TechNote (Archived)

How to restore missing toolbars and panels

Issue

A toolbar or panel has disappeared from the screen. The Window menu shows a check mark in front of the menu item, but it is not visible. Toggling the check mark normally causes the toolbar or panel to display, but in this case it does not appear. Even after relaunching the program, the toolbar or panel does not display.

Reason

One likely cause is a recent change in the resolution of the monitor. If the display settings are switched from a higher resolution to a lower resolution (for example, thedisplay settingsare switched from 1024 x 768 to800 x 600), some of the FreeHand panels may be positioned outside of the viewable area of the monitor.

This issue could also occur when a toolbar has been moved off the edge of the screen or the settings file that stores the location of the toolbar has become corrupt.

Solution

There are several things that can be done to restore the missing toolbar. To recover, try these options (in the order listed):

Look around the edge of the screen for a small piece of the edge of a toolbar. If found, try dragging it back to the desired location.
Change to a higher screen resolution if possible. This setting can be changed from the Display Properties (Windows) or Display Preferences (Macintosh). A panel that has been moved offscreen may be visible in a higher screen resolution.
Delete the Toolbar settings file. Quit FreeHand prior to trying this option. This file will be recreated upon relaunching FreeHand.
- FreeHand MX
  - Windows - C:\Documents and Settings\[username]\Application Data\Macromedia\FreeHand MX\11\English\Settings\ToolBars\Tools.set
  - Macintosh OS X - [harddrive]> Users > [username]> Library > Application Support > Macromedia> FreeHand MX > 11 > English > Settings > Toolbars> Toolbars
  - Macintosh OS 9 - [harddrive]> System Folder > Application Support > Macromedia > FreeHand MX> 11 > English > Settings > Toolbars > Toolbar
- FreeHand 10.0.1 (Windows only)
  - C:\Documents and Settings\[username]\Application Data\Macromedia\FreeHand\10\English\Settings\ToolBar
- FreeHand 10.0 and 9
  - Windows - C:\Program Files\Macromedia\FreeHand [#]\English\Settings\ToolBars\Tools.set
  - Macintosh - [harddrive]> Applications > FreeHand [#]> English > Settings > Toolbars > Toolbars
- FreeHand 8 and 7
  - Windows - C:\Program Files\Macromedia\FreeHand [#]\English\Settings\ToolBars\Tools.set
  - Macintosh - [harddrive]> FreeHand [#]> Settings > Toolbars > Toolbar
Delete the FreeHand preferences. Quit FreeHand prior to trying this option. The preferences file will be recreated upon relaunching FreeHand.
- FreeHand MX
  - Windows - C:\Documents and Settings\[username]\Application Data\Macromedia\FreeHand MX\11\English\Settings\FHprefs.txt
  - Macintosh OS X - [harddrive]> Users > [username]> Library > Application Support > Macromedia> FreeHand MX > 11 > English > Settings > Preferences
  - Macintosh OS 9 - [harddrive]> System Folder > Application Support > Macromedia > FreeHand MX> 11 > English > Settings > Preferences
- FreeHand 10.0.1 (Windows only)
  - C:\Documents and Settings\[username]\Application Data\Macromedia\FreeHand\10\English\Settings\FHprefs.txt
- FreeHand 10.0 and 9
  - Windows - C:\Program Files\Macromedia\FreeHand [#]\English\FHprefs.txt
  - Macintosh - [harddrive]> Applications > FreeHand [#]> English > Preferences
- FreeHand 8 and 7
  - Windows - C:\Program Files\Macromedia\FreeHand [#]\FHprefs.txt
  - Macintosh - [harddrive]> System > Preferences > FreeHand [#] Preferences