Customizing the MainStage Window

You can customize the MainStage window to suit your way of working. In Edit mode, you can adjust the width of the Patch List, show or hide the Inspectors and the Channel Strips area, and customize the buttons on the toolbar.

Resizing the Workspace

You can adjust both the horizontal and vertical size of the workspace to give more room to the Patch List, the Inspector, and the Channel Strips area.

To resize the workspace horizontally
  1. Move the pointer to the space between the workspace and the Inspector.

    The pointer becomes a resize pointer.

  2. Drag up or down to resize the workspace.

To resize the workspace vertically
  1. Move the pointer to the space between the workspace and the Channel Strips area.

    The pointer becomes a resize pointer.

  2. Drag left or right to resize the workspace.

Hiding and Showing the Inspector

You can hide the Inspector or show it if it is hidden.

To hide or show the Inspector
Do one of the following:
  • Choose View > Inspectors (or press Command-5).

  • In the toolbar, click the Inspectors button.

Hiding and Showing the Channel Strips Area

You can hide the Channel Strips area or show it if it is hidden. Hiding the Channel Strips area gives you more room for the workspace.

To hide or show the Channel Strips area
Do one of the following:
  • Choose View > Channel Strips (or press Command-6).

  • In the toolbar, click the Channel Strips button.

Customizing the Toolbar

The toolbar at the top of the MainStage window contains buttons for frequently used commands. You can customize the toolbar, adding buttons for the functions you use most often and can return to the default set later.

Figure. Toolbar.

The default set of toolbar buttons includes buttons for selecting the different window modes, hiding the Inspector and the Channel Strips area, activating Master Mute, and other common commands. You can customize the toolbar with additional buttons for other commands and adjust the position and spacing of items. You can also hide the toolbar to maximize available screen space. You customize the toolbar by dragging items from the Customize Toolbar dialog to the toolbar.

To show the Customize dialog
Do one of the following:
  • Choose View > Customize Toolbar.

  • Control-click the toolbar, then choose Customize Toolbar from the shortcut menu.

The Customize Toolbar dialog appears, and spaces between buttons in the toolbar are outlined in gray.

To add a button to the toolbar
  • Drag a button from the Customize dialog to the toolbar.

    If you drag a button between two existing buttons, the buttons move to make room for the new button.

To move a button in the toolbar
Do one of the following:
  • If the Customize Toolbar dialog is visible, drag the button to move it.

  • If the Customize Toolbar dialog is not visible, Command-drag the button to move it.

    You can also rearrange the toolbar using set-width spaces, flexible spaces, and separators.

To add a space or a separator to the toolbar
  • Drag a space, flexible space, or separator from the Customize Toolbar dialog to the toolbar.

To return the toolbar to the default set of buttons
  • Drag the default button set, located at the bottom of the Customize Toolbar dialog, to the toolbar.

    You can also change the toolbar so that it shows only icons or only text by Control-clicking the toolbar, then choosing Icon Only or Text Only from the shortcut menu.

To show only icons in the toolbar
Do one of the following:
  • Control-click the toolbar, then choose Icon Only from the shortcut menu.

  • In the Customize Toolbar dialog, choose Icon Only from the Show pop-up menu.

To show only text in the toolbar
Do one of the following:
  • Control-click the toolbar, then choose Text Only from the shortcut menu.

  • In the Customize Toolbar dialog, choose Text Only from the Show pop-up menu.

To show both icons and text in the toolbar
Do one of the following:
  • Control-click the toolbar, then choose Icon & Text from the shortcut menu.

  • In the Customize Toolbar dialog, choose Icon & Text from the Show pop-up menu.

To close the Customize dialog
  • When you are finishing customizing the toolbar, click Done.

To hide the toolbar
  • Choose View > Hide Toolbar.

    When the toolbar is hidden, the menu item becomes Show Toolbar.