Use pane sets

A pane set is a collection of application panes that you open and manage from the Pane Sets command on the View tab of the ribbon.

View tab of the ribbon with Pane Sets command indicated

The following default pane sets are available:

  • Editing—Opens the Contents, Catalog, Create Features, Attributes, and Modify Features panes.
  • Geoprocessing—Opens the Contents, Catalog, and Geoprocessing panes.
  • Mapping—Opens the Contents and Catalog panes.

When a pane set opens, any open panes that are not part of the set are closed.

You can create custom pane sets to support your workflows. For example, if you regularly look for places on a map in your projects, you can create a pane set that includes the Locate pane. You can also use pane sets to reduce clutter. If you have several open panes that you are not using, you can choose a pane set such as Mapping to simplify the user interface.

Custom pane sets can be created and edited. Default pane sets cannot be edited or removed.

You can assign keyboard shortcuts to pane sets. You can also add pane sets to the Quick Access Toolbar.

A pane set does not save the position of panes. Panes open to the screen location where they last appeared, whether or not they are opened from a pane set. A pane set includes panes only—it does not save open views or any other user interface configurations.

Open a pane set

You can open a default or custom pane set at any time during your session.

  1. In an open project, on the ribbon, click the View tab. In the Windows group, click Pane Sets .
  2. On the Pane Sets drop-down menu, choose one of the following:
    • Editing
    • Geoprocessing
    • Mapping
    • A custom pane set you have created.

    The panes included in the pane set are opened and other panes are closed.

Create a pane set

Pane sets are created from the panes that are currently open in a project.

  1. In an open project, open the panes you want to include in the pane set. Close any panes you do not want to include.

    Depending on the pane, you may open it from a ribbon command, a drop-down menu, a context menu, or a dialog box launcher. Some panes open in response to software actions. For example, the Pop-up pane opens when you click a feature on a map.

  2. On the ribbon, click the View tab. In the Windows group, click Pane Sets and click New.

    The Create Pane Set dialog box appears.

  3. On the Create Pane Set dialog box, type a name in the Name box.

    Create Pane Set dialog box on top of several stacked panes
    In this example, the new Share Web Map pane set will open the Catalog, Contents, Share As Web Map, and Job Status panes.

    Note:

    If you use a name that is used by another custom pane set, a warning message appears. Click No to close the Create Pane Set dialog box and start again. (This is the default.) Click Yes to overwrite the existing pane set.

    If you use a name that is used by a default pane set, an error message appears. Click OK to close the Create Pane Set dialog box and start again.

  4. Click OK.

    The new pane set appears under the Custom heading on the Pane Sets drop-down menu. You can hover over it to see which panes it includes.

    Pane Sets drop-down menu and custom pane set ScreenTip
    An icon reflects the first character of the custom pane set name.

Edit a pane set

You can edit a pane set by renaming, removing, or deleting it. Only custom pane sets can be edited. The Edit command is disabled if there are no custom pane sets.

Rename a pane set

You can change the name of a pane set at any time, but you cannot duplicate names. Names are not case-sensitive. For example, the names locate and Locate are considered duplicates.

  1. On the ribbon, click the View tab. In the Windows group, click Pane Sets and click Edit.

    The Edit Pane Sets dialog box appears.

  2. On the Edit Pane Sets dialog box, click a pane set to select it and click Rename.

    The name box becomes editable.

  3. Type a new name for the pane set and press the Enter key.
  4. Click Close.

    Note:

    If you use a name that is used by another pane set, an error message appears. Click OK and choose a different name.

Remove a pane set

You can remove pane sets that you no longer need. A pane set cannot be restored after you remove it. If you need it again, you must re-create it.

  1. On the ribbon, click the View tab. In the Windows group, click Pane Sets and click Edit.

    The Edit Pane Sets dialog box appears.

  2. On the Edit Pane Sets dialog box, click a pane set to select it and click Remove.

    This action is immediate and cannot be canceled or undone.

  3. Click Close.

Update a pane set

You can update a pane set to add or remove panes.

  1. On the ribbon, click the View tab. In the Windows group, click Pane Sets .
  2. On the Pane Sets drop-down menu, under Custom, click a pane set to open it.
  3. Open any panes you want to add to the pane set, and close any panes you want to remove from the pane set.
  4. On the ribbon, click the View tab. In the Windows group, click Pane Sets and click Edit.

    The Edit Pane Sets dialog box appears.

  5. On the Edit Pane Sets dialog box, click the pane set you are updating to select it, and click Update.
  6. Click Close.

Add a pane set to the Quick Access Toolbar

You can add a default or custom pane set to the Quick Access Toolbar.

  1. On the ribbon, click the View tab. In the Windows group, click Pane Sets .
  2. On the Pane Sets drop-down menu, right-click a pane set and click Add to Quick Access Toolbar.

    The pane set command appears on the Quick Access Toolbar. To remove a pane set from the Quick Access Toolbar, right-click it and click Remove from Quick Access Toolbar.

Add a keyboard shortcut for a pane set

You can assign a keyboard shortcut to a default or custom pane set with a context menu command.

Note:

The shortcut placement on the Keyboard Shortcuts dialog box is determined by the active view. For example, if a map view is active when you create the shortcut, the shortcut appears in the Mapping shortcuts group. Because shortcuts are contextual, this means that the shortcut works when a map or scene is active, but may not work when other views are active. When you open a pane set using the button on the ribbon, it works in all contexts.

  1. On the ribbon, click the View tab. In the Windows group, click Pane Sets .
  2. On the Pane Sets drop-down menu, right-click a pane set and click Configure Shortcut.

    The Keyboard Shortcuts dialog box appears, and the pane set command is automatically added to a shortcuts group. The keystroke input box next to the command is editable.

  3. Type a keystroke or keystroke combination in the input box to assign the shortcut and click Save.

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