.
    • By default, only the module title bar is visible.
    • If you move the mouse over the title bar, you can see the complete window which is hidden as soon as you move the mouse away from the title bar.
    • If you, however, click into the floating module window, it will not be hidden when you move the mouse away from the bar. It is only hidden if you click on another module.

Change Behavior

  • Move the cursor over the bar.
  • Click on the pin symbol in the module title bar: the module window is frozen.
  • To change to "floating" mode again, click on the pin symbol once more.

Note

  • By default, the user menu is set to "floating" mode. If you change the user menu behavior to "frozen", this behavior only applies to the current panel. When you open a new panel the user menu of this panel is "floating" by default.

Position Modules in the Panel

Information

  • The position of modules within the panel can be changed by moving them.

Details

  • You can move modules which are frozen windows or tabs without further ado.
  • If you want to move modules which are displayed as floating windows, you have to freeze them.

Procedure

  • Click on the title bar of the required module or on the required tab and move it in the required direction by pressing and holding the left mouse button.
    • As a result, navigation symbols will be displayed in the middle and at the margins of the panel.
  • Drag the module to one of these symbols.
  • As soon as you have reached the symbol with the cursor, the future position of the module to be moved will be displayed with transparent blue background (see the figure below). If you release the mouse button, the module is placed exactly at this position.

Navigation Symbols

  • The navigation symbols at the margins of the panel are used to position modules as frozen windows at the margins of the panel.
    • Subsequently you can unfreeze the window by clicking on the pin symbol. The module is then displayed as a floating window.
  • The navigation symbols in the middle of the panel are used to position modules as tabs in the right, left, upper or bottom half of the panel or as a full screen window.
    • In the full screen window mode, the appropriate tab is moved to the end of the tab bar.

Example

Note

  • Modules that can be positioned at the panel margins can be displayed as module windows (blue title bar if focused, gray title bar if not focused), or as module tabs (white title bar).