Managing the MegaEdit left pane

Many users desire greater control over the tabs displayed in the MegaEdit left pane, with some even wishing to disable it completely for certain products.

The tabs displayed in the left pane depend on a number of factors, including:

  • Customer roles of the user viewing the MegaEdit product

  • MegaEdit product settings

  • The viewing rights of the resources shown in the left pane

In this tutorial, we will dig deeper into these factors and learn how to control what you see in the MegaEdit left pane.

  1. 1. Default left pane

    Shown here is the default configuration of the left pane, with most resource types included in the MegaEdit product.

    Tabs will generally be hidden until their content is required. For example, you will not see Clipars, Backgrounds or Layouts unless those assets are relevant to this particular MegaEdit product.

    It is important to note that when viewing a MegaEdit product as an administrator, you will ALWAYS see the MegaEdit left pane, regardless of the configuration options discussed here.

    This applies even when emulating what the user sees.

    The only way to gain a true user experience with the MegaEdit left pane is to log in as that user and access the product.

    Default left pane
  2. 2. To begin disabling unwanted tabs, click Menu

    To begin disabling unwanted tabs, click Menu
  3. 3. Click on Product Options

    Click on Product Options
  4. 4. Navigate to the Left Pane section of the Product Options

    Navigate to the Left Pane section of the Product Options
  5. 5. Uncheck Show Layout Tab

    Toggles the display of the Layout tab, which allows prespecified page element configurations.

    Uncheck Show Layout Tab
  6. 6. Uncheck Show Gallery Tab

    Toggles the display of the Gallery tab which allows users to upload and select imagery from their user albums.

    Uncheck Show Gallery Tab
  7. 7. Modify the Tab Display Order if required

    Admins have the ability to control the order in which tabs are displayed in the left pane.

    Simple place the tab name followed by a colon and an ID number of its position.

    Separate the different tabs with a comma.

    For example:

    layout:1,pages:2,background:3

    Modify the Tab Display Order if required
  8. 8. Navigate to the Styling Features section of the Product Options

    This section allows direct toggling of many of the MegaEdit left pane tabs.

    Navigate to the Styling Features section of the Product Options
  9. 9. Uncheck Toggle Tools Tab

    Controls the visibility of the Tools tab

    Uncheck Toggle Tools Tab
  10. 10. Uncheck Toggle Fields Tab

    Controls the visibility of the Fields tab

    Uncheck Toggle Fields Tab
  11. 11. Uncheck Toggle Pages Tab

    Controls the visibility of the Pages tab

    Uncheck Toggle Pages Tab
  12. 12. Click on Save

    Click on Save
  13. 13. Remaining tabs

    The majority of the tabs have now been removed from the left pane.

    The remaining tabs are those associated with resources we have within this particular MegaEdit product.

    In this example, cliparts and backgrounds are specified so their tab remains.

    Any resources have to be created with either "Admin Only" or "Admin and User" access rights.

    As such, when logged in as an admin, you will always see these tabs.

    Remaining tabs
  14. 14. Click on Emulate User Mode

    Click on Emulate User Mode
  15. 15. Click on Cliparts…

    Note, even when using the Emulation mode inside MegaEdit (to interact with a product as they would) the Admin tabs will persist.

    Click on Cliparts…
  16. 16. Show only for admins

    A large factor in the content shown within the MegaEdit left pane is the admin status of the associated resources.

    Here, we've navigated to our Clipart categories as an example, but the same logic applies to most resources.

    If Show only for admins is set to true, those resources and their associated tabs in the MegaEdit left pane will be hidden from general users.

    If Show only for admins is set to false, users will see and can interact with those resources.

    Show only for admins
  17. 17. Examples

    Here, we have set up a few basic examples to show how these configurations of settings might impact what your end user sees when accessing your MegaEdit product.

    We are logged in as the end user, with no administrator rights. All of the following MegaEdit editor windows are viewed from that perspective.

    Examples
  18. 18. Example 1 | Default tab configuration | Resources accessible to all

    Here, we have not modified the Product Options to hide certain tabs, with resources accessible to both administrators and general users.

    A range of tabs are visible on the left pane, including tabs such as Clipart and Backgrounds containing artwork resource.

    Example 1 | Default tab configuration | Resources accessible to all
  19. 19. Example 2 | Modified tab configuration | Resources accessible to all

    Here, the tab toggles in the Product Options have been modified to hide all available tabs.

    As artwork resources are accessible to users and administrators, those tabs are still visible.

    Example 2 | Modified tab configuration | Resources accessible to all
  20. 20. Example 3 | Default tab configuration | Admin only resources

    Here, we have the default selection of tabs, however the resource tabs are not displayed to the end user as they are set to Admin only.

    Example 3 | Default tab configuration | Admin only resources
  21. 21. Example 4 | Modified tab configuration | Admin only resources

    As all tabs are now disabled due to Product Options and admin only resources, the left pane is no longer required and is completely hidden from view for the end user.

    Example 4 | Modified tab configuration | Admin only resources
  22. 22. Example 5 | Invent product | Modified tab configuration | Resources accessible to all

    This is an example product created using Infigo Invent for Adobe InDesign.

    Most tabs have been hidden with the Product Options, however we still see the resource tabs, as they are accessible to the end user.

    This Invent product was set up utilising a form. As a result, resources can be switched from two locations using this product configuration.

    Example 5 | Invent product | Modified tab configuration | Resources accessible to all
  23. 23. Example 5 | Invent product | Modified tab configuration | Admin only resources

    This is an example product created using Invent.

    The left pane is completely hidden as there are no active tabs. Product Options are set to hide tabs and resources are set to admin only.

    However, despite being marked as Admin Only, resources can still be switched using the preconfigured Invent form, which is linked to a resource set in Invent.

    Example 5 | Invent product | Modified tab configuration | Admin only resources
  24. 24. Click one of the form options

    Click one of the form options
  25. 25. Click on Select your option…

    Click on Select your option…
  26. 26. Changed clipart

    Changed clipart