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About configuring the user interface

  • Using the Customize dialog box
  • Changing your application's appearance back to the factory settings

The ArcGIS Desktop applications have a default graphic user interface (GUI). You can alter the way the desktop application's GUI appears, and you can expose functionality that has been developed to extend the functionality of the desktop applications.

When you first open a Desktop application, such as ArcMap, there is a set of menus, toolbars, and dockable windows that is visible. You may want the ArcMap interface to reflect your own preferences and the way you work. All the Desktop applications share the same robust configuration model that includes the following capabilities:

  • Position toolbars and windows in a specific area of the application
  • Showing and hiding certain dockable windows
  • Grouping commands in a way that works best for you
  • Removing unused commands from toolbars
  • Adding or altering a command's shortcut key
  • Changing a command's icon or description to make it more familiar

These tasks are completed via simple drag-and-drop operations inside the applications. None of these tasks requires any special permission, and all are easy to accomplish, requiring no coding. In addition, these configuration changes are automatically saved; the next time you open ArcMap, for example, the layout of the GUI will remain how you previously configured it.

Using the Customize dialog box

The principal way to tailor an application to suit your needs is to use the Customize dialog box. Click Customize on the main menu, and click Customize Mode to open the Customize dialog box.

Opening the Customize dialog box puts you in customize mode, which offers the following capabilities:

  • Hide and show toolbars.
  • Create a custom toolbar or menu.
  • Change toolbar and menu constituents.
  • Change a command's appearance.
  • Create and modify shortcut keys.
  • Set advanced options.

The screen capture below shows the Customize dialog box in ArcMap.

Accessing the Customize dialog box

Changing your application's appearance back to the factory settings

Configuration changes are saved in Normal template documents; for example, ArcMap keeps its changes in Normal.mxt. If you customize an application and later decide you would like to reset it to its original settings, delete the application's Normal template file. Upon startup, the desktop applications will regenerate their Normal template if they are missing.

Accessing the Normal template files

The Normal template files for the ArcGIS Desktop applications are located in your user profile in an application profile folder. The location depends on your operating system. In Windows 10, the ArcMap Normal template is located in your user profile at AppData\Roaming\Esri\Desktop10.x\ArcMap\Templates.

The Normal template file names are:

  • Normal.mxt for ArcMap
  • Normal.gxt for ArcCatalog
  • Normal.3dt for ArcGlobe
  • Normal.sxt for ArcScene

Tip:

The application profile folder may be hidden. A good way to locate the Normal template files is to type the environment variable %APPDATA% (including the percent symbols) in the Windows Explorer search box. This opens the folder that contains the Esri application profile folder (regardless of your Windows version, and regardless of whether or not hidden files and folders are shown). From the Esri folder you can browse to the Normal template file you want to delete.

Related topics

  • Basic user interface elements
  • Fundamentals of saving your customizations

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