Arranging Your Workspace

Metapad's workspace is a set of panels around a central view:

Navigator (left) — the tree of everything in your model.
Center — the active view: a diagram, the Explorer, or a document.
Properties — the details of the selected element.
Toolbox — the palette you drag node and relationship types from (Designer only).

You can show or hide each panel to suit the task at hand.

Show or hide panels

In the menu bar at the top you'll find toggle buttons for Toggle navigator, Toggle properties panel, and Toggle toolbox. Click one to hide that panel and reclaim the space; click again to bring it back.

Workspace modes set sensible defaults

The Designer / Reader / Explorer switcher above the canvas does more than change the central view — each mode comes with a layout that fits it:

Designer — everything on (navigator, canvas, properties, toolbox).
Reader — navigator and reading view, toolbox off.
Explorer — navigator and the force-directed graph.

If you hide or show panels within a mode, Metapad remembers your choice for that mode for the rest of your session — switch away and back, and your arrangement returns.

Focus Mode

Need to concentrate on the content alone? Click Focus Mode to collapse all the surrounding panels and give the center view the whole screen. Click Exit Focus Mode to restore your panels exactly as they were.

Resizing

Every panel can also be resized by dragging its edge — independent of showing or hiding it.

Tips

Hide the toolbox and properties panel when you just want to read or present.
Use Focus Mode for screen-sharing or distraction-free writing.