Appendix J:
Customizing the Launcher
and Document Window

Customizing the Launcher and Panels

The Launcher (Figure 1), by default, contains the buttons described in Chapter 1. These buttons open the Site window, the Assets panel, the HTML Styles panel, the CSS Styles panel, the Behaviors panel, the History panel, and the Code inspector. You can add buttons for additional panels that you use a lot, or you can remove buttons for features that you don't use as often.

Figure 1. The Launcher lets you pop panels open and closed while you're working. You can add and remove buttons to display only those that you use often.

To add or remove buttons:

  1. From the Document window menu bar, select Edit > Preferences. The Preferences dialog box will appear.

  2. In the Category box at the left, select Panels. That panel of the dialog box will appear (Figure 2).

    Figure 2. The Panels category of the Preferences dialog box.

  3. To add a button to the Launcher, click on the + (Plus) button in the Show in Launcher area of the dialog box (Figure 3). A pop-up menu will display the names of the palettes that don't currently have buttons in the Launcher (Figure 4).

    Figure 3. Here's a close-up of the Launcher area of the dialog box.

    Figure 4. Click on the + button, and a menu will display those palettes that aren't currently in the Launcher.

  4. Select the name of the item you want to add to the Launcher. The menu will close, and the palette's name will appear in the Show in Launcher list box.
  5. To remove a button from the Launcher, select its name in the Show in Launcher list box.

  6. Click on the - (Minus) button. The item will be removed from the Launcher.
  7. When you're finished, click on OK to close the Preferences dialog box and return to the Document window.

You'll see your additions in the Launcher, and also notice that your subtractions are gone (Figure 5).

Figure 5. I removed the Behaviors button and added the Properties (inspector) button.

Tips

  • If you remove a button, you can put it back later by following steps 1Ð4.

  • You can hide the mini-Launcher that appears in the Document window status bar, if you want. In the Preferences dialog box, click on Status Bar, and deselect the Show Launcher in Status Bar checkbox.

Redecorating the Launcher

You can rearrange the order of the buttons on the Launcher, too.

  1. Follow steps 1 and 2 on the previous page to display the Panels category of the Preferences dialog box.

  2. In the Show in Launcher list box, click on an item whose position you want to move (Figure 6).

    Figure 6. Select a button name, and use the up and down arrow buttons to move it up (to the left) or down (to the right on the Launcher).

  3. Click on the Up arrow to move the item up through the list, or click on the Down arrow to move it down through the list.
  4. Figure 7 shows a Launcher with all of the buttons in it, and in Figure 8, they're rearranged.

    Figure 7. All possible buttons are now in the Launcher. I also clicked the Direction button to make the Launcher vertical.

    Figure 8. I rearranged the buttons in the Launcher, in order from my most-used to least-used button. Here, the mini-Launcher from the Document window status bar is pictured.

Changing Floating Window Preferences By default, all floating windows, called panels or inspectors, will always appear on top of the Document window and the Code inspector. You can undo this property for panels that get in the way while you're working.

To change floating window preferences:

From the Document window menu bar, select Edit > Preferences. The Preferences dialog box will appear.

  1. In the Category box at the left of the window, click on Panels. The Panels category of the dialog box will come to the front (Figure 9).

    Figure 9. The Panels category of the Preferences dialog box.

  2. This panel of the dialog box includes a checkbox for every floating window that's a part of Dreamweaver. Each window will always appear layered over the Document window (as well as the Site window and the HTML Code inspector), unless you uncheck its checkbox here.

  3. To neutralize a window's floating superpower, uncheck its checkbox (Figure 10).

    Figure 10. Uncheck the checkbox for any panel that you don't want to float always on top of the Document window. That means when you click on the Document window or the Code inspector, any panel you uncheck will float to the back.

  4. When you're done, click on OK to close the Preferences dialog box and return to the Dreamweaver window.