Ribbons, Tabs, and Commands

One of the first changes you'll notice in Author-it 5 is that menus have been replaced with Ribbons. The Ribbon is designed so you can quickly find the commands you need by bringing menu options into full view. Whether you are an Author or Designer, or if you are Reviewing or Publishing your documents, you can find the commands you need at a glance.

The Ribbons contain a series of role-based tabs for working in the Library, or in the Editor. Each tab includes commands that are grouped according to an action, for example formatting text, or inserting images, symbols, and links. Some command groups also include a Dialog Box Launcher , giving you immediate access to settings for the action you're working with.

In addition to the standard tabs, there are also context-based tabs that only display when you are completing certain actions. An example is the Layout tab that contains all of the commands for formatting tables. When the cursor is inside a table the Layout tab is accessible, when you continue working with topic text the Layout tab is hidden.

In our procedures you'll notice that the naming convention we use is based on the "path" to the command, Tab > Command Group > Command, for example, Edit > Insert > Insert File object.