Layouts

Introduction

A layout is a saved arrangement of windows. Studio comes with a set of predefined layouts, and you can arrange the windows however you like. Windows can be moved, resized, and either docked into the main window or floating over it.

Docking and undocking windows

To undock a window, click the undock icon at the top right of the window. The tooltip is “Undock window”.

To dock it again, click the dock icon in the same place. The tooltip is “Dock window and put it back into the interface”.

While you move a window, possible docking locations are highlighted and the window aligns automatically. You can also drop a window onto another one, so that they share the same space as tabs.

On Windows and macOS, a floating window also has a maximize button. On macOS, this button goes full screen. While the window is maximized or full screen, a Minimize button replaces it and returns the window to its previous size. Maximizing a floating window is not implemented on Linux.

Adding and removing windows

Use the Windows menu:

• Windows > Add opens a new window. It floats in the center of the main window at 400 x 300 pixels, and you can dock it from there. A window that allows only one instance is not listed while it is open.
• Windows > Remove lists the open windows. Choose one to close it, or choose Remove All to close them all.

For the full list of windows, see Windows, menus and shortcuts.

Predefined layouts

Studio has seven predefined layouts, listed here in the order they appear:

Layout	Windows
Default	Raw EEG, Session Control, Back-End File System, Classifier, State Machine, Experience, Parameters, Feedback, Signal View, 2D Spectrogram, Devices
Experience Selection	Devices, Experience Selection
Experience Player	Session Control, Devices, Parameters, Experience, Signal View, 2D Spectrogram
Classifier Designer	Feedback, Back-End File System, Classifier, Signal View, Parameters
State Machine Designer	Feedback, Back-End File System, Signal View, Parameters, State Machine
Experience Designer	Experience, Classifier, State Machine, Back-End File System, Feedback, Parameters
EEG	Raw EEG, Devices, 2D Spectrogram, Spectrum Analyzer Settings

In 1.7.3: The Experience Player layout does not include the 2D Spectrogram window.

The layouts you see depend on your account, so your list may be shorter. Studio opens on the first layout in your list.

Switching between layouts

Predefined layouts come first in the list. Your custom layouts follow, sorted by name. There are three ways to switch:

1. Function keys. F1 to F10 select the first ten layouts in the list, in list order. The keys follow the position in the list, not the layout name, so the numbering shifts if your account shows fewer layouts. A layout after the tenth position has no key. On a Mac, you may also need to hold the fn key, depending on your keyboard settings. The keys are handled by the main window, so if a floating window has focus, click the main window first.
2. Layout combo box. Use the box labelled “Layout:” to the right of the menus. Some accounts don’t show this box.
3. Windows > Layouts. Choose a layout from the submenu.

On some accounts, Studio also switches layouts for you. It goes to Experience Player when an experience you selected has finished downloading. The Back button in Session Control and the Back to selection button in the session report return to Experience Selection.

Layouts are locked during a session. From the moment a session starts until it stops, the menu bar and the combo box are disabled and the function keys do nothing. Windows cannot be moved, floated or closed. See Running a session.

Saving your changes

Changes to the window arrangement are not saved automatically. If you switch to another layout, or close Studio, without saving, your changes are lost. Each switch loads the chosen layout from its file.

Predefined layouts cannot be overwritten. To keep changes to one, save them under a new name.

Saving custom layouts depends on your account. Without this feature, the Save, Save As and Remove entries don’t appear in Windows > Layouts, and custom layouts aren’t listed.

• Windows > Layouts > Save As asks for a name and saves the current arrangement as a custom layout. If the name already exists, Studio asks before overwriting it.
• Windows > Layouts > Save overwrites the selected custom layout. It is disabled after you select a predefined layout.
• Windows > Layouts > Remove lists your custom layouts. Choose one and confirm to delete it.

Save As does not switch to the new layout, so select it in the list before you use Save. If a custom layout is still selected, Save overwrites that layout. If a predefined layout is still selected, Save can look available but does not save your changes.

Each custom layout is a file named <name>.layout in the Layouts folder of Studio’s data folder:

System	Folder
Windows	%LOCALAPPDATA%\neuromore\NMStudio\Layouts
macOS	~/Library/Containers/com.neuromore.studio/Data/Library/Application Support/neuromore/NMStudio/Layouts
Linux	~/.local/share/neuromore/NMStudio/Layouts

See Local files and troubleshooting for the other files in Studio’s data folder.