AX2089

Axiom Assistant task panes

The Axiom Assistant area provides quick and easy access to Axiom Budget Planning and Performance Reporting files and features as you work in the Desktop Client General 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 on the left 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 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 is displayed if you have the appropriate security permissions and the file is an Axiom file.

Explorer

Open files and other items to which you have access, including favorites.

This task pane is included by default, butcan 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 performing multipass processing, file collection, or batch processing.

This task pane is system-controlled and is displayed 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 is displayed 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 is displayed for all eligible documents.

Notifications

View alert and system notifications and open associated files.

This task pane is system-controlled and is displayed if you have any active notifications.

Process

View process information and complete process tasks. By default, this task paneis displayed 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 can 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 is displayed 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.

<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 Budget Planning and Performance Reporting 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.

You cannot manually change the order of task panes in the Axiom Assistant area. Your system administrator has specified an order for the task panes that open when the system is started. System-controlled task panes are displayed after these startup task panes.

Minimize Axiom Assistant

By default, the Axiom Assistant area is maximized when you first start Axiom Budget Planning and Performance Reporting. You can minimize this area to gain more screen space while working on a file. Axiom displays the area as a thin strip along the left-hand side of the application when minimized.

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

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

Axiom Budget Planning and Performance Reporting remembers the state of the Axiom Assistant (minimized or expanded) when you exit the application and appliesy that state the next time you open Axiom Budget Planning and Performance Reporting 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, the Axiom Assistant area is automatically hidden (and is automatically displayed again when a task pane is opened).

Opening task panes

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

  • Certain task panes are configured to open automatically when Axiom Budget Planning and Performance Reporting is started, such as the Explorer task pane. These task panes are considered to global task panes that you use at any time while you work in the system.

  • Other context-sensitive task panes open only when using certain features. For example, the File Processing task pane is only displayed when you open a file that is enabled for File Processing. You do not need to manually open the task pane because it is 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, you can open a task pane by double-clicking it in the Explorer task pane or the Axiom Explorer dialog. Alternatively, you can use one of your startup task panes to open other task panes.

For example, you might have access to a Monthly Reporting task pane that details the steps to run monthly reports, and links to those reports. You don't need this task pane to be open at all times; instead, you only need 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 to which it links.

Closing task panes

You cannot close most task panes manually. They are either 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. 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, you can close it by clicking the X icon on the side-tab for the task pane. If this icon is not present, 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. As you switch windows, the set of task panes in each window may be different. For example:

  • If you manually opened a task pane in one window, that task pane is only present in that window. It is 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 behavior occurs when using the Axiom Windows Client, if you switch between files with different default task pane associations. However, in the Axiom Excel Client this behavior 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 is not present if you switch to a different window.