How To Determine the Columns (1 vs 2) of the Highlight Menu Window?

[Enoch]

Once one opens the Highlight Window & has shoved it off to the right, the highlight window appears coincidentally either as

A) a wide box with 2 columns,

like 4 colors on left (up & down) & side-by-side 4 colors on right (up & down) (thus I have 8 colors in 2 columns of 4 each);

or

a narrow box with 1 column,

8 colors up & down in 1 column.

However, I don't know what causes these box shapes. I prefer the 2nd variety, but don't know how to get it when I want it. The 1 column view takes less space out of the text.

How Can I Configure the Shape of the Highlight Menu Window?

Edited March 7, 2014 by Enoch

[Λύχνις Δαν]

Hey Enoch,

 

As far as I can tell you can set it up by dragging it to the shape you want and then Acc remembers that and next time it appears that way.

There seems to be no way that you can make the highlight pallete pop up as a floating palette initially. It seems you have to pop it up and then click the icon to make it floating. The initial popup seems to have a fixed size and shape but the floating palette shape is remembered so as soon as you click the icon to make it floating it resizes.

 

At least that's how it is on windows.

 

Thx

D

[Enoch]

Well, I kept trying over & over & somehow it finally did drag or rather, suddenly changed shape. -- but the process was a drag!

And I'm not sure exactly how I did it. Usually when I try to grab the bottom right corner,

this window will not grab.

[Λύχνις Δαν]

Yeah its definitely a little more awkward on a Mac. On windows you can pull from the side of the box to stretch it or shrink it. I notice though that on neither platform can you make it any taller. You widen and narrow it but not lengthen it which is a bit unexpected. On Mac the window just ignores vertical movement. On windows it moves but as soon as you let the mouse button go it snaps back.

 

Thx

D

[Enoch]

LOL -- so you can enjoy your chosen shape for a moment!

 

On my Mac I cannot change the shape, not shrinking or widening, except for the complete Gestalt shift from one column to 2 columns.

It is like putting off the Old Man & Putting on the New Man with no hybrids in between.

 

Thanks for your words.

Edited March 8, 2014 by Enoch

[Steve King]

On the mac I have no problem getting different widths. The depth (top to bottom) will depend on how many highlights you have. So if you only have eight highlights and you have a row of eight the depth will automatically be one. It will only add another row if you add another highlight. So pulling/pushing it sideways from the bottom right hand corner is fine for changing the size. As it will not display extra rows unless you have highlights you do not really need the ability to pull from the bottom. The problem is that you can only size depending on how many highlights you have and it therefore does not allow you to have scroll bars. If you have a lot of highlights this can be a bit of a problem.

 

See the following layouts I get with a set of four highlights

 

 

 

 

 

 

If you are having trouble making it wider then you could try displaying the symbols then increasing the width then turning the symbols off.

Edited March 8, 2014 by Steve King

[Λύχνις Δαν]

This makes more sense - I was assuming that the symbols table would reshape within the resized highlight dialog. But it doesn't. If its variable size is dependent on the number of the non-symbol highlights and the symbol ones just determine the minimum that makes better sense.

 

Thx

D

[Enoch]

Strange. I am unable to drag it at the right bottom corner. I have tried over & over to get hold of the corner to drag it to size.

 

And what I would like to do is make it narrower. I don't need much width to select a highlight. It is nice to not use up text space on the screen. Look at that last screen shot so kindly supplied above. I have no need to have the highlight color band so wide; 1/4 that width would work fine.

 

Of course it would be ever-so-nice to have keyboard shortcuts. You would highlight on screen with the mouse what you want highlit. then you would (for example) hit Alt-1 for red, Alt-2 for orange, Alt-3 for yellow, etc, without having to move back & forth from the menu.

 

I don't have the symbols showing.

 

Well, Mr. King, all this is like a horror novel!

Edited March 12, 2014 by Enoch

[Steve King]

Unfortunately the narrowest is that last one. It cannot go narrower. You can select the highlight from the drop down menu if that is any help. I've not got access to the mac at the moment so I can't remember which menu item it is but it lists 'highlight' and 'clear highlight'. One of them expands to a list of available highlights on the currently selected highlight file - I don't think the highlight window has to be open. I may be wrong but I think it is also available using right click.

[Enoch]

Thank, Steve