Ribbon

The ribbon is the strip of buttons and icons located above the manager and view windows. The ribbon replaces the menus and toolbars found in earlier versions of Surfer. The ribbon is designed to help you quickly find the commands that you need to complete a task.

Above the ribbon are a number of tabs, such as Home, Features, and Map Tools. Clicking or scrolling to a tab displays the commands located in this section of the ribbon. The tabs have commands that are organized into a group. For instance, all the commands for adding drawn objects are on the Features tab in the Insert group.

The Ribbon is displayed with the Data tab selected.

Minimizing the Ribbon

The ribbon can be minimized to take up less space on the screen. To minimize the ribbon, right-click on the ribbon and select Minimize the Ribbon or click the button in the top right portion of the Surfer window. When displayed in a minimized mode, only the tabs at the top of the screen are visible. To see the commands on each tab, click the tab name. After selecting a command, the ribbon automatically minimizes again. Double-click any tab name to quickly minimize or maximize the ribbon.

The Ribbon displayed with the Minimize the Ribbon option selected. Clicking any tab name displays the ribbon.

Customizing the Ribbon

The ribbon is customizable in Surfer. To customize the commands in the ribbon, right-click on the ribbon and select Customize the Ribbon.

In the Customize Ribbon dialog, you can add new tabs, add groups, hide existing tabs or custom groups, and add commands to any custom group. You can also rearrange the tabs into an order that fits your needs better.

To customize the commands in the Customize Ribbon dialog, right-click on the ribbon and select Customize the Ribbon. In the Customize Ribbon dialog, use the following options.

Tab options

To add a custom tab, set the Customize the Ribbon section to All Tabs. Click in the list on the right side of the dialog where the custom tab should be located and click the New Tab button.
To delete custom tab, right-click on the tab name in the list on the right side of the dialog and select Delete.
To rename a default or custom tab, click on the tab name in the list on the right side of the dialog. Click the Rename button. Type the new name and press OK to make the change.
To hide a default or custom tab, uncheck the box next to the tab name on the right side of the dialog. Only checked tabs will be displayed.
To change the order of default or custom tabs, click on the tab name that should be moved in the list on the right side of the dialog. Click the up and down arrow buttons on the far right side of the dialog to move the selected tab up or down. Default tabs must remain in their major group.

Group options

To add a custom group to a default or custom tab, click on the next to the tab name. Click in the list of group names where the new group should be located and click the New Group button.
To delete a default or custom group on any tab, right-click on the group name in the list on the right side of the dialog and select Delete.
To rename a default or custom group on any tab, click on the group name in the list on the right side of the dialog. Click the Rename button. Type the new name and click OK to make the change.
To change the order of default or custom groups on any tab, click on the group name that should be moved in the list on the right side of the dialog. Click the up and down arrow buttons on the far right side of the dialog to move the selected group up or down in the list.
To replace a default group with a custom group, right-click on the default group name and select Delete. Click the New Group button. Add the desired commands to the new group that you want displayed. Rename the new group, if desired.

Command options

Commands can only be added to or deleted from custom groups. Commands can only be rearranged or renamed in custom groups. If you wish to edit the commands in default group, the default group should be hidden and a new custom group should be created with the same commands.

To add a command to a custom group, set the Choose commands from: list to All Tabs so that all commands are listed on the left side of the dialog. Select the desired command that should be added. On the right side of the dialog, click the next to the custom group name. Click on the desired position in the list of commands. If no commands exist in the group yet, click on the group name. Click the Add>> button and the command is added to the custom group.
To delete a command from a custom group, right-click on the command name in the list on the right side of the dialog and select Delete. Only commands from custom groups can be deleted.
To rename a command in a custom group, click on the command name in the list on the right side of the dialog. Click the Rename button. Type the new name and click OK to make the change. Only commands in custom groups can be renamed.
To change the order of commands in a custom group, click on the command name that should be moved in the list on the right side of the dialog. Click the up and down arrow buttons on the far right side of the dialog to move the selected command up or down in the list.

Reset the Ribbon

To reset all customizations on the ribbon, click the Reset button at the bottom of the Customize Ribbon dialog.

Command and Help Search

The ribbon also includes a command search to the right of the last tab (View, Data, or Grid Editor depending on document type). Begin typing a command name to search for commands. Click on a command in the search results to use the command. Press ENTER to quickly use the top search result command. For example type post into the command search bar and the Home | New Map | Post command group, Map Tools | Add to Map | Layer command group, and Map Tools | Edit Layer | Post Labels commands are displayed in the search results. You can also click the Search help file at the bottom of the results list to search the help file for the search term.

The command search will return commands from all ribbon tabs. No more than five commands are displayed in the results list. A command may be disabled in the results list if the command is not applicable to the current document or selection.