The AMPL IDE consists of a main AMPL window divided into sub-windows or panes. Upon starting for the first time, you will see the AMPL window divided into three panes as follows:
At the left, a File Navigation Pane lets you manage your folders (directories) and files, choose the current folder — where AMPL will look for model, data, and script (run) files — and select files to open for editing.
In the middle, the AMPL Command Pane lets you define, solve, analyze, and modify optimization models by entering the commands described in the AMPL book and used by all versions of AMPL.
At the right, the main File Editing Panes holds windows where you can open and edit files.
One pane at a time has focus as indicated by the bar at the top being colored or shaded rather than white. Effects of typing and selecting from the Menus are generally seen in the pane that has current focus.
To resize panes while maintaining their configuration, drag the borders between panes.
To reconfigure the panes, drag any pane by the tab at the upper left corner of its window (where the name of the particular pane is displayed), and drop it into a new location. When you are dragging, green outlines will appear on the screen, to suggest the pane configuration that will be created if you drop. If you drag a pane outside of the overall AMPL window, it will become an independent window; but it will remain part of the AMPL IDE, and may later be dragged back into the AMPL window.
To change the font size and other characteristics of the appearance of panes, see Colors and Fonts and Text Editors under Menus.