Setting the default to the column pane
From mtab wikisupport
Until now, the mTAB user interface has started with the Row Pane as the initial active pane. Setting the initial mTAB view to Columns instead of Rows is now a user specific preference setting. This allows each user to further customize mTAB by starting with the Column pane active instead of the Row pane when mTAB initially opens.
First, from the “View” menu, select “Global Preferences”.
With this option set, each time you open mTAB, the right hand pane will default to having columns as the active pane. The user can tell that the columns pane is active because it is bold.