.. _main_window:

Main window
===========
The main window, called **smartCommander**, is the window that offers all commands
for searching, updating and executing commands and scriptlets, switching
collections and editing global settings. It contains several sections as seen
below:

.. image:: img/main_window/main_window.jpg


- **1) Search:** Search for commands from the currently selected collection.
- **2) Close:** Clicking this button closes the smartCommander. Hotkey: escape key.
- **3) Commands list:** All commands of currently selected collection.
- **4) Collections switch:** Lets you switch between the collections: "all", "history", "scriptlets", custom collections, "new". The currently selected collection will be remembered.
- **5) Settings:** Click to reveal the settings section.
- **6) Resize:** Click to resize the smartCommander. The current size of the smartCommander will be remembered.

Searching for commands
----------------------
To search for commands you can type in the first characters and it will filter
the commands list and show only commands that contain the entered word or
characters. In the settings window you can `change the search algorithm <settings.html#search-methods>`_ from
**Word** to **Character**.

Executing commands
------------------
To execute any command simply click it. The command will automatically be added
to your `history <history.html>`_.

Creating new collections
------------------------
There are two ways to create a new collection:

    - Choosing **new** from the Collections switch at the bottom
    - Creating a new menu on the fly when adding a command to a new collection. This will be described in the `Adding new commands`_ section .

Let's have a look at the first method. From the Collections switch choose **new**.

.. image:: img/main_window/new_collection.jpg

A new window shows up that lets you create a new collection. Enter a name and hit
the blue **Create** button. For instance let's call our new collection **delivery**.

.. image:: img/main_window/dialog_new_collection.jpg

The new collection was created and is now accessible using our collections switch.

.. image:: img/main_window/collection_delivery.jpg

The underlying data model for a collection is an xml file that will by default
be saved to::

 Linux: /home/[username]/cragl/smartCommand/collections
 Mac: /Users/[username]/cragl/smartCommand/collections
 Windows: C:\users\[username]\cragl/smartCommand/collections

In the settings section you can change this collection root directory. Changing this
directory gives you the flexibility to point to a shared folder in order to share collections
with other artists. Or you can also locate the collections root directory to your
cloud folder in order to sync collections for yourself across multiple machines.

As seen below we have two xml files in our collections root: Our **delivery** collection,
that we have created right now and our **custom** collection from the
`quickstart <quickstart.html>`_ section, if you have followed that section.

.. image:: img/main_window/collection_xml_files.jpg

Adding new commands
-------------------
Each command contains a context menu. Hover over one command and right click
to reveal its context menu. From the menu choose **Add to collection**.

.. image:: img/main_window/add_to_collection.jpg

In the upcoming window we can choose which collection we would like to add our
command to. If required, we can choose **new** and create a new collection
on the fly. Next to the drop down menu you will find a color pot. Clicking it
opens the color picker window as seen in the :ref:`quickstart` where you can assign
a color to your command. Colors can also be added, updated and removed once a
command has been added to a custom collection.

.. image:: img/main_window/dialog_add_command.jpg

When you have set everything up click the blue **Add** button and the selected
command will be added to your selected collection.