Ribbon Contextual Tabs question

[ccalder]

One of my co-workers asked me to look into something that I've never heard of before. She runs her ribbon minimized down to tabs only. Apparently before recently her contextual tabs would fly out when a contextual object was selected, for example if she double clicked on some mtext the text editor tab would expand as if she had clicked on the tab name.

I've never seen this behavior before, but I keep the ribbon fully expanded. On my own machine, if I minimize the ribbon and select an object that has a contextual tab, it brings up the tab, but it doesn't fly out. I consider this to be "normal behavior" when the ribbon is minimized, but apparently there is a setting somewhere that will allow the contextual tab to open as if clicked when it gets focus. I've checked her cui settings and the tabs are set to "Full with focus". I can't think of any other setting that would affect it like that. I've applied what google-fu I can, but I'm coming up blank. Has anyone heard of this behavior before and knows how to toggle it?

Thanks

[Ed Jobe]

I only get the behavior you describe if I click on the ribbon tab while minimized. Then it will expand just that tab. Maybe she is missing that step.

[ccalder]

That's what I get too. She tells me that previously the tab would expand automatically, and now is not. I don't even know how she had got it to do it automatically in the first place, so that's what I'm trying to figure out.

[rkmcswain]

I just tested this in 2017 and 2014.

I know of four tab modes. Fully visible, Panels=buttons, Panels=smaller buttons, & no panels visible, just tab names.

In each of these states when a contextual tab should become visible, the portion of the contextual tab that corresponds to the states above (full ribbon, panel button, smaller panel button, tab only), becomes visible.
At no time in each of the last 3 states, did the full ribbon become visible.

I always run with fully visible ribbon state, so I can't really say if I've ever seen it do this, but I'll be watching this thread in case there is something we are all missing.

[Tom Beauford]

Curious about the types of objects and ribbon tabs we're talking about. I'm guessing these are Civil 3D objects?

I've set a few of mine I seldom use like the two Layout ones and Geolocation to display tab only so they're still always there if I need them. Other than that I always run with fully visible ribbon state as well.

[ccalder]

Specifically what she was asking me for was the mtext editor tab. The tab still becomes available like it should when she starts mtedit, and if I switch her ribbon state to to fully visible then the tab gains focus like it should too. She claims the in the past she could have her ribbon minimized and it would expand the tab automatically when she went to edit mtext. Also picking Civil 3D objects with contextual tabs, alignments, tables etc. it would pop out those tabs. I don't see anything anywhere that mentions functionality like she's describing it, but then again, I'll be the first to tell you there's a lot about Autocad that I don't know.