Context Menus in Publish Pro

There are a wide range of functions available from the right-click context menus. Which options are included on the menu depends on which content item is selected on the canvas. You typically use the right-click menus when you are professionalizing your publication; for example, when you re-align or distribute your shapes or text boxes, or when you open a visual or another content item in Discover or Illustrate for extended editing.

  • Click here for more information about other canvas options

Context menus

You can open a context menu by right-clicking an object on your canvas. The context menu shows options that reflect the currently selected item or items. For example, the following image shows the context menu (purple arrow) for a Text box:

Basic content item options

The following tables each indicate the type of item that needs to be selected on the canvas for the context menu option to be included on the right-click menu:

Any or no content items selected

Function

Description

Cut, Copy

Cut or copy the selected object.

Paste options

There are two methods for pasting an item:

  • Paste in Original Position: Paste in the position that the original was cut or copied from.
  • Paste at Cursor Position: Paste at the current position of the cursor.

Delete

Delete the selected object.

Group

Where two or more items are selected on the canvas, the items can be "grouped" using this option and the group can then be resized, aligned, moved, copied, cut, or pasted as if it were one item.

Alignment

Align the object with the canvas or with another object on the canvas.

Distribute

Where three or more items are selected on the canvas, distribute those items vertically or horizontally relative to one another.

Bring to Front

Use one of the two options either to bring the object forward (in front of another item) or to the front (in front of all other items).

Send to Back

Use one of the two options either to send the object backward (behind another item) or to the back (behind all other items).

Visuals selected

Function

Selected Content Item

Description

Caption Settings

Visuals, Visual Areas, Mini-Tabs, Matrix Table, Legends.

Set formatting options for the panel containing the selected visual. Opens the Formatting panel, where the Panel Settings option is selected by default.

Visual Options

Visuals

Set appearance settings for the visual, including Scale mode, Legends (Show / Hide and Optimization), Miniaturization, Auto fit labels (Gauges only), and in the Discover help Optimization, and Trellis. Given this is a publication, the Flow visual toggle is also available.

Scale Mode

Visual Areas

As described for Visual Options.

Open in Discover

Visuals

Open the visual in Discover to make changes to it.

Maintenance Mode

Visuals

Admin only. Open a discovery in Discover without running the underlying query. This allows you to open and fix problematic content before you run the underlying query against the target data source. It is also useful for very large or long-run queries that can never run to completion.

Open in Tabulate

Visual areas

Open the spreadsheet containing the selected visual area in Tabulate to make changes to it.

Go to item location

Visual (linked only)

Open the content item in its location in the Content Explorer (the file and folder view of the Content Management System, CMS).

Unlink

Visual (linked only)

Unlink a shared item from its source, making it a one-off visual that is relevant to this publication only.

Make Shareable

Visual (one-off only)

Save the visual to the content manager so that it can be shared and reused in different visuals, presentations, and publications.

Shapes, Text, or Images selected

Function

Selected Content Item

Description

Open in Illustrate

Shape, Text, Image

Open the selected item in Illustrate to make changes to it.

Make Illustration Shareable

Shape, Text, Image

Save the shape or text to the content manager so that it can be shared and reused in different visuals, presentations, and publications.

Layout container options

The following tables describe the right-click options that are specific to the layout containers where applicable.

  • Click here for more information about Layout containers

Mini-Tabs

Right-click the Mini-Tab container to open the Mini-Tab sub-menu:

.

Function

Description

Add New Tab

By default, the mini-tab container has two tabs. Click this option to add another tab. Note that, by default, the new tab is added after any existing tabs. You will need to Edit the tabs to change its position.

Delete Tab

Delete the currently selected tab.

Delete Tab Content

Delete the content item in the currently selected tab.

Edit Tabs

Open the Edit Tabs panel and edit the settings for the mini-tab container. You can use this panel to change the name of the mini-tab container, add, remove, and move tabs, and change the tab name.

Tabs Position

Disabled in Publish Pro.

Select Tab

Indicate which tab to select at build time by default.

  • Click here for more information about Mini-Tabs

Matrix Table

To access the Matrix Table's context menu:

  • Right-click the borders of the Matrix Table container.
  • Right-click a visual inside the Matrix Table. In this case, there is a Matrix Table sub-menu.

Function

Description

Insert

Insert columns before or after, or rows above or below, the current selection. If you have the table selected, the column or row is added before or above the first column or row in the table or after or beneath the last.

Delete

Delete selected columns, rows, or cell content.

  • Click here for more information about Matrix Tables