Happy #MapInfoMonday!
We switched to the ribbon interface a decade ago when we introduced the first 64-bit version of MapInfo Pro, and we did so for several reasons.
Let me name a few of these reasons. We wanted to make MapInfo Pro responsive to the user's interaction with the user interface. We tried to make MapInfo Pro more discoverable by bringing more capabilities directly into the interface instead of hiding these in dialogs. Finally, we tried to make MapInfo Pro more reactive to user clicks and get rid of the Apply buttons.
One example of this is the Layer contextual tabs; Style and Labels.
When you select a layer in the Layer List, these two tabs appear at the end of the ribbon. From the Style tab, you can quickly and often with a single click make some adjustments to how the layer appears in the map.
1. Turning on and off Style Override
From the Style tab, you can with a single click turn the Override Style option on and off. We have earlier discussed the benefits of applying an Override Style for a layer.
From the Style tab, you can click on the Apply Styles control to switch between the style saved with the spatial objects in the TAB file and the Override Style for the entire layer.
The easiest way to turn on the Override Style option for a layer is by clicking on the small thumbnail left of the layer name. This lets you pick a style for the layer and turn on Override Style when you click the OK button.
2. Changing the Layer Translucency
You can also with a few clicks change the Layer Translucency from being a full-colored layer to being translucent at a given percentage.
This is useful if you want to tone down some of your layers to make the important layers stand out against the background.
Here my Background layer is full-colored with a white color making it impossible to see through.
With a single click on the Layer slider under Translucency, I can change that to 25%
3. Context-aware Tab
Out of the box, the Style tab is context-aware. This means when you click on/select a layer in the Layer List, the Style tab will get selected in the ribbon.
Many people find this helpful and the main idea is to make the Layer settings more discoverable and easier to change.
Some people don't like this constant switching of tabs in the ribbon. And luckily, this can be controlled by the end user.
From the Options tab on the Backstage, you can go to Application Preferences. In the Application Preferences dialog, you can configure how you want the tab switching to work.
From the Ribbon Tab Switching list, you can pick your preferred option:
- None does not change the Ribbon tab when opening a new document window. The current Ribbon tab remains selected.
- Last Tab changes the Ribbon tab based upon the open document window. For instance, with two open Map windows the user can specify a Ribbon Tab for each of them.
- Automatic changes the Ribbon tab based upon the type of open document window. For instance, with two Map Windows open, these will maintain the same Ribbon Tab when the user changes one of them. Whereas a different document window, such as a Layout window, can have a different Ribbon tab.
I have decided to set the Ribbon Tab Switching to None. This is a personal choice and may depend on the work you do in MapInfo Pro.
No matter the setting you select, the Layer contextual tabs will still appear on the ribbon when you select a layer in the layer List. The main difference is whether it will become the active/current tab or not.
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Peter Horsbøll Møller
Principal Presales Consultant | Distinguished Engineer
Precisely | Trust in Data
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