Adjusting your workspace
There are a variety of ways to adjust your workspace in Microsoft® Expression Blend™ to suit the needs of your project and your work habits.
Changing themes
You can switch the theme for Expression Blend, by clicking Options on the Tools menu, selecting Workspace, and then selecting one of the following themes:
- Expression dark
- Expression light
Changing the background color of the artboard
You can change the background color of the artboard by clicking Options on the Tools menu, selecting Artboard, selecting the Color option, and then choosing a color from the color editor.
Changing authoring views
You can switch between the following views of the artboard by clicking the tabs on the top right of the artboard:
- Design tab (F11)
- XAML tab (F12)
Changing workspaces
You can switch between the following workspaces by clicking them on the Window menu:
- Design workspace (F6)
- Animation workspace (F7)
Additionally, you can easily return to the default configuration of the currently active workspace by clicking Reset Active Workspace (CTRL+SHIFT+R) on the Window menu.
Docking and resizing panels
You can Float and then Dock panels to best utilize your workspace. After you float a panel, you can resize it by dragging the Resize Grip in the bottom-right corner of the panel.
Adding and removing panels
You can add or remove a panel in your workspace by selecting or clearing the check mark next to the panel name on the Window menu.
Showing or hiding panels
- Click F4 or press the TAB key to toggle between showing and hiding all panels in the workspace.
Zooming and panning
- Zoom the workspace by clicking Options on the Tools menu, selecting Workspace, and then adjusting the Workspace zoom value.
- Zoom the artboard by selecting or entering a value in the Zoom slider on the lower-left corner of the artboard.
- Reposition (pan) the artboard by using the Pan tool on the Toolbox.
Snapping and snap grid
You can change snapping options on the artboard by clicking Options on the Tools menu, selecting Artboard, and then adjusting the settings under Snapping. For more information, see Turn on or off snapping and the snap grid.