One of the first things people notice when using Appraise-It Pro for the first time is the modern and updated user interface. Probably the most prominent component of this is the Ribbon.
The Ribbon, which combines elements of a toolbar and menu, is a big part of Microsoft’s design philosophy in Windows 10 and can be found in programs like Office, Paint and Wordpad.. It’s ease of use, modern look and superior organization made it’s inclusion in Appraise-It Pro a no-brainer.
The Ribbon in Appraise-It Pro is divided into eight sections: Home, Edit, View, Services, Tools, Orders, Support and Field Tools. Field Tools is kind of a special section as it contains contextual tabs. We’ll go over that a little more later.
The menu sections are organized very similarly to the pulldown menus in Appraise-It Classic so you should be able to quickly find what you are looking for.
Each Ribbon section features nice, large, easy to see icon buttons with clear text labels. Some icons, like Save As under Home, have multiple selections that expand down when clicked. If you ever want more information on what a specific menu button does, simply mouse over it and a tooltip will appear telling you more.
You can also press the ALT key and activate a one-key access mode for the Ribbon allowing you to press one of the displayed key shortcuts to activate a menu item. This will further allow you to keep your hands on the keyboard and off the mouse.
You may have noticed that the Field Tools section is a purplish-blue color. This is because it a bit special. It contains contextual tabs that change depending on what type of field you are currently in within the editor. As you click into fields, check boxes and word processing pages, the Ribbon changes.
These contextual tabs provide quick access to what you’re currently working on while hiding options that aren't applicable. This avoids confusion and makes things easier to find.
Finally, there is a completely new feature in Appraise-It Pro called the Quick Access Toolbar. It gives you a way to make your most frequently used features one click away without cluttering the toolbar with icons that you either don't use or don't use frequently.
It’s customizable and you can add almost any Ribbon icon to it by simply right-clicking on the icon and selecting Add to Quick Access Toolbar. If you change your mind later, simply right-click on the Quick Access Toolbar icon and select Remove from Quick Access Toolbar to get rid of it.
This toolbar is up top in the title bar area by default but you can use the pull down menu on the far right of the toolbar to move it below the Ribbon if you wish.
Rev. 8/2019
