© 2011 Autodesk

AC417-4 - AutoCAD® Customization Boot Camp:No Experience RequiredLee Ambrosius – Autodesk, Inc.Sr. Technical Writer – PSEB User Assistance

© 2011 Autodesk

Where Am I and Who Should Be Here

You are in session:AC417-4 - AutoCAD® Customization Boot Camp: No Experience Required

You should know: AutoCAD 2012 (or AutoCAD 2009 and later)

You should want to know: How to get more out of AutoCAD What customization options are available Which ones might be right for you

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Overview

This session expects you to have NO prior customization experience.

Customization is NOT programming, but it can be.

In this session, you will learn to: Identify which customization options are available Create custom desktop icons Create and modify command aliases Record and playback action macros Define tools and tool palettes Modify the ribbon and Quick Access toolbar

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Who Am I?

My name is Lee Ambrosius

AutoCAD user for over 16 years; started on R12 DOS Customizing and programming on AutoCAD for 15 years Sr. Technical Writer at Autodesk for AutoCAD/AutoCAD LT/AutoCAD for Mac Contributing Author and Technical Editor of many AutoCAD related books and

articles AutoCAD for Dummies AutoCAD and AutoCAD LT Bible Series Mastering AutoCAD for Mac Autodesk White papers on customization AUGI HotNews and AUGIWorld

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Session Rules

A few rules for this session:

Silent your cell phone If you have to leave at anytime, please do so quietly Please hold all questions till the end of the session

Thanks for Your Cooperation

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Which Customization Options are Available

Customization can be categorized into three levels of difficulty/experties: Basic Intermediate Advanced (programming required)

Two types of customization: Drawing Application

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Basic Customization

Layers Annotation styles (text, dimensions, multileaders, and tables) Visual styles Materials Blocks Plot styles Drawing templates Desktop icon Command aliases Tool palettes User profiles and workspaces

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Basic Customization

Layers Annotation styles (text, dimensions, multileaders, and tables) Visual styles Materials Blocks Plot styles Drawing templates Desktop icon Command aliases Tool palettes User profiles and workspaces

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Intermediate Customization

Action macros Scripts User interface (CUI Editor) Dynamic blocks DIESEL Custom linetypes and hatch patterns Custom shapes and text styles

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Advanced Customization/Programming

Database connectivity AutoLISP / Visual LISP Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) ActiveX / COM (VBScript, VB.NET, C#, C++) Managed .NET (VB.NET, C#) ObjectARX (C++) Sheet Set Manager API Custom CAD Standards plug-ins

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What You Need to Get Started

Everything that is being shown today can be created/edited using: AutoCAD based utilities Applications installed with the OS (NotePad or TextEdit)

Advanced customization options might require additional software.

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Desktop Shortcuts

Used to launch and alter the startup behavior of AutoCAD.

/tSpecifies the drawing template to use for the default drawing./t “mytemplate.dwt”

/nologoSplash screen is not displayed at startup./nologo

/pSets a named user profile current that is loaded in the product or loads a previously exported profile (ARG) file./p “<<Unnamed Profile>>”

/setLoads a sheet set (DST) file./set “mysheets.dst”

/w Sets a named workspace current if it is part of the loaded CUI file./w “2D Drafting”

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Desktop Shortcuts

Multiple command line switches can be used at a time.

"C:\Program Files\Autodesk\AutoCAD 2012 - English\acad.exe" /nologo /t "C:\Datasets\AC417-4\C-size.dwt" /w "3D Basics"

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Command Aliases

Used to make it easier to enter a command name.

Cannot be defined with command options.

Stored in the file acad.pgp (AutoCAD) or acadlt.pgp (AutoCAD LT).

Syntax:Abbreviation, *command

Example:C, *CIRCLE

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Command Aliases

While command aliases cannot use command options, you can mimic a command alias using a little bit of AutoLISP.

Starts the Zoom command with the Window option(defun c:ZW () (command "._zoom" "_w"))

Inserts a block named ‘C-Size Title Block.dwg’(defun c:TB () (command "._-insert"

"C:\Datasets\AC417-4\C-Size Title Block.dwg" "0,0" "1" "1" "0"))

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Action Macros

Most actions performed in the drawing window can be recorded and played back.

