Using the Tools Palette

This task aims at giving general information on the Tools Palette and shows a few examples of how the Tools Palette can look like.
For workbench-specific information, you have to refer to the corresponding workbench documentation.

The Tools Palette is a toolbar containing a set of contextual tools (e.g. options or boxes) dedicated to the command you activate.
Therefore, the look and content of the Tools Palette vary according to the workbench in which you are working and according to the command you are using.
In addition to that, note that not all the commands display a Tools Palette.

Whatever the workbench, the name of this toolbar is always the same, i.e. Tools Palette.
Note that, contrary to the other toolbars available in Version 5, you cannot dock the Tools Palette.
 

  • In the Drafting workbench, when you click Dimensions in the Dimensioning toolbar, the following Tools Palette is displayed:
 

  • Still in the Drafting workbench, when clicking Line  in the Geometry Creation toolbar, the Tools Palette looks like this:

In the above example, you can see that the Tools Palette contains a tool, , as well as two boxes, L (for Length) and A (for Angle).
  • Now if you access the Imagine & Shape workbench then click Sphere in the Creation toolbar, the following Tools Palette is displayed:


 

About Multi-Selection
In workbenches allowing you to perform multiple selections, the Tools Palette looks like this:
These icons that follow let you select objects using the selection traps.
For detailed information on these commands, refer to Selecting Using the Selection Traps.

The Tools Palette might also look like this:
  • Control mode lets you activate the advanced selection mode. In this mode, you can select multiple elements by pressing Ctrl in multiple steps. By "multiple steps", we mean that you can select several object, release Ctrl then press it again to add objects to your first selection. Inversely, you can remove an element from the selection by selecting it then press Ctrl.

As this selection mode is controlled, you can choose when you want the selection to stop, contrary to the selection traps that are "single action-oriented", i.e. objects are selected in one go.

When you start selecting objects, the name of the first object you select is displayed in the toolbar:

Then, when at least two elements are selected, List of selected items is activated and the number of selected elements is displayed instead of the element's name (this icon is grayed out when only one element is selected since it is not relevant):

  • List of selected items opens the Element List dialog box that lists the elements you selected along with their path:

  • Finish lets you stop the selection when you are done: all the elements you selected so far are taken into account. As long as you do not click this icon, you can keep on selecting objects and add them to your selection list.
However, depending on the workench you are using, the advanced selection mode may be implemented in a different way. In that case, not all the icons are displayed and the look of the Tools Palette is impacted as explained by the two examples below.
 
  • If only List of selected items and Finish are displayed:

 

This means that the advanced selection mode is automatically activated and you can start selecting objects using the Ctrl key.
  • If only Finish is displayed:

 

This means that the advanced selection mode is automatically activated and that you cannot have any feedback on the elements you select.