I find that having the 3D view constantly up is annoying, so I maximize the layout pane when I’m starting to draw something. Unfortunately, this causes the Cut/Shape menu to be forced under the Material Dimensions area, thus disabling it.
Can you either rearrange the menus so that this doesn’t happen, or move the Material Dimensions menu somewehere else? Maybe it could be a dropdown under the “Materials” box, or something. If you do that, then the 3D view could be an optional, separate view, maybe linked to a “Preview” button, or something.