Quick tour of the console
The BMC Server Automation Console is a single application window that contains global menus, a simple toolbar, and a perspective.
A perspective is a configuration of different types of panes called views, plus a pane called the content editor. Sometimes a single pane contains multiple views that operate as a single element called a tab group. Depending on the perspective, one view might contain objects or resources while another view could contain a list of all the jobs currently running. The primary element of each perspective is the content editor.
Editors
Just as there are different types of files — text, html, shell scripts, java — there are different types of content editors. When you select (or create) an object, the system opens it using the most appropriate editor.
If you are opening a:
- Simple text document — The document opens in the console's built-in text editor.
- Java source file — The document opens in the Java Development Toolkit editor, which has special features such as the ability to check syntax as code is typed.
- Microsoft Word document on a Windows computer on which Word is installed — The document opens using Word inside the system by means of object linking and embedding (OLE)
You can have multiple content editors and objects open simultaneously, with only one being in focus. To change the focus from one content editor or object to another, click the tab of the content editor or object with which you want to work. \
Perspectives and views
BMC Server Automation provides several preconfigured views called perspectives, which you can customize to suit your needs.
When you log on to the product the first time, the default perspective is called the Classic. It is preconfigured with views to provide you with the tools and objects you use most often to perform common tasks in the content editor, such as working with a shell script, browsing servers, or configuring jobs.
As you work in the console, you can choose perspectives by selecting Window > Open Perspective > perspectiveName or click Open Perspective 
in the perspective title bar.
The view in the upper left is called the Folders view; it shows a hierarchy of the workspace and all of the objects in it. Initially the folders in this view are empty. It is the jumping off point for creating and working with objects in the console.
Menus and toolbars
In addition to perspectives, views, and content editors, other important features of the console include the main menu, the main toolbar, and the shortcut toolbar. Note that menus and toolbars may change depending on the tasks and features available in the current perspective.
The main menu appears at the top of the console, below the title bar. You can invoke most actions from the main menu or its submenus. For example, if you are editing a document, you can save it by selecting File > Save > fileName from the main menu. The Delete, Open, and Refresh commands are available throughout the console.
Below the main menu is a simple toolbar which contains icons that provide convenient shortcuts for commonly performed actions. If you position the mouse pointer over an icon on a toolbar, a short text description, or tool tip, appears.
There are several ways to open perspectives. You can choose Window> Open Perspective> perspectiveName from the main menu. You can also click Open Perspective, which is adjacent to the perspective title tab.
Gutters on the left side and bottom of the console serve as shortcut toolbars for minimized views and their Restore icons. When you minimize a view, the view's icon and a Restore icon are displayed together in the shortcut toolbar nearest the minimized view. For example, when you minimize the Tasks in Progress view, its icon and a Restore icon appear in the gutter across the bottom of the console. When you minimize the Folders view, the Folders icon and Restore icon appear in the gutter on the left side of the console.
In addition to the console's global menus and toolbars, views can also have menus and toolbars. Each view has a system menu you can access by right-clicking anywhere in the view title tab. This menu lets you perform actions on the view's window, such as maximizing it or closing it.
Views can also have view-specific menus. A triangle in the view's title tab indicates the presence of a view-specific menu. In the Classic perspective, the Properties and Permissions views have view-specific menus.
All views also have a toolbar containing icons to minimize or maximize the view. They may also contain a triangle representing the system menu, or icons to add, edit, or delete entries in the view.
Changing perspectives
You can change perspectives to suit your content by reconfiguring the views and editors within a perspective.
For example, you may find that a view is not the proper size for the work you are doing — perhaps your source code is too wide for the content editor. The solution is to hover the cursor over a view or editor border until the cursor turns into a two-headed arrow. Drag the border until the view is the right size.
To use the entire window for a specific view, double-click the title bar for the view or click the maximize icon. The view is maximized and the other views appear in the shortcut toolbar. To reduce the view to its normal size and restore the other views to their normal locations and sizes, double-click the title bar again.
You can rearrange views by dragging their title bars. Dragging one view on top of another causes them to appear as a tab group of views. Selecting a view in a tab group is like selecting a document in the content editor. To bring a view into focus, click its tab at the top or bottom of the tab group.
Dragging a view below, above, or beside another view enables the views to dock. When views dock, the space occupied by the stationary view is redistributed to accommodate both views. As you drag the window, the cursor becomes a black arrow over a grid location where docking is allowed.
For example, to create more vertical space for the content editor, add the Tasks in Progress view to the Properties, Permissions, and Audit Trail views tab group by dragging and dropping it on top of the tab group. The Tasks in Progress becomes another view in the tab group and opens the pane for the content editor.
You can remove a view from a perspective by selecting Close from the view's title bar menu or clicking the Close icon. You can also add a new view to a perspective by selecting Window > Show View > viewName from the main menu.
The configuration changes you make to perspectives are saved automatically. For example, if you end a session with the content editor expanded to fill all available space, that is the configuration you see when you begin your next session. To restore a perspective to the default appearance, select Window > Reset Perspective.
To save a customized perspective, add it to the list of preconfigured perspectives. From the main global menu, select Window > Save Perspective As. At the prompt, provide a name for the new perspective.