Formatting panel controls

You can change the appearance of tab controls and slide controls and objects on panels in Layout mode. In addition, you can format:

To format a panel control:

  1. In the Inspector, click the Appearance Appearance tab.
    • To format a display state for a tab panel: Choose from the object state list (near the top of the tab).
    • To format a component of a slide control: Choose Slide Control, Slide Control: Panels, or Slide Control: Dots from the object type list (near the top of the tab).
  2. Then:

    3. To

    Do this

    Change the fill of the frontmost tab, the area of a slide control below the slide panels, or objects on a tab panel or slide panel

    In Layout mode, select the tab control, slide control, or objects to change. (See Selecting and working with objects on panel controls.) In the Appearance Appearance tab of the Inspector, choose a fill in the Graphic area. See Setting the fill, line style, borders, shadows, and padding, Filling with a color gradient, or Filling with an image.

    Tip  To apply the same fill to all tabs on a tab control, drag the arrow pointer to make a selection box that surrounds the tab control, then apply a fill.

    Change the style and color of the border around a panel control

    Select the tab control or slide control, then:

    • In the Appearance Appearance tab, choose Line options in the Graphic area.
    • Or, choose Line options in the formatting bar. If you don't see the formatting bar, click Formatting Formatting bar button in the layout bar.

    For more information, see Setting the fill, line style, borders, shadows, and padding.

    Change the shape of the corners of a tab control or slide control

    Select the tab control or slide control. In the Appearance Appearance tab, choose Corner radius options in the Graphic area. Choose each corner that you want to have a rounded appearance, and specify a value in points. The larger the value, the more a corner is rounded.

    Place all tabs on tab panels to the far left, center, or far right, or spread them across the tab panels

    Double-click the tab control. In the Tab Control Setup dialog box, choose from Tab Justification.

    Change the format of a tab panel's name

    Select a tab control, then:

    • In the Appearance Appearance tab, choose options in the Text area.
    • Or, use the text options in the formatting bar. If you don't see the formatting bar, click Formatting Formatting bar button in the layout bar.

    Text options for a tab panel's name apply to all panels. See Formatting text.

    Change the width of all tabs in a tab control

    Double-click the tab control. In the Tab Control Setup dialog box, choose from Tab Width.

    For Label Width + Margin of, Minimum of, or Fixed Width of, choose Inches, Centimeters, or Points, then enter a value.

    Change the fill or the color and style of the border around slide control dots

    Select the slide control, then:

    • In the Appearance Appearance tab, choose Slide Control: Dots in the object type list (near the top of the tab). In the Graphic area, choose a fill, then choose Line options.
    • Or, choose Line options in the formatting bar. If you don't see the formatting bar, click Formatting Formatting bar button in the layout bar.

    Add outer shadows to a tab control or slide control

    Select the tab control or slide control. In the Advanced Graphic area of the Appearance Appearance tab, select Outer Shadow. Click Edit button to change shadow effects.

    Add inner shadows to slide panels

    Select the slide control. In the Appearance Appearance tab, choose Slide Control: Panel in the object type list (near the top of the tab). In the Advanced Graphic area, select Inner Shadow. Click Edit button to change shadow effects.

    Adjust the padding of a tab control or slide control to change its dimensions

    Select the tab control or slide control. In the Advanced Graphic area of the Appearance Appearance tab, for Padding, specify values.

Notes 

  • You can't change the fill or border of individual slide panels.
  • You can't apply outer shadows to slide panels or inner shadows to tab controls or slide control dots.

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