Custom Tool Bars

Custom Tool Bars

Postby cbnelson » Mon Jul 16, 2018 11:13 pm

I have several lisp routines I created in AutoCAD 2004. I have loaded and tested them all and they work as intended. I would like to create a custom tool bar to add buttons for each lisp routine, however there does not seem to be a straight forward way to accomplish this. Can anyone tell me how to do this without copping an existing button and modifying it?
Never under estimate an old man who is a Surveyor!
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Re: Custom Tool Bars

Postby Dent Cermak » Tue Sep 25, 2018 1:23 pm

We are always searching for easier and faster ways to do things. When we are working inside of Carlson or AutoCAD we have three ways to get to commands; menus, key-ins and toolbars. For some people typing is the best and fastest way to get to what they need, for others trying to remember all of those keyin commands is impossible so they load their screen up with toolbars to make access to the commands they use regularly a breeze. What if the command you need is not in one of the toolbars already made? What if you have a sequence of commands you do regularly and want a toolbar that has those commands in the order you use them every day? We need to Customize a toolbar to fit our needs.

Customize User Interface (CUI)
We need to open the Customize User Interface dialog box to create or modify our menus and toolbars. The Customize User Interface dialog combines all of the tools that you need to manage toolbars including deleting, creating, and customizing.

It is important to note that in the Carlson Stand-Alone products, the list of things you can customize is shorter than in AutoCAD. This is a limitation to the AutoCAD OEM used in the Carlson Stand-Alone products. While you can create and modify toolbars, loading custom LISP routines and customizing shortcut keys is not an option.

You can get to the Custom ize User Interface dialog box through a few ways, one is to simply type the command CUI at the command prompt. You can also RIGHT-MOUSE click on any toolbar on your screen and select the CUSTOMIZE option.

Creating a New Toolbar
If you want to create a custom toolbar that contains commands you use on a daily basis we need to add the Toolbar to our tool bar list first. First chose the apropriate cui file from the customization file list. If you are using a Carlson Stand-Alone product you will select the Surv.cui file. If you are using AutoCAD select the custom.cui file.

To see a list of currently available toolbars click on the [+] to the left of the word Toolbars. You could modify any of those which will be discussed later in this topic. We want to add a new toolbar so we will RIGHT-MOUSE click on the word Toolbars then select New Toolbar from the list.

At the end of the list of toolbars, your new toolbar will be added and it will be highlighted so you can rename it. If for some reason it is not highlighted RIGHT-MOUSE click the toolbar name and select Rename. If you hit the Apply button your new toolbar will be displayed on the screen, or course it is empty so there is not much to see yet.

Adding Buttons
Once you have created the toolbar you can begin adding buttons to it. There are really two ways to accomplish this, you can add existing commands by dragging and dropping them, or you can create new buttons.

To add an existing button to your toolbar first make sure the Command List Categories are set to ALL COMMANDS.

Scroll through the list to find the command you want and then simply "Drag and Drop" it to your new toolbar.

You can repeat that process adding m ore toolbars and commands until you have what you need. If you want to add a custom command that is not in the command list you can do so clicking the NEW button in the command list section. At the bottom of the list of commands a blank command will be added called COMMAND1 (of course if you hit the new button over and over you may see Command1, Command 2, and Command 3 in the list. Those c an be removed by RIGHT-MOUSE clicking on the command and selecting the Remove option.

Once our command is added to the list we need to name it. If for example we want to make a command for Leadering Point Attributes with a leader we might name the command Move Points with Leader. Once that command is added to the list you can drag it from the command list and drop it into your toolbar.

So we have the toolbar and the command, but no definition for the command. If we were to exit this and click the button for that com mand now, nothing would happen because we did not define the actual command to be executed when we click the button.

In the Properties section on the right side of the CUI dialog box you can give your command a description which will be displayed if you move your cursor over the icon later (you know, after you have forgotten what the button was supposed to do). The Macro is the actual function, this is where we tell the program what to do when the button is clicked. All macros will begin with ^C^C which will cancel any command that might already be running. This is where we add in our command. In the Carlson Help for example there is a list showing the key in commands. You can also launch a command from the menu and its key in equivalent will be displayed in the comand prompt.

If there is no image displayed for the button, or you do not like the one that is shown you can customize this by clicking the EDIT button in the Button Image Section of the dialog box.

If you created your own image make sure to save it! Once you are finished your new masterpiece will show up with the other icons in the Button Image section of the dialog box. To assign this image to your button simply click on the image. You have now created your very own custom toolbar! Click on the Apply button to apply all of these new changes. If you are finished you can click the OK button to exit the CUI.

Displaying Toolbars
YEAH! You created your own toolbar and are ready to use it. But where is it? It is not showing on the screen! Don't worry. Simply RIGHT-MOUSE click on any of the existing toolbars and a list will apear with all of the available toolbars. Simply select the one you want and VIOLA!
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