User interface on Android/iOS

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User interface on Android/iOS

In addition to the ribbon and classic menus user interfaces, the Android/iOS version provides another option: the toolbars user interface.

The toolbars interface is designed in a manner that makes it easier to use TextMaker on smartphones and tablets. It constitutes a mixed form of the functionalities of ribbon and classic menus. On smartphones, TextMaker is started by default with this toolbars interface the first time you open it, while it is opened by default with the ribbon interface on tablets.

To switch the interface, choose the command File | Options options_icon in the ribbon interface or choose Tools > Options in the classic menu interface. In the following dialog box, the Appearance tab contains the dropdown list User interface. Here, you can choose between toolbars, ribbon or classic menus with different colors.

Tip 1: In the toolbars interface, you reach this dialog box by opening the "hamburger menu" hamburgermenu to the left of the toolbar and choosing the command Tools > Options.

Tip 2: The hamburger menu also contains all other menu commands of the classic menu interface.

Using the "toolbars" user interface

The toolbars user interface contains a bar with icons at the bottom of the program window, and each icon represents a group of commands. If you click on a group icon, another bar opens with the corresponding group commands.

Behind the File group icon file_open_icon, for example, you will find the commands Open document, Save document, Print document, etc. To hide the displayed bar with the commands, simply click on the group icon again.

By default, the toolbar contains the following groups:

 

Group

Commands (among others)

open_18

File

Open document, Save document, Print document, etc.

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Edit

Undo, Format painter, Copy & Paste, Search, etc.

charspec_18

Character

Font, Font size, Font color, Text styles (bold, italics, etc.)

pgfspec_mobilemain_18

Paragraph

Line spacing, Paragraph alignment, Bulleted lists, etc.

objects_show_18

Insert

Objects (picture, table, text frame, AutoShape), Comments, Headers and footers, etc.

page_setup_18

Layout

Page setup, Chapter formatting, Hyphenation, Align objects, etc.

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Review

Spell check, Track changes, etc.

window_tile_18

View

Object mode, Zoom, Ruler, etc.

"Keyboard" button

In Options options_icon, the System tab contains an option Show/hide keyboard automatically. Once this setting is enabled, it automatically opens the on-screen keyboard when you type something into the document.

If you disable the option, this behavior is suppressed and a freely movable Keyboard button akbd-button-tmall_18 is displayed instead on the document. If you click on the button, the keyboard is shown. By clicking on the button again, you hide the keyboard.

Note: This setting is possible in any user interface for smartphones and tablets. For tablets, the Keyboard button is only freely movable on the document in the toolbars interface if you disable the above option. In the ribbon and classic menus interfaces, the Keyboard button is displayed instead in a fixed manner in the upper left area of the command bar.

For smartphones only: "View" button

TextMaker offers smartphone users an additional aid, the View aview-button_18 button, which is freely movable above the document.

This enlarges the text section in which the cursor is currently positioned. If you click on this button, TextMaker switches to edit mode. The enlarging of the section makes it easier for you to track what you are entering. If you click on the button again, you switch back to the normal view and then have a better overview of the entire document.

Note: Tablet users can also use this function by disabling "Desktop mode" in Options options_icon (on the Appearance tab). However, you will then lose the optimized display of TextMaker on your tablet.

Changing input mode

TextMaker supports the use of certain input modes of Android/iOS devices.

Android

The command Input method enables you to switch to a different keyboard mode on an Android device. TextMaker accesses the on-screen keyboard settings of your Android device for this purpose.
In the classic menus interface, you change the mode with the menu command View > Input method. In the ribbon or toolbars user interfaces, you can choose this command via the hamburger menu hamburgermenu.

iOS

If Scribble mode is enabled in TextMaker, you can write directly in a document on an iOS tablet using the Apple Pencil. Your handwritten entries will then be converted directly into text. For other edits – for example, those of objects – you have to disable the mode again.
In the classic menus interface, you enable or disable the mode with the menu command View > Scribble. In the ribbon or toolbars user interfaces, you can choose this command via the hamburger menu hamburgermenu.
Note: The command View > Scribble is only available for iOS tablets, but not for smartphones. Please also ensure that you have enabled the option Apple Pencil > Scribble in the system settings of your iOS tablet.

Unlocking locked commands

Some commands are locked in the Android/iOS version (recognizable by the lock in the command icon), but they can be unlocked if necessary.

To unlock the commands, click on the command icon. The program opens a dialog box with the following options: Users of SoftMaker Office NX Home and NX Universal can use their product key to unlock commands. Users of other versions have the option of unlocking the features via Google Play/Apple App Store (subject to a fee).

Customizing command groups

You can customize the default groups as desired by adding/removing commands. Note: However, you cannot add or delete an entire group in the toolbars user interface.

In the hamburger menu hamburgermenu, choose the command Tools > Customize. This opens the dialog box Customize user interface, which is structured as follows:

On the left side, you will find all of the commands that are available in TextMaker. On the right side, the dropdown list Customize contains the groups that are in the toolbar. The list below it displays the commands that are currently in the selected group.

You can add new commands to each group (or remove them, change their position or insert separators). This works in a similar manner to that described for the classic menus with toolbars user interface in the Customizing toolbar icons section. Difference: Instead of "toolbar icons", you customize "group icons".