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When a model is created or opened in ArtCAM, the Assistant panel is hidden by default. This is because:

 all of its tools are displayed on their own toolbars; and

 the model information is displayed on the Project panel.

When displayed, the Assistant panel is:

 divided into up to nine separate areas, each of which is shown by default.

These areas are as follows:

 Model Information - displays your ArtCAM model's dimensions, represented by the white area shown in the 2D View window, and the dimensions of the composite relief shown in the 3D View window.

The dimensions shown depend on which relief layers are visible, as well as which relief side is currently active. For details, see Understanding the Project panel (see page 15) and Understanding the Layers panels (see page 42).

This information is also displayed on the Project panel, when an open model is selected in the Project Tree.

 File - contains a collection of buttons you can use to manage your model files, and edit the content of the vector, bitmap and relief layers within them. You can also adjust many of the default settings used in ArtCAM from here.

These tools are also displayed on the File toolbar.

 Model - contains a collection of buttons you can use to manage your model layout, its resolution and how it is displayed in the 3D View window.

If you are working in ArtCAM Insignia, the last three of these buttons are not available.

These tools are also displayed on the Model toolbar.

 Bitmap Tools - contains a collection of buttons you can use to draw and paint artwork on bitmap layers, as well as manage the colour palette's content, and a brush's size and shape. You can also convert bitmap artwork to vector artwork.

If you are working in ArtCAM Insignia, the last of these buttons is not available.

These tools are also available from the:

 Design Tools toolbar displayed vertically in the left docking area.

 Bitmap Tools toolbar displayed horizontally in the top docking area.

 Tool Settings panel, which is hidden by default.

 Vector Tools - contains a collection of buttons you can use to create artwork on vector layers as shapes or text, as well as measure and manipulate them. You can also import vector clipart, and convert vector artwork to bitmap artwork.

These tools are also available from the Vector Creation and Vector Editing toolbars displayed horizontally in the top docking area.

 Position, Combine, Trim Vectors - contains a collection of buttons you can use to align and centre vector artwork, as well as wrap vectors around a curve, or nest them within a specified area. You can also group, merge, join, trim, clip and slice the vector

artwork in your model.

These tools are also displayed on the Vector Editing toolbar displayed horizontally in the top docking area, and the Design Tools toolbar displayed vertically in the left docking area.

 Relief Tools - contains a collection of buttons you can use to scale, smooth, invert, offset, sculpt, slice, reset or add texture to a relief layer. You can also create an angled plane or a blended shape, distort, copy and paste all or a selected area of a relief layer. Furthermore, you can load, save and calculate shapes or text, create a triangle mesh, cross-section or vector boundary, and import relief clipart.

If you are working in ArtCAM Insignia, only the first, second, fifth and last of these buttons are available.

These tools are also available from the Relief Creation and Relief Editing toolbars displayed horizontally in the top docking area.

 Back Relief Tools - contains a collection of buttons you can use to offset or invert the composite relief to the opposite relief layer stack, or create a flip machining layer.

If you are working in ArtCAM Insignia, these tools are not available.

These tools are also available from the Back Relief Tools toolbar, which is hidden (see page 301) by default.

 Gem Tools - contains a collection of buttons you can use to create gems, gem vectors and pave settings, convert vectors to gem vectors and display gem vector properties:

If you are working in ArtCAM Pro or Insignia, these tools are not available.

These tools are also available from the Gem Tools toolbar, which is hidden (see page 301) by default.

You can control which of the Assistant panel's areas are displayed:

 Click on the area control bar to hide the set of buttons displayed below:

 Click on the area control bar to display its set of buttons:

Seven of the Assistant panel's areas include buttons, each of which either:

 display settings on the Tool Settings panel;

 display settings on a floating panel; or

 complete a direct action.

Several of these buttons are combined together in toolsets. Toolsets are collapsed by default to minimise the space in the Assistant panel occupied by buttons. Several of the buttons across the different areas of the Assistant panel are not used frequently, and so it is better to keep them hidden. Of course, you may prefer to work with all of the buttons displayed at once.

You can control the extent to which the buttons belonging to a particular area are shown or hidden:

1 Click on the button's right edge to display its associated toolset.

For example, click in the Model area of the Assistant panel:

2 To use a specific tool from the toolset:

Click the tool's button.

For example, if you needed to set the model's resolution, you would click the Adjust Model Resolution button as shown below:

The toolset collapses and the selected button replaces that which was previously displayed.

In our example, the Adjust Model Resolution button is displayed as follows:

The same button is displayed until such time that another button from the same toolset is used.

3 To pin the toolset so that all of it's buttons stay visible:

 Click on the far right edge of the expanded toolset, as shown below:

In our example, the toolset in the Model area of the Assistant is displayed as follows:

If you are working in ArtCAM Insignia, the last three buttons are not available.

 Click on the far right edge of the pinned toolset's end button to collapse the toolset.