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preferences:preferences_categories:user_interface:spacing
Spacing
This page lets you create and edit UI Spacing schemes that let you quickly change the size and spacing of multiple elements at once.
This is not the place to edit how things look on your screen right now. Those settings can be found elsewhere in Preferences (see the table below), and are only affected by UI Spacing schemes when you actually apply one of the schemes. Think of them as a small subset of Preferences which can be applied over the top of your configuration.
UI Spacing schemes let you change the UI in different situations. For example, you may want smaller, tighter spacing when using a mouse and keyboard directly in front of your screen, and larger spacing when using a touchscreen or a projector from a distance.
UI Schemes schemes can be triggered automatically when your computer changes between mouse input and touch input (good for tablets). Or you can apply them manually by selecting them from a menu or creating buttons for specific schemes, both done using the Set SPACINGSCHEME command. (You would need to add this to a toolbar or menu; it isn't in the default toolbars.)
The configured spacing schemes are shown on the left. Two schemes are defined by default: Standard Spacing and Touch Spacing. You can use the + and X buttons at the bottom of the list to add and remove schemes.
Schemes can be renamed by selecting them and then clicking their names again.
Each item in the list describes some element of the user-interface. Turning an item on enables it for that scheme, and you can configure the number of pixels as desired. If an item is turned off, the corresponding setting will be left alone when the UI Spacing scheme is applied, staying however it is set at the time.
The pixel values you specify are automatically DPI scaled as appropriate. Enter values which work in your current DPI, and they will be scaled as appropriate in other DPIs. (Some values do not scale, by design, if it makes more sense to always treat them as an absolute value.)
The Switch Automatically drop-down near the bottom lets you tell Opus to automatically switch to the currently selected scheme when your computer switches between Mouse and Touch input. If any scheme is set to auto-switch, an icon will appear by its name.
Spacing elements:
These are the elements you can define in each scheme, and the Preferences pages which they modify. If you just want to modify them directly, do so on the Preferences pages.
The Keyword column gives the keyword you can use with the Set SPACING command to make buttons and hotkeys which modify an individual setting directly, without using a UI Spacing scheme or having to open Preferences.
Elements noted as Not DPI scaled do not scale their values as the DPI changes.
Elements noted as Zero=Off treat zero (0) as a special value meaning "turn off", rather than literally setting them to zero pixels. "Turng off" means the setting's checkbox on its Preferences page will be turned off, which usually results in default values being used.