AX2089

Axiom Assistant task panes

The Axiom Assistant area provides quick and easy access to Axiom Software files and features as you work in the Desktop ClientGeneral term for using either the Excel Client or the Windows Client, both of which are installed to the user's desktop.. A variety of task panes are available to help you perform general and context-sensitive tasks. Additionally, system administrators can create customized task panes for use in this area.

The Axiom Assistant area is located in the left-hand side of the application, below the ribbon and to the left of any opened files. By default, the area is expanded, and you can work with any of its available task panes by clicking the side-tabs along the left-hand edge of the pane.

Example Axiom Assistant area

Available task panes

The task panes available to you in the Axiom Assistant area depend on your system configuration and your security permissions. The following task panes may be available:

Task pane	Description	Availability
Data Source Assistant	Helper tool to build data sources, such as RefreshVariables, DataLookup, and Grid.	This task pane is system-controlled and displays if you have the appropriate security permissions, and the file is an Axiom file.
Explorer	Open files and other items that you have access to, including favorites.	This task pane is included by default, but may be disabled in your system or restricted to only certain users. For more information, see Configuring the Explorer task pane.
File Processing	Configure and perform file processing for an Axiom file, such as to perform multipass processing, file collect, or batch processing.	This task pane is system-controlled and displays if you have the appropriate security permissions and the file is enabled for File Processing.
Form Assistant	Configure form settings for an Axiom file, and preview the form.	This task pane is system-controlled and displays if you have the appropriate security permissions and the file is enabled for Axiom forms.
Messages	View comments about the current document, and add comments.	This task pane is system-controlled and displays for all eligible documents.
Notifications	View alert and system notifications and open associated files.	This task pane is system-controlled and displays if you have any active notifications.
Process	View process information and complete process tasks. By default this task pane only displays if it is relevant to you (for example if you are the assigned owner of a process task).	This task pane is included by default, but may be disabled in your system. For more information, see Configuring the Process task pane.
Sheet Assistant	Configure workbook and worksheet settings for an Axiom file, including Axiom queries.	This task pane is system-controlled and displays if you have the appropriate security permissions and the file is an Axiom file.
Table	View table details, set a filter, and refresh the currently opened table.	This task pane is system-controlled and displays when using Open Table in Spreadsheet.
Workflow	Work with currently assigned plan files and complete workflow tasks. By default this task pane only displays if you have assigned tasks (current or completed) for an active workflow.	This task pane is included by default in older systems, but may be disabled in your system or may use different configuration settings to determine visibility. Newer systems do not have this task pane. For more information, see Configuring the Workflow task pane.
<Custom Task Panes>	Your organization may have defined one or more custom task panes for your system.	Custom task panes may open automatically when Axiom Software is launched, or you may have access to the Task Panes Library to open certain task panes as needed. For more information, see Task panes and ribbon tabs.

The order of task panes in the Axiom Assistant area cannot be manually changed. Your system administrator has specified an order for the task panes that open when the system is started. System-controlled task panes display after these startup task panes.

Minimize Axiom Assistant

By default, the Axiom Assistant area is maximized when you first start Axiom Software. If desired, you can minimize this area—for example, to gain more screen space while working on a file. When minimized, the area displays as a thin strip along the left-hand side of the application, with one or more side-tabs for each task pane.

You can expand the Axiom Assistant area to perform a task, and then minimize it again when you are finished.

To minimize the Axiom Assistant pane, click the button in the header.
To expand the Axiom Assistant pane, click the button in the collapsed header, or click on one of the task pane tabs.

Axiom Software remembers the state of the Axiom Assistant (minimized or expanded) when you exit the application, and will apply that state the next time you open Axiom Software on the same machine.

It is not possible to completely hide the Axiom Assistant area when task panes are open, however, if no task panes are open then the Axiom Assistant area is automatically hidden (and will automatically show again when a task pane is opened).

Opening task panes

In most cases, the task panes that you need to use will open automatically—you do not need to manually open them.

Certain task panes are configured to open automatically when Axiom Software is started, such as the Explorer task pane. These task panes are considered to be "global" task panes that you may want to use at any time while you work in the system.
Other context-sensitive task panes only open when using certain features. For example, the File Processing task pane only displays when you open a file that is enabled for File Processing. There is no need to manually open the task pane because it will always be available when it is relevant (and assuming that you have security permissions to view it).

If you have access to the Task Panes Library to open certain custom task panes as needed, then you can open a task pane by double-clicking it in the Explorer task pane or the Axiom Explorer dialog. Alternatively, one of your "startup" task panes might be used to open other task panes.

For example, you might have access to a Monthly Reporting task pane that details the steps you need to do to run your monthly reports, and links to those reports. You wouldn't necessarily need this task pane to be open at all times; instead, you would only want to see it when you are ready to process your monthly reports. You could open the task pane as needed from the Task Panes Library or from another custom task pane that links to it.

Closing task panes

Most task panes cannot be manually closed. Either they are global task panes that always apply, or they are context-sensitive task panes that close automatically when the associated file or feature is closed. Alternatively, you can minimize the Axiom Assistant area to "hide" all task panes and gain more screen space for your open files.

If a task pane is closeable, then you can close it by clicking the X icon on the side-tab for the task pane. If this icon is not present, then the task pane cannot be closed. Typically, only task panes that you open manually can be closed manually, but in some cases you may also be able to close task panes that open on startup.

Using task panes in the Axiom Excel Client

When using the Axiom Excel Client, each file opens within its own window, and each window maintains its own set of ribbon tabs and task panes. This means that as you switch windows, the set of task panes available in each window may be different. For example:

If you manually opened a task pane in one window, that task pane will only be present in that window. It will not be present in other windows.
The currently active task pane is managed independently for each window, so the active task pane may change as you change windows. (This can also occur when using the Axiom Windows Client, if you switch between files that have different default task pane associations. However, in the Axiom Excel Client it may also happen when switching between files with the same default task pane associations.)
The current state of task panes is managed independently for each window. For example, if you expand the Reports Library in the Explorer task pane in one window, that expansion will not be present if you switch to a different window.