You are here: The basics > Using SMART Board Tools > Using the Floating Tools toolbar > Using Floating Tools

Using Floating Tools

Using default tools

The following table describes the functions of the tools in the default Floating Tools toolbar.

Tool	Name	Action
	Select	Click To click Press Select in the Floating Tools toolbar. Press the screen to perform a click.
	Pen	Write or draw in digital ink To write or draw in digital ink Press Pen in the Floating Tools toolbar. Write or draw on the screen. When done, press Select in the Floating Tools toolbar. Otherwise, your interactive product continues interpreting screen touches as pen strokes. Note If SMART Ink isn’t running, this tool only works with SMART Notebook software windows. Alternatively, write or draw on an interactive product using a pen tray pen (on interactive whiteboards) or tethered pen and pen tool button (on interactive pen displays). To customize the Pen tool Press Pen in the Floating Tools toolbar, and then press Customize. The Properties dialog box appears. Press Fill Effects. Drag the slider to change the digital ink’s transparency. Press Line Style. Select the color, thickness, style and line endings. Press Save Tool Properties. Note Changes that you make to the Pen tool in the Floating Tools toolbar don’t affect the behavior of pen tray pens.
	Highlighter	Highlight in digital ink To highlight in digital ink Press Highlighter in the Floating Tools toolbar. Press the area of the screen you want to highlight. Write or draw on the screen. When done, press Select in the Floating Tools toolbar. Otherwise, your interactive product continues interpreting screen touches as highlighting. Note If SMART Ink isn’t running, this tool only works with SMART Notebook software windows. To customize the Highlighter tool Press Highlighter in the Floating Tools toolbar, and then press Customize. The Properties dialog box appears. Press Fill Effects. Drag the slider to change the digital ink’s transparency. Press Line Style. Select the color, thickness, style and line endings. Press Save Tool Properties.
	Eraser	Erase digital ink To erase with Floating Tools Press Eraser in the Floating Tools toolbar, and then select one of the available eraser sizes. Press the digital ink you want to erase. When done, press Select in the Floating Tools toolbar. Otherwise, your interactive product continues interpreting screen touches as erasing. Notes If SMART Ink isn’t running, this tool only works with SMART Notebook software windows. Alternatively, erase on the interactive product using an eraser (on interactive whiteboards) or tethered pen and Eraser tool button (on interactive pen displays). You can erase digital ink created with the Pen or Highlighter tools. However, you’re unable to remove some types of objects, including straight lines and shapes.
	Control-Click	Control-click To Control-click Press Control-Clickin the Floating Tools toolbar. Press the screen to Control-click. Note Alternatively, Control-click by pressing the Right-Click button on the pen tray (interactive whiteboards) or the Right-Click function button (interactive pen displays).
	Keyboard	Start SMART Keyboard See Using SMART Keyboard.
	Notebook	Start SMART Notebook software See Starting SMART Notebook software.
	Undo	Undo the effect of a previous action To undo the effect of a previous action Press Undoin the Floating Tools toolbar. Note If you undo a previous action, you can redo the action by pressing the Undo button again.
	Customize	Customize the Floating Tools toolbar See Customizing the Floating Tools toolbar.

Using other tools

The following table describes the functions of the tools that you can add to a customized Floating Tools toolbar (see Customizing the Floating Tools toolbar).

