Chapter 2. The Easy Button Floating Window

The easy button floating window provides buttons that assist you in entering relations. Easy buttons are especially useful when entering symbols not readily available from the keys on a standard keyboard. The easy button floating window automatically appears when a relation, or custom ticks, or any expression definition is being edited. It can be shown, or hidden, by selecting Easy Buttons from a Relation menu or a Custom Ticks menu.

Buttons within the floating window are organized into groups, based on common usage: related symbols and operations are contained within each group. These groups are presented in alphabetical order. Figure 2.1 shows the easy button floating window displaying group headings, with only the Basic group of easy buttons expanded to reveal the individual easy buttons:

Figure 2.1: The default easy button floating window

Details about the easy buttons are explained in Appendix A, the Easy Buttons appendix. Following are some notes about the floating window:

- The easy button floating window appears when a relation, or custom ticks, or any expression definition is being edited. It is otherwise hidden, but returns once a relation or a custom ticks definition is being edited.

  Hint: | The easy button floating window disappears when relation or expression editing is completed, or when a new window or program is activated.

- Each group of easy buttons can be expanded, to display its easy buttons below its title, or collapsed, to display just its title, by clicking on the name of the group, or the hierarchy box beside the name.

- Groups can be removed from, or added to, the easy button floating window by changing the preference settings, as follows:
  1. From the File menu, select Preferences;
  2. expand Algebraic Window;
  3. expand Easy Buttons;
  4. expand Access; then
  5. select the desired groups’ checkboxes under the Available column to add those groups; deselect the undesired groups’ checkboxes to remove those groups.

  Hint: | If a group’s checkbox is not selected under the Available column, the buttons of that group will not be accessible at all. By default, the Measure, Numbers, and Roman groups are not available; all of the other groups are available. To have an available group automatically expand at startup, like the Basic group does by default, select the group’s checkbox in the Expand on Startup column. Expanding and collapsing available groups is often done, during a session, by clicking on the name of the corresponding group, or on the hierarchy box beside the name.

- To automatically keep the easy button floating window hidden while editing relations, change the preferences as follows:
  1. From the File menu, select Preferences;
  2. expand Algebraic Window;
  3. expand Easy Buttons; then
  4. deselect the Show easy buttons checkbox.

- To hide the easy button floating window during a session, click on the window’s close box, or deselect Easy Buttons from a Relation menu or a Custom Ticks menu.

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