Environments

This command presents the Environment Selector dialog where the user specifies the active editing environment.

The Environment Selector dialog allows users to choose between predefined editing environments.  An environment includes specific menus, toolbars and dockable windows as well as customized templates for selected environments.  This provides a great time-saver as users may switch between different display options for all of these items at once rather than configuring each of these individually.

When the Environment Selector is first displayed, the active environment will be selected in the left pane with a description of the environment and its core feature-set displayed to the right.

Switching Environments

The active environment may be changed by selecting a new environment from the list and pressing the OK button.  When this is done the user will be prompted to confirm he wishes to change environments.

If Yes is selected, the active environment will be changed to the one selected in the Environment Selector dialog.  If Cancel is pressed, no change will occur.  If Save & Go is selected, any changes the user has made to the current environment will be saved and the user will be prompted to name the newly created environment and optionally populate the Definition and Core Feature Set for that environment.

Users may also open a new instance of UltraEdit using a different environment by holding the CTRL key while clicking on the Select Environment button in the MAIN toolbar and selecting an environment from the list.

Customizing Environments

Default environments may be customized if desired.  When an environment is active, a user can customize environment items individually.  Menus and toolbars may be customized by right-clicking on any menu heading (File, Edit, etc.)  or toolbar and selecting Customize Menu or Customize Toolbar respectively.  Dockable windows may be opened and positioned as desired to meet the user's needs.

Once the active environment is customized, the Environment Selector dialog should be invoked by selecting it from the View menu or by pressing ALT+F8.  The user may then edit the name of the active environment in the text box at the top of the selection list and press the Save Current State As button to save the customized version of the active environment.  

Alternatively, users may simply modify the elements of an environment and select an environment from the Environment Selector to switch to.  The "Change Environment?" dialog will be displayed and the user may select the Save & Go option.  

This will populate the Environment Selector - Save dialog with the description and feature set of the active environment and allow the user to save the modified environment under another name, or overwrite the existing environment, if desired.  

Any defined environment may be deleted by selecting it in the selection list and pressing the Delete Selected Environment button.

If the Reset Built-In Environments button is pressed, all built-in environments will be restored to their default state.  Please note: Any customer environments that have been created in addition to the default environments will be preserved in their current state.

Exporting/Importing Environments

If a user wishes to export an environment they have created to share with a friend or co-worker, this may be done by pressing the Export/Import Environment button.  This will present a popup menu where the user may choose one of two options: Export Selected Environment or Import Environment.  

If the user selects the Export Selected Environment button, the Browse for Folder dialog is presented and the user can select the folder to export the environment file to or create a new folder to export to.  The selected environment will be created as a file with the name of the selected environment and the extension "uee".  For example, the Power User environment would be exported as "Power User.uee".

If the Import Environment button is pressed, the Open dialog will be displayed so the user may navigate to the *.uee file that should be imported for the desired environment.  The settings in the imported file will be automatically parsed and the environment will then be available for selection in the Environment Selector dialog.