Tool	Name	Action
	Creative Pen	Write or draw in digital ink using creative pens To write or draw in digital ink using creative pens Press Creative Pen in the Floating Tools toolbar, and then select an available line style. Write or draw on the screen. When done, press Select in the Floating Tools toolbar. Otherwise, your interactive product interprets screen touches as pen strokes. Note If SMART Ink isn’t running, this tool only works with SMART Notebook software windows. To customize the Creative Pen tool Press Creative Pen in the Floating Tools toolbar, and then press Customize. The Properties dialog box appears. Press the digital ink style you want to customize from the Floating Tools toolbar. Select a line thickness. Press Save Tool Properties.
	Shape Pen	Draw a common shape To draw a common shape Press Shape Pen in the Floating Tools toolbar. Draw a shape on the screen. If Floating Tools recognizes your drawing as a circle, oval, square, rectangle, triangle or arc, it replaces your drawing with the shape. When done, press Select in the Floating Tools toolbar. Otherwise, your interactive product continues to draw shapes when you press the screen. Note If SMART Ink isn’t running, this tool only works with SMART Notebook software windows. Tip Alternatively, use the Shape tool to add shapes, including common geometric shapes. To customize the Shape Pen tool Press Shape Pen in the Floating Tools toolbar, and then press Customize. The Properties dialog box appears. Select the color, thickness, style and line endings. Press Save Tool Properties.
	Magic Pen	Open Magnifier To open Magnifier Press Magic Pen in the Floating Tools toolbar. Draw a square on the screen. The Magnifier dialog box appears. The Magnifier dialog box displays a magnified image of a portion of the screen. Do the following: To display a red border around the area displayed in the Magnifier dialog box, press. To shade everything outside of this area, press. To magnify a different area of the screen, press, and then drag the hand in the Magnifier dialog box to another area of the screen. Use this option if you want to magnify one area of the screen while continuing to work in other parts of the screen. OR Press, and then press the area of the screen you want to magnify. Use this option if you want to magnify the area of the screen you’re working in. To move the Magnifier dialog box, press its title bar, and then drag it to another area of the screen. To close Magnifier Press Close in the Magnifier dialog box. Note If SMART Ink isn’t running, this tool only works with SMART Notebook software windows. Open Spotlight To open the Spotlight Press Magic Penin the Floating Tools toolbar. Draw a circle on the screen. A highlighted area and a Spotlight icon appear. Do the following: To move the highlighted area, press the Spotlight icon, and then drag it to another location on the screen. To make the Spotlight larger or smaller, press the edge of the highlighted area, and then drag it outward or inward. To change the highlighted area’s shape, press the Spotlight icon’s menu arrow, select Shape, and then select Ellipse, Rectangle or Star. To change the transparency of everything outside of the highlighted area, press the Spotlight icon’s menu arrow, select Transparency, and then select a percentage of transparency or Not Transparent. To remove the Spotlight Press the Spotlight icon’s menu arrow, and then select Quit. Note If SMART Ink isn’t running, this tool only works with SMART Notebook software windows.
	Line	Create a straight line To create a straight line Press Line in the Floating Tools toolbar, and then select an available line style. Press the screen where you want the line to start, and then drag to where you want the line to finish. When done, press Select in the Floating Tools toolbar. Otherwise, your interactive product continues to add lines when you press the screen. Note If SMART Ink isn’t running, this tool only works with SMART Notebook software windows. To customize the Line tool Press Line in the Floating Tools toolbar, and then press Customize. The Properties dialog box appears. Press the line style you want to customize from the Floating Tools toolbar. Press Fill Effects. Drag the slider to change the line’s transparency. Press Line Style. Select the color, thickness, style and line endings. Press Save Tool Properties.
	Shape	Create a shape To create a shape Press Shape in the Floating Tools toolbar, and then select one of the available shapes. Press the screen where you want to place the shape, and then drag until the shape is the size you want. When done, press Select in the Floating Tools toolbar. Otherwise, your interactive product continues to create shapes when you press the screen. Note If SMART Ink isn’t running, this tool only works with SMART Notebook software windows. To customize the Shape tool Press Shape in the Floating Tools toolbar, and then press Customize. The Properties dialog box appears. Press the shape you want to customize from the Floating Tools toolbar. Press Fill Effects. Select the transparency and fill effects for the shape. Press Line Style, and then select the line’s color, thickness and style. Press Save Tool Properties.
	Recorder	Start SMART Recorder See Using SMART Recorder.
	Screen Shade	Display a Screen Shade See Using the Screen Shade tool.
	Spotlight	Display a Spotlight See Using the Spotlight tool.
	Screen Capture Toolbar	Open the Screen Capture toolbar See Using the Screen Capture toolbar.
	Area Capture	Take a screen capture of an area See Using the Screen Capture toolbar.
	Full Screen Capture	Take a screen capture of a screen See Using the Screen Capture toolbar.
	Freehand Capture	Take a screen capture of a freehand area See Using the Screen Capture toolbar.