.. index::
   single: Interface Overview

Interface Overview
==================

IQcad uses a ribbon-based layout similar to modern CAD applications.  All panels
can be shown or hidden, and the drawing area resizes to fill the available space.

.. figure:: ../../../images/interface_overview.png
   :align: center

   IQcad main window layout.


.. index::
   single: Main Areas

Main Areas
----------

.. list-table::
   :header-rows: 1
   :widths: 22 78

   * - Area
     - Description
   * - **Quick Access Toolbar**
     - A small toolbar above the menu bar with frequently-used buttons:
       New, Open, Save, **Save As**, Undo, Redo, and a **Properties**
       toggle that shows or hides the Object Inspector panel.
   * - **Menu bar**
     - Traditional pull-down menus: File, Edit, View, Draw, Modify, Format,
       Civil, Window, Help.
   * - **Ribbon**
     - Tabbed toolbar built on the IQRibbon component with theme support.
       Click a tab — *Home*, *View*, *Draw*, *Modify*, *Annotate*, *Civil*,
       *Output*, *Help* — to access tools grouped by function.
   * - **Civil Toolspace**
     - Left panel (toggle with **Civil › Civil Toolspace**).  Displays Survey
       Points, Tunnel Section Lines, Surfaces, and Alignments in a tree view
       with a property grid below.  Double-click a leaf node to select and
       zoom to that object in the canvas.
   * - **Drawing Canvas**
     - The main work area.  Each open drawing occupies a tab above the canvas.
       Rulers along the top and left edges show world coordinates.
   * - **Object Inspector**
     - Right panel (toggle with the **Properties** button on the QAT).
       Displays and edits the properties of the selected object(s), the active
       layer, or drawing-level settings.  Uses a tree-based property grid with
       collapsible categories.  All fields are live — changes apply
       immediately.  See :doc:`08_inspector` for full details.
   * - **Command line**
     - Dark strip at the bottom.  Shows the current operation, prompts for
       coordinate or text input, and accepts typed CAD commands (see
       :doc:`10_commandline`).
   * - **Status bar**
     - Shows the active tool name and the cursor position in world coordinates.

.. _interface-layout-persistence:

.. index::
   single: Layout Persistence

Layout Persistence
------------------

Panel sizes are saved to ``settings.json`` under a ``"layout"`` section
and restored automatically when IQcad starts:

- Prospector panel width
- Object Inspector panel width and column split position
- Command line height

.. index::
   single: Ribbon Tabs

Ribbon Tabs
-----------

.. list-table::
   :header-rows: 1
   :widths: 15 85

   * - Tab
     - Contents
   * - **Home**
     - File (New, Open, Save, Save As, Close, Close All); Edit (Undo, Redo);
       Clipboard (Cut, Copy, Paste, Paste Orig).
   * - **View**
     - Navigate (Zoom In/Out/Extents/Window, Pan, Orbit, Viewpoint, Draw
       Order); Display (Grid, Osnap, Ortho toggles, Properties panel);
       Select (Select, Select All, Duplicate).
   * - **Draw**
     - All drawing tools: Line, Polyline, Multiline, Arc, Circle, Ellipse,
       Spline, Rectangle, Polygon, Hatch, Text, Multileader, Arrow, Point,
       XLine, 3D Face, 3D Polyline, Bézier, Table, Image, and more.
   * - **Modify**
     - Erase, Move, Copy, Rotate, Scale, Offset, Trim, Extend, Chamfer,
       Fillet, Explode.
   * - **Annotate**
     - Dimension tools (Linear, Aligned, Angular, Radius, Diameter,
       Ordinate, Arc Length, Baseline, Continue, Jogged), Dimension Styles.
   * - **Civil**
     - Survey Point, Tunnel Section Line, Create Surface, Decimate, Spot
       Elevation, Alignment, Parcel, Civil Toolspace toggle, Point Import,
       Point Manager, Point Groups, LandXML import/export, Coordinate
       Transformations (CSTRANSFORM, RUBBERSHEET), Civil Style Manager.
   * - **Output**
     - Export buttons (DXF, DWG, Image, SVG, LandXML, GeoJSON, KML,
       Shapefile, GPX), Import buttons (DWG, LandXML, GeoJSON, KML,
       Shapefile, GPX), Print, PDF, Page Setup.
   * - **Help**
     - Documentation links, keyboard shortcuts reference, About dialog.