Control Panel

Directories

The top level items of the tree view represent the various types of EAGLE files. Each of these can point to one or more directories that contain files of that type. The location of these directories can be defined with the directories dialog. If a top level item points to a single directory, the contents of that directory will appear if the item is opened (either by clicking on the little symbol to the left, or by double clicking the item). If such an item points to more directories, all of these directories will be listed when the item is opened.

Context menu

The context menu of the tree items can be accessed by clicking on them with the right mouse button. It contains options specific to the selected item.

Descriptions

The Description column of the tree view contains a short description of the item (if available). These descriptions are derived from the first non-blank line of the text from the following sources:

Directories	a file named DESCRIPTION in that directory
Libraries	the description of the library
Devices	the description of the device
Packages	the description of the package
Design Rules	the description of the design rules file
User Language Programs	the text defined with the #usage directive
Scripts	the comment at the beginning of the script file
CAM Jobs	the description of the CAM job

Drag&drop

You can use Drag&Drop to copy or move files and directories within the tree view. It is also possible to drag a device or package to a schematic, board or library window, respectively, and drop it there to add it to the drawing. User Language Programs and Scripts will be executed if dropped onto an editor window, and Design Rules will be applied to a board if dropped onto a board editor window. If a board, schematic or library file is dropped onto its respective editor window, it will be loaded into the editor. All of these functions can also be accessed through the context menu of the particular tree item.

Information window

The right hand side of the Control Panel displays information about the current item in the tree view. That information is derived from the places listed above under Description. Devices and packages also show a preview of their contents.

Pulldown menu

The Control panel's pulldown menu contains the following options:

File

New	create a new file
Open	open an existing file
Save all	save all modified editor files
Refresh Tree	refresh the contents of the tree view
Close project	close the current project
Exit	exit from the program

Options

Directories...	opens the directories dialog
Backup...	opens the backup dialog
User interface...	opens the user interface dialog

Window

Control Panel Alt+0	switch to the Control Panel
1 Schematic - ...	switch to window number 1
2 Board - ...	switch to window number 2

Help

General help	opens a general help page
Contents	opens the help table of contents
Control panel	opens the help page you are currently looking at
Product registration	opens the product registration dialog
Product information	opens the product information window, which contains details on your EAGLE license

Status line

The status line at the bottom of the Control Panel contains the full name of the currently selected item.