The actions that can be recorded are: Commands User input Changes made in the Properties palette or Quick Properties window Using a tool on a tool palette Layer creation and changes in the Layer Properties Manager

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Action Macros

The Action Record panel is used to record an action macro.

To create an action macro you: Click Record to begin recording Perform the actions in the drawing you want to

capture Click Stop to end recording Save the action macro Edit the actions that were recorded in the Action tree

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Action Macros

Action macros can be played back by: Entering its name at the Command prompt Selecting it from the Action Recorder panel Right-clicking in the drawing area and choosing it from the Action Recorder

submenu

Things you should know: Avoid recording commands that display a dialog box You can change system variables while recording Action macros can be shared from a network location

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Tool Palettes

Create custom tools from: Drawing objects Commands from the Customize User

Interface (CUI) Editor DesignCenter Files saved in Windows Explorer Visual Styles and Materials

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Tool Palettes

After a tool has been created, you can: Edit its properties Drag and drop a tool in the drawing Click a tool and start the associated

command Organize it on a tool palette using text and

separators

Group multiple tool palettes.

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User Interface – Quick Access Toolbar (QAT)

Contains file management related tasks: Creating and opening Saving Plotting

Access common tools across all ribbon panels.

Displayed in the upper-left corner by default.

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User Interface – Quick Access Toolbar (QAT)

Can be customized by: Clicking the Customize button on the

right Right-clicking over the QAT Using the Customize User Interface

(CUI) Editor

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User Interface – Ribbon

Contains tools organized by task: Creating and editing objects Blocks and references Annotation Output

Provides access to most of the commands available in AutoCAD.

Displayed across the top of the application by default.

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User Interface – Ribbon

Can be customized by: Right-clicking over a ribbon tab or panel Dragging and dropping a panel into the

drawing area Using the Customize User Interface

(CUI) Editor Create new panels Create new tabs Add and remove tools

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Workspaces

Control the visibility and placement of user interface elements. Quick Access toolbar (QAT) Ribbon tabs Palettes Legacy toolbars and pulldown menus

New workspaces can be created to display the tools you use most.

Can be customized: directly from the user interface using the CUI command

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User Profiles

AutoCAD uses profiles to control core settings and user interface: search paths used to locate support files, colors and fonts used by grips, application, and Command window, plot and publish options, open and save file options, Customize User Interface (CUIx) files to load, and many other settings.

You can create a new profile using the Options dialog box.

Switched profiles using the Options dialog box or the /p command line switch.

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Migration/Customization Tools

Before you start tinkering, learn about the following first: Reset Settings to Default – Restores AutoCAD to its original installed state

Migrate From a Previous Release – Migrates settings from a previous release to the new installed release

Export AutoCAD 2012 Settings – Creates a ZIP file of the custom settings and files of AutoCAD

Import AutoCAD 2012 Settings – Imports the contents of a ZIP file created using Export AutoCAD 2012 Settings

These can be found on the Windows Start Menu, All Programs > Autodesk > AutoCAD 2012 - English

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Location of the AutoCAD Customizable Files

Windows XP:C:\Documents and Settings\<user name>\Application Data\Autodesk\AutoCAD 2012 - English\R18.2\enu\Support

Windows Vista or Windows 7:C:\Users\<user name>\AppData\Roaming\Autodesk\AutoCAD 2012 - English\R18.2\enu\Support

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Final Thoughts

Customization is a gateway to new productivity.

The rabbit hole is quite deep and endless to the benefits that can be obtained.

The door has been shown to you, the rest is up to you.

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Final Questions… ???

Going Once…Going Twice…

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Closing Remarks

Thanks for choosing this session, and do not forget to complete the evaluation.

If you have any further questions, I can be reached at:email: lee.ambrosius@autodesk.comtwitter: http://twitter.com/leeambrosius

Enjoy the rest of the conference.

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Autodesk, AutoCAD* [*if/when mentioned in the pertinent material, followed by an alphabetical list of all other trademarks mentioned in the material] are registered trademarks or trademarks of Autodesk, Inc., and/or its subsidiaries and/or affiliates in the USA and/or other countries. All other brand names, product names, or trademarks belong to their respective holders. Autodesk reserves the right to alter product and services offerings, and specifications and pricing at any time without notice, and is not responsible for typographical or graphical errors that may appear in this document. © 2011 Autodesk, Inc. All rights reserved.