AX2688

Managing task panes

Task panes can be created, edited, or deleted using Manage > Task Panes, in the Administration group of the Axiom tab. You can also manage task panes from the Task Panes Library in the Explorer task pane.

Creating a task pane

You can create task panes for various purposes and display them to users within the Axiom Assistant area. Once a task pane is created, it can be assigned to users and roles to open automatically when the user logs into the system, or to be available to open on demand.

Task panes consist of one or more section headers and child items within the section. The section headers display as gray bars that can be used to expand or collapse the section. Child items can be used to display instructional text or to link to files and features.

NOTE: Only administrators and users with the Administer Task Panes security permission can create new task panes.

To create a new task pane:

  1. On the Axiom tab, in the Administration group, click Manage > Task Panes.

    The Axiom Explorer dialog opens, with the focus on the Task Panes Library. You can also access this library using the Explorer task pane.

    NOTE: In systems with installed products, this feature may be accessible from the Admin tab. Click System Browser to open Axiom Explorer, then navigate to the Task Panes Library.

    TIP: If you already have a custom task pane open in the Axiom Assistant area, you can right-click the tab of the task pane and select Create New Task Pane.

  2. Right-click the Task Panes Library, and then select New > Task Pane.

    The Edit Task Pane dialog opens.

  3. New task pane files start with a single section header, named Section1. Edit the name of this section using the Section name box in the right-hand side of the dialog.

    You can configure other appearance details for this section, such as to define an optional tool tip, or to enable auto-numbering or image display for this section's child items. For more details on the available options, see Task pane properties.

  4. Add child items to the section as needed. You can add child items by doing any of the following:

    • With the section name selected, click Add New Item > Child of selected item.
    • With a child item selected, click Add New Item and then either Before selected item or After selected item.
    • Drag and drop an item from the Axiom Explorer pane in the left-hand side of the screen to the desired place in the task pane structure. A black line shows you where the item will be placed.

    You can configure each item as desired. An item can be just display text for instructional purposes, or you can link the item to an Axiom file or feature. If you dragged and dropped an item from the Axiom Explorer pane into the task pane structure, then the item is automatically linked to that file or feature. Otherwise, use the Shortcut Target setting to assign the item to a file or feature.

    For more information on the types of files and features that can be included on task panes and how they work, see Linking to Axiom files and features in a task pane or ribbon tab. For more details on available appearance properties, see Task pane properties.

    NOTE: If an item has child items, then it cannot also have a shortcut target. When users interact with the task pane, double-clicking an item with children expands and collapses the item, so there is no way for the user to launch the shortcut target in this case.

    There are a variety of ways to configure task panes. For more details on some common design goals and avoiding potential issues, see Task pane design considerations.

  5. Add more sections and child items as needed. You can add new sections by using Add New Item > New top level section. Arrange these items as desired by dragging or dropping items within the structure, or by using the Edit button to cut, copy, and paste.

  6. Click OK to save.

    The Save As dialog opens to the Task Panes Library. Give the file a name and optionally a description, and save it to the desired location.

    NOTE: The name of the task pane file determines the default name of the task pane tab within the Axiom Assistant area. For example if the file is named Reports, then when it is opened as a task pane it will have a tab name of Reports. Make sure the file name is brief and intuitive.

After you have created a new task pane, you should open it to make sure all items display and behave as expected. If the task pane will be assigned to end users, it is a good idea to log in as a representative end user and test it.

Editing a task pane

You can edit a task pane at any time, regardless of whether it is currently open in the Axiom Assistant area. Task panes within the Axiom Assistant area are always open read-only and do not impact editing availability. (If a message tells you that a task pane file is locked, this means that another user has opened the task pane in the editor, not that the task pane is open in the Axiom Assistant area.)

If you are editing a task pane, the changes will be visible in your session right away, but other users will not see the changes until the next time the task pane is opened. This means that if a task pane is configured to open on startup, users will not see the changes until the next time they launch the system.

You must have read/write access to the task pane in order to edit it.

To edit a task pane:

  1. Do one of the following to open the task pane for editing:

    • If the task pane is already open in the Axiom Assistant area, right-click the tab and then select Edit Task Pane.

      TIP: One advantage of having the task pane open while editing is that you can click Apply to immediately see the results of your edits, without needing to close the editing dialog.

    • From the Axiom tab, in the Administration group, click Manage > Task Panes. In the Task Panes Library, navigate to the task pane that you want to edit, then right-click it and select Edit. You can also perform this action from the Explorer task pane.

      NOTE: If you are using an Axiom packaged product, you can access this feature from the Admin tab. Click System Browser to open Axiom Explorer, then navigate to the Task Panes Library.

  2. In the Edit Task Panes dialog, edit the task pane as desired. For more information on the available task pane properties, see Task pane properties.
  3. Click Apply or OK to save the task pane. If you would rather save this task pane as a new file, you can click File > Save As from the dialog toolbar.

Deleting a task pane

You can delete a task pane at any time. However, if the task pane is currently open in the Axiom Assistant area within your session, you must first close it before the file can be deleted. It does not matter if the task pane is opened in other users' sessions—this does not prevent deletion.

If the task pane is a startup task pane that is configured to be non-closeable, then you must first remove or modify the startup configuration so that you will be able to close it. After you have modified the applicable startup configuration in Security, exit the system and then log in again to apply the new startup configuration.

If any other users currently have the task pane open when you delete the file, the task pane will remain useable in that session until the user closes the task pane or exits the system. If the deleted task pane was configured to open on startup, no special steps are required to remove it from user configurations—the next time users log in, the task pane will simply no longer exist and therefore will be ignored by the startup configuration. However, it is a good idea to remove the obsolete configuration from Security so that user configurations match what you expect to be displayed.

You must have read/write access to the folder in order to delete a task pane in that folder.

To delete a task pane:

  1. From the Axiom tab, in the Administration group, click Manage > Task Panes. You can also delete task panes using the Explorer task pane.

    NOTE: If you are using an Axiom packaged product, you can access this feature from the Admin tab. Click System Browser to open Axiom Explorer, then navigate to the Task Panes Library.

  2. In the Task Panes Library, navigate to the task pane that you want to delete, then right-click and select Delete.