Adjusting Window Location and Size on the Desktop

Moving and Resizing the Window

•	To move a window, click-and-drag the window tab (the tab is where the window name displays, Model Builder for example) to where you want it.

•	To resize a window, hover your mouse over the window borders until a double arrow displays. Click-and-drag the borders between windows until the layout is how you want it.

At any time, on the Home toolbar, Layout group, click the Reset desktop button.

Floating/Detaching a Window

To detach a window to move and resize it, right-click the window tab and select Float. Right-click the window and choose Dock to return it to its default location on the Desktop.

To detach a window to move and resize it, right-click the window tab and select Detached. Right-click and select the option again to dock it to the COMSOL Desktop, or drag and drop it back to where you want it.

Hiding or Pinning a Window to the Side of the Desktop (windows Users)

To hide a window, right-click the window and select Hide. The window is minimized along the side of the Desktop (see Figure 2-3). Hover over the name to view a hidden/minimized window. To restore a hidden window, either right-click the window, or from the list, select Float or Dock.

Pinning a window performs the same action as hiding it. Click the Toggle hide button in the top-right corner of any window to hide and pin it to the side of the COMSOL Desktop. To return the window to its unhidden state, hover over the window name to open it, then click the Toggle hide button (now laying on its side, see Figure 2-3) to restore the window to its default location.

Figure 2-3: A hidden window is minimized along the side of the Desktop. Hover over the window name to view it. You can then choose to Float or Dock the window (either right-click the window or choose options from the menu), or click the Toggle hide icon to restore it to the default location on the Desktop.

Using the Position Guides (Windows Users)

When customizing your COMSOL Desktop, or when you want to return a floating window to the Desktop (Dock it), there are several visual guides available to assist.

Click and hold the mouse on a window to reposition or dock it on the Desktop. This displays the positioning guides (Figure 2-4 and Figure 2-5). Drag the window over any of the guides to highlight the area where the window is to be placed on the desktop (Figure 2-5). The center guide has five options. There are two vertical positioning guides, one on the left and one on the right of the Desktop and two horizontal positioning guides, one on the top and one on the bottom of the Desktop.

Figure 2-4: Examples of the positioning guides.

Figure 2-5: The positioning guides display (top image) when you click and hold the mouse pointer on a window. Drag the window over any of the guides to see the highlighted light blue area, which indicates the destination for the window. Release the mouse button and the window drops into place (bottom image).

Resizable Tables and Text Areas (Windows Users)

Some tables and text areas are resizable so that you can drag the area to extend it if it contains a lot of text. A border that you can drag to resize a table or text area is indicated by a thicker line:

Figure 2-6: You can click and drag the thicker bottom border to resize the Material Overview table.

Moving, minimizing, and maximizing Windows (Mac and Linux)

•	Right-click the window tab and select Move>View (to move a separate window). Move the mouse to where you want the window to display and left-click to confirm the move.

•	Right-click the window tab and select Move>Tab Group (to move several tabbed windows) from the list. Move the mouse to where you want to the group of windows to display and left-click to confirm the move.

•	To resize a window, hover the mouse over the left, right, top, or bottom boundaries of the window until a double arrow displays. Drag the mouse to resize the window. Or right-click the window tab and select Size>Left, Right, Top, or Bottom. A blue line highlights the choice; drag to resize.

•	To maximize and restore a window’s original position, double-click a window tab to maximize it; double-click again to restore it.

•	Click the Minimize or Maximize button in the top-right corner or right-click the window tab and select Minimize or Maximize from the list.

At any time, click the Reset desktop button on the main toolbar. The section Keyboard Shortcuts has additional shortcuts for all operating systems.

Vertical or Horizontal Window Orientation (Mac and Linux)

After a window is minimized along the side of the Desktop, you also have the option to change the window Orientation to Vertical (the default) or Horizontal when you click the window icon (see Figure 2-7).

Figure 2-7: A minimized window is accessible to the left of the Desktop. Click the window icon to view it. You can then right-click the window to Move, Size, Minimize or Maximize the window. You can also change the Orientation of a minimized window to be Horizontal or Vertical when you click and view it on the Desktop in its minimized state.

• The COMSOL Desktop • The Model Builder • Creating a New Model