User Interface Layout

Index of All Documentation » Wing Pro Reference Manual » Customization » User Interface Options »


The layout and behavior of the toolboxes, toolbar, and editor area are configurable. This configuration is stored in your project file and will be restored each time that project is opened. To share a user interface layout between projects, use shared Perspectives.

Configuring Toolboxes

The contents of the toolbox areas can be configured by right-clicking or using the options drop down in the toolbox tab area to add or remove instances of tools.

The number of tool box sections Wing shows by default depends on your monitor size. Each of the toolboxes can be split or joined into any number of sections along the long axis of the toolbox. This is done with Add Toolbox Split or Remove Toolbox Split in the options drop down menu accessed from the top right of the toolbox or by right-clicking on the toolbox tabs. The tools will automatically be reallocated among the new number of toolbox splits.

Toolbox splits can also be added or removed by dragging tools around by their tabs, within each toolbox, to a different toolbox, or out to a new window. To create a new split, hover over one end of an existing toolbox split until a red split indicator appears.

The size of splits is changed by dragging the divider between them.

The toolboxes as a whole, including all their tools, can be moved to the left or top of the IDE window with Move to Left or Move to Top in the options dropdown or right click menu. Individual splits or the whole toolbox can also be moved out to a new window from here.

Using the Toolboxes

All the available tools are enumerated in the Tools menu, which will display the most recently used tool of that type or will add one to your window at its default location, if none is already present.

The Set Key Binding item in the options drop down menu can be used to assign a key binding to a particular tool.

Clicking on an already-active toolbox tab will cause Wing to minimize the entire toolbox so that only the tabs remain visible. Clicking again will return the toolbox to its former size. The F1 and F2 keys also toggle between these modes.

The command Maximize Editor Area in the Tools menu (Shift-F2) can be used to completely hide and later reshow both tool areas and the toolbar.

Configuring the Toolbar

Wing's toolbar can be configured by right-clicking on it to change the icon size and style, to select which toolbar groups are shown, to turn tooltips on and off, and to customize the icon colors or add custom tools.

The toolbar can also be hidden completely with the User Interface > Toolbar > Show Toolbar preference.

Configuring the Editor Area

Editors can be dragged by their tabs to move them to a new split or out to a new window. To create a new split, drag onto the editor surface area and pause above the top, right, left, or bottom portion of the editor until a red split indicator appears. The options drop down menu, accessed from the top right of the editor area or by right-clicking on the editor header, can also be used to add or remove splits.

By default, when multiple splits are shown, all the open files within the window are available within each split, allowing work on any combination of files or different parts of the same file. To open files in only one split, uncheck Show All Files in All Splits in the options drop down and then close unwanted duplicates.

In the same menu, Hide Notebook Tabs can be used to replace editor tabs with a popup menu that selects among open files. This may be preferable, when many files are open.

Other options in the drop down menu control tab order and sorting of the symbol index menus, among other things.

Creating Additional Windows

In addition to moving existing editors or tools to new windows, Wing Pro and Wing Personal can also create new tool windows (initially with a single tool) and new document windows from the Window menu.