Configuring the User Interface

Mari provides a fully customizable GUI. You can set it up to suit your working style and preferences.

The main GUI elements that you can customize are:

• palettes - areas that contain controls and information, for example to view and configure tool properties, colors, or project elements. You can select which palettes to display and where to put them.

• toolbars - panels that contain Mari tools and common functions, for example to paint, erase, open or close a project. Toolbars contain icons you click to quickly access common tools and functions. You can create new toolbars, with shortcut buttons to your favorite functions.

• HUD - the heads-up display (HUD) displays information about the current tool and other Mari and project
information at the top of the canvas.

• status bar - the status bar displays information about current processes, as well as progress bars, error
warnings, and basic tool help for the current tool.

Palettes and toolbars can be either docked (fixed in one place) or undocked (“floating” above the canvas). Palettes can be docked to:

• any side (including top or bottom) of the Mari window, or

• each other (in a separate window).

Docked palettes can also be stacked - in the space of a single palette, with tabs to select which palette appears on top. Similarly, toolbars can be docked on the top, left, or right of the Mari window (but not the bottom). By default, toolbars appear at the top, but can be moved. Once you have your workspace laid out properly, you can save the
layout for later use. If you decide that you don't like your custom layout, you can revert to the default layout.

Video:  Watch the Customizing the Interface video to learn how to customize Mari's interface.
This video shows the workflow using Mari 3. Even though the Mari 4 workspace is different, the workflow remains the same. To have a look at the main UI differences, see Mari 3.3 vs 4.0.