Desktop Windows |
When you launch Montage, the main window that appears is called a Montage Desktop (not to be confused the Windows desktop, written in all lower case). Any number of Montage Desktop windows can be open simultaneously, subject to the limitations of your computer's memory and screen space. Each Desktop is associated with its own Montage metafile, and these can be opened and manipulated independently.
A Montage Desktop window is movable and resizable, and it includes standard optional elements, such as a title bar, a main menu, a background, and a status bar. Some essential components that are not always visible are the Montage Options context menu and the built-in timer. The interior of a Desktop contains an arrangement of user-defined Montage Shortcuts (with or without icons), each of which can launch virtually any sort of Windows application. In addition to Shortcuts, a Desktop can contain any number of built-in viewers (not shown in the screen shot below). Whatever options and arrangement of the view you construct is saved automatically (or manually), so you can later restore the same state simply by opening a montage.
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Each Montage Desktop has its own internal timer, responsible for periodically monitoring and refreshing various dynamic elements, such as highlighting open Shortcuts, auto-detection, tracking external Shortcut properties, refreshing dynamic Explorer icons, and displaying Shortcut tips. Options relating to timer settings are under the More, Timer Refresh and More, Advanced submenus, and Tips, Delay Time in the global Shortcuts dialog. (It shouldn't be necessary to change these from their default settings, unless you have a very slow machine.)
When you right-click over the background area of a Montage Desktop, a context menu appears. This context menu allows you to perform most of the actions that can be done through the main menu, plus some additional ones. (Menu options appearing in dark green apply only when built-in viewers are enabled.)
Tip: Don't be intimidated by the complexity of this menu - frequently used commands and options are readily accessible, and many are also provided through the main menu. Since these "global" settings are assigned and preserved on a per-montage basis, it should not be necessary to adjust most settings more than once. By employing a few template montages with your preferred settings, you can create new montages that are already configured to a convenient starting point.
Next: Shortcuts |
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Montage Help page, last edited:
12/31/10 16:20
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