MLEditor User's Guide

8. About Input Method  Contents  10. Tools


9. Changing Layout for MLEditor with the Help of Profile Management


9.1 Customizing Layout for MLEditor
9.2 Managing Layout by Profile Operations

9.3 Adjusting Font Size and Text / Background Color in Source or Destination Area

9.4 Set Transparency and Draggability of the Main Window

9.5 Using MLEditor as a Desktop Sticky Note

9.6 Layout Retaining
9.7 More Examples

9.1 Customizing Layout for MLEditor


Appearance of MLEditor is highly customizable. 

 

Resize You can resize MLEditor by dragging its borders or corners. 

Hide or show either of the two edit areas You can edit two files one against another, or only read/edit one block of text. The top two commands in the View submenu can be used to hide or show either of the two edit areas for different purpose. The two commands can also be executed by clicking corresponding image buttons in the source or destination toolbar.

Show or hide menu bar, source / destination toolbar or status bar All these bars can be switch on or off by commands under View submenu.

Change proportion of the two edit areas Adjust Edit Area Proportion command can help you precisely set the proportion of two edit areas.

Always on Top If you choose always on top, MLEditor will not be covered by other programs even if it's not active. This is useful if you hope to use it as a sticky note. The "pin" icon at the right end of the source toolbar can also be used for this purpose.

UI Language You can choose a language from among English, Simplified Chinese and Traditional Chinese. More about it can be found in 1. Switching User Interface Languages.

Font Size You can change font size for the two edit areas independently. 5 typical font sizes (Small, Smaller, Normal, Larger and Large) can be set quickly. When you set font size from the Font Size dialog, you can further adjust font size between 1-600 pixels.

 

More advanced operation on layout can be realized by managing profiles as described in the next section.

 

 

Pic UG-9-1 MLEditor provides many commands to control layout. Most such commands can be found under View sub menu. In addition, you can switch edit areas and perform profile operations easily from button commands on the source or destination toolbar. The "pin" button can be used to switch on of off "Always on Top" status for MLEditor.

 

 

Pic UG-9-2 You can precisely change the proportion between source and destination edit areas. This dialog box can be called by clicking "Adjust Edit Area Proportion" command in the View submenu.

 

 

 

Pic UG-9-3 Menu commands for changing font size for either of the two edit areas

 

 

Pic UG-9-4 You can further customize font size between 1-600 pixels in the Font Size dialog box.

 

9.2 Managing Layout by Profile Operations


Since the layout of MLEditor is highly customizable. A good way to control the appearance of you MLEditor is to manage the layout by a profile. A profile is a set of configuration values containing all major information for the layout of your MLEditor. If you are satisfied with the current layout of your MLEditor, you can save it down as a profile, and call it out from the profile list easily in the future.

 

Five preset system profiles are provided for you:

Standard Standard user interface, suitable for editing or reading one file.

Full Full UI with both edit areas appearing, suitable for editing or reading two files (or two text blocks) one against another, or code conversion between Simplified Chinese and Traditional Chinese.

Sticky Note All UI components, except for the source edit area, are hidden. The total UI is very small, and the Always on Top options is switched on. MLEditor can be used as a sticky note with this profile.

Verify by Lines UI of this profile is suitable for delicate comparison between two similar articles line by line, and word by word. User can make the two edit areas even narrower, so only one line height is left for each edit area for delicate verification between each line of the two articles.

Open from Explorer Just like WinZip, MLEditor can be used to open one or more text files from Windows Explorer by righting click one or more text files, and choose "Edit with MLEditor" from the pop up menu. This profile is specifically reserved for such purpose.
In actual operation, there will be offsets between two opened MLEditor UIs if "Maximized" options is off, so each UI won't be hidden completely one behind another.

 

 

Pic UG-9-5 Profile commands and profile list for your quick use in the View submenu. You can also call out the profile menu by clicking the star in the source toolbar.

 

 

Pic UG-9-6 Profile commands and profile list called out by clicking the star in the source toolbar

 

 

Pic UG-9-7 Profile Manager. You can manage all your profiles here. The flashing star at bottom-left can be used to apply a profile.

 

 

Pic UG-9-8 You can enter this dialog box when you save a profile with "Save Profile" command, or add or edit a profile in the Profile Manager. You can precisely adjust all values for a profile in this dialog box except for the read-only property "System Profile". You can decide whether a profile should appear in the profile list menu by checking on or off the "Appear in profile menu list" check box. When you click the text button "Apply Current Profile", this dialog box will be filled with current layout values of your MLEditor. You can also preview the result of this profile by clicking the magnifier image button.

 

9.3 Adjusting Font Size and Text / Background Color in Source or Destination Area

 

You can adjust the font size of the two edit areas by two groups of menu commands respectively: View->Source Font Size and View->Destination Font Size.

Text or background color for source or destination edit area can be edit separately in the color dialog box: View->Edit Color.

 

Besides the current group of font + background colors for each edit area, there are 4 templates for each area (so 8 in total for both areas). The first of the 4 is black text and white background; the second is the default color combination for previous versions of MLEditor for old users to choose from; the third and fourth can be customized. Users can click a color template to quickly assign color scheme to the upper or lower edit area. Besides, the color schemes on the two edit areas and the 8 templates can be copied/pasted from one to another freely.

 

9.4 Set Transparency and Draggability of the Main Window

 

You can set the transparency of the main window (from fully opaque to fully transparent), and can set the main window to be draggable (with a draggable window, except for the active interactive components such as menu bar, command buttons, and edit area(s) with text, you can press the left button of the mouse at any position of the other part of the window, including status bar, blank areas on a toolbar or a blank edit area to drag the main window freely around on the screen).

 

You can find this feature from under the View menu.

 

With a semi-transparent window, you can monitor the working of other programs on the screen (such as watching a Flash movie on a video site, waiting for the response of some one while chatting on Skype), and reading or editing relevant text at the same time. This feature also helps you edit information one against another (such as writing down the text on an image) more conveniently. With the new draggability, you can drag STGuru more conveniently.

 

9.5 Using MLEditor as a Desktop Sticky Note

 

It's easy to set your MLEditor as a desktop sticky note by applying the system profile "Sticky Note".

 

 

Pic UG-9-9 Click this menu item to set your MLEditor as a desktop sticky note.

 

 

Pic UG-9-10 Now MLEditor will be a small UI sticking onto your Desktop.

 

 

Pic UG-9-11 You can restore from the sticky note profile by commands in context popup menu which will appear when you right click the edit area in MLEditor. If you choose standard profile, or any system or custom profile now, the appearance of your MLEditor will restore quickly.

 

9.6 Layout Retaining

 

When you exit from MLEditor, all its layout configurations will be saved. When you start MLEditor again, the layout will be the same as you exit from MLEditor last time.

 

The only exception is the time when you open MLEditor with "Edit with MLEditor" command from the context menu of Windows Explorer, "Open from Explorer" system profile will be applied at this time.

 

9.7 More Examples

 

 

Pic UG-9-12 Result of Standard system profile. You can use this profile when you are editing one file. If you are editing 2 files one against anther, you can click the downward half circle to show the destination edit area.

 

 

Pic UG-9-13 Result of Verify by Lines system profile. You can clearly verify two files line by line.

 

 

Pic UG-9-14 Read cards in different languages by MLEditor.

 

 

Pic UG-9-15 You can set a larger font size to read some complex characters.