tailoring
autocad cui

the "mini" e-book for AutoCAD users

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Table of Contents
-Tailoring AutoCAD CUI

About the Author
- Ralph Grabowski

Sample Pages

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Chapter 1

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 Chapter 2

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Chapter 3

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Chapter 4

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Chapter 5

about the author

Ralph Grabowski has authored and co-authored 100+ books on CAD management, ArchiCAD, AutoCAD, Generic CADD, IntelliCAD, MicroStation, TurboCAD, VDraft, Visio, HTML, and VRML. He is the editor of two e-newsletters, upFront.eZine and iCommunique .

Mr Grabowski received his B.A.Sc ('80) degree in civil engineering from the University of British Columbia. He currently works and lives in the beautiful Central Fraser Valley region of British Columbia, Canada.

You can visit his Web site at upfrontezine.com

Tailoring AutoCAD CUI is now available in two editions: for AutoCAD 2006/2007, and for AutoCAD 2008. 

This e-book is contains tutorials for learning AutoCAD's user interface customization system. The e-book features:

• Guided tour of CUI.
• Commands and system variables for CUI.
• Comprehensive coverage of toolbars, menus, icon editor, and more.
• Tutorials on creating customizations.
• Dozens of tips.

As with all of our e-books:

• All illustrations in full color.
• Formatted for printing on standard 8.5x11 paper.
• Margins designed for three-hole punching. 

ordering the ebook

On CD in Acrobat PDF format: add $5.00 (incl. shipping). 

Add US$25 for CD delivery by FedEx.

Bulk pricing available; contact the editor.

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For AutoCAD 2006 and 2007: Tailoring AutoCAD CUI
 

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"Tailoring AutoCAD CUI"
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V2S 4W7     Canada

also available as mini-eBooks:

Tailoring Dynamic Blocks US$9.90
Tailoring Quick Calc US$5.40

feedback

I welcome your feedback for correcting and improving the text. Send your email to editor @ upfrontezine . com  

table of contents

chapter 1 — introduction to cui

About CUI. About Cui Files. Collection of CUI Commands. Related System Variables

chapter 2 — touring the cui user interface

Customizations Pane. Reducing the Infoglut. Command List Pane. Properties Pane.

chapter 3 -customizing toolbars & icons

Stage 1: Create New Toolbar.  Toolbar Properties.  General Properties. Appearance Properties. Advanced Properties.
Stage 2: Add Buttons to Toolbars. Toolbar Button Properties. General Properties. Macros. Images. Creating Flyouts.
Stage 3: Writing Toolbar Macros. Basic Macros. Including Options. Adding New Commands. Using System Variables. Including Hidden Options. Additional Metacharacters. Advanced Macros. Adding Separator Lines.
Stage 4: Edit Icons. Leave Icon As-is. Borrow Icons from Other Commands. Import Images as Icons. Create Custom Icons.
Stage 5: Testing and Debugging. Testing Toolbar Buttons. Testing Toolbar Flyouts.

chapter 4 - menus & shortcut menus

Stage 1: Create Menus. Menu Properties. General Properties. Advanced Properties.
Stage 2: Add Commands to Menus. Menu Item Properties. General Properties. Macro Properties. Images Properties.
Stage 3: Write Macros. Basic Menu Macros. Including Options. Metacharacters - ^ and $. Including Coordinates and User Input - \. Providing Input to Users: ^H. Submenus. Separator Lines: --. Shortcuts - &. Shortcut Keystrokes - \t. Grayed-out Text - ~. Check Mark Toggles - !.
Stage 4: Edit Icons.
Stage 5: Test and Debug.
Shortcut Menus.

 chapter 5 - shortcut keys & overrides

Shortcut Keystrokes. Stage 1: Drag Commands. Stage 2: Edit Properties. Stage 3: Test and Debug.
Temporary Override Keys.

chapter 6 - mouse buttons

Stage 1: Add Buttons. Stage 2: Modify Properties. Stage 3: Test and Debug.

chapter 7 - lisp files

Stage 1: Select .lsp Files.

chapter 8 - workspaces

Stage 1: Create New Workspaces. Workspace Properties. General Properties. Display Properties.
Stage 2: Make Changes. Stage 3: Save and Test.

chapter 9 — legacy customization

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New Chapter for Tailoring AutoCAD CUI 2008

customizing dashboard panels

Stage 1: Create Shell of New Panel, Summary of Dashboard Elements.
Stage 2: Identify the Panel. Stage 3: Add Buttons and Controls. Stage 4: Edit Properties and Write Macros. Stage 5: Edit Icons. Stage 6: Test and Debug. Further Dashboard Customization. Assign a Tool Palette Group. Other Shortcut Options. 

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