Create a custom ribbon tab using the custom CUI

In a post last week we looked at reasons the custom.cui can be a great spot for users to create their own custom AutoCAD content. After some feedback I am realizing it would be helpful to walk through creating a custom element from scratch and having that load from the custom.cui.

As mentioned, the custom.cui is partially loaded into the acad.cui by default.

Creating CUI elements in here is the same process as in the acad.cui. Expand the Custom CUI node and locate the type of element you want to add. For this example we will:

• Create a new Ribbon Tab
• Create a new Ribbon Panel
• Create a custom command to add to the Panel
• Make sure the new Ribbon Tab is available in your AutoCAD environment

Create a new Ribbon Tab by right clicking on the Tabs element and select New Tab.

 

Give the new tab a name and it will now be displayed in Custom, Ribbon, Tabs.

Next, create a new Panel that will be added to the tab. Remember, a Tab can host multiple panels. We will just create one panel for this exercise. To create the new Panel, right click on the Panels element and select New Panel.

Give the new panel a name and it will now be displayed in Custom, Ribbon, Panels.

Let's define a custom command that we can add to our new panel. Click the Create a new command button and a new command will be added to the Command List pane in the CUI Editor. Give the new command a name.

Once the command is created we can define what the command should do. This example is a custom command that is defined in an external file (either Lisp or dll). As long as this file is loaded through the custom.mnl then it will be loaded in the drawing.

Now that our command is created we can add it to our custom panel. To do this drag the command up to the panel location where the command should be. Note: if you drag the command to the left (off the CUI dialog) then move your mouse up to where the panel is before bringing the mouse back over the CUI dialog this will prevent any scrolling that can happen if you try to drag the command straight up.

After adding the command to the Ribbon Panel there are some properties that you may want to adjust for how it displays on the actual panel. This gets into the layout of the CUI Ribbon Elements but for this example I am selecting the large icon with text option.

Now that we have a custom command and a custom ribbon panel, we need to add the panel to the custom Ribbon Tab. To do this just drag the panel onto the tab.

Lastly, we need to make this Ribbon Tab available in AutoCAD. If the custom Ribbon Tab that was created does not automatically show up in AutoCAD this will be controlled by the active workspace. To turn the custom Ribbon Tab on in the active workspace click Customize Workspace (in the CUI dialog)

 

then scroll down to the Partial Customization Files and locate the Custom Ribbon Tab. Check the box next to this element.

Click Done to finish Customizing the workspace and then Apply the CUI changes.

The new tab, panel, and command should now be available in AutoCAD.

 

You will also notice after doing this that the custom command now exists in the Custom menu source in the CUI Command List.

 

By creating this structure this allows users to create multiple custom commands and panels and easily transport them to a new workstation or a new version of AutoCAD just by bringing the custom.cuix file (and associated mnl, lisps, dll's, etc.) along with it.

 

One approach could be to create a Custom subfolder in the same folder where the custom.cuix and custom.mnl are located. Custom code can be stored in this folder as well as the icons for the ribbon panels.





 



 





 



 



 





 

 



 

Use Dropbox to deploy a network based AutoCAD environment

Managing an AutoCAD environment from a single source on a shared network server has several benefits. Delivering consistent standards, customizations, and more, to multiple users is the goal of a streamlined AutoCAD environment.

With recent technology trends and so much movement towards the cloud, new opportunities are becoming available. Without the expense of purchasing, building, and maintaining an enterprise network, Dropbox provides a free cloud based solution that can reach all around the globe. Dropbox is free to setup and you will instantly have plenty of storage capacity for an entire AutoCAD environment (and more).

To combine the power of Dropbox with the flexibility of AutoCAD it will require installing the desktop version of Dropbox (not just using the web based interface). Also, it is important to use the default install path for Dropbox (C:\Users\...\Dropbox). Otherwise, as you will soon see we would not be able to share content with multiple users.

Dropbox functions exactly like any other folder on your computer except that when you are connected to the Internet it will synch with your Dropbox folder in the cloud. This allows you to have access to all of your content whether you are offline or online. You can create as many subfolders in your Dropbox folder as you would like and those folders can be shared with other Dropbox users.

If Dropbox is installed in the default location as mentioned above it can be accessed through the windows system variable %UserProfileFolder%. This means we can customize our AutoCAD based user profile using "%UserProfileFolder%\Dropbox\shared folder name". This path will resolve to everyones' Dropbox folder and allow the AutoCAD profile to load properly. Note: In order for everyone to synch to the same folder the folder must be shared by the original creator.

Here is an example of a custom profile that loads an Enterprise Menu File (which of course also loads an .mnl with the same name and in the same location) from Dropbox, changes the plot style path to a location on Dropbox, and adds a support path to Dropbox.

This sets the stage to do pretty much anything you want with an AutoCAD profile. When this profile is loaded into AutoCAD the paths above resolve to each individual user's Dropbox location which is synched from the master folder that was originally shared from Dropbox (Note: only the SLD subfolder in this example is shared, not the entire Dropbox folder).

 

Using Dropbox to manage an AutoCAD environment allows a lot of possibilities. If a team is spread out across the globe Dropbox will keep them in synch. Also, it does not require an Internet connection so team members can work offline (as long as they were connected initially to receive the content from Dropbox). The next time they connect to the Internet Dropbox will automatically update their folder with any new content from the master folder in the cloud. Another point to reiterate is that everyone is always accessing content from their local C:\ drive which is quick and efficient regardless of location.

 

This post focuses on managing an AutoCAD environment within Dropbox, but of course working drawing files can be stored there too.



Automatically create PDF or DWF files from AutoCAD

As electronic drawing formats (PDF and DWF) are becoming more popular both for internal checks during the design process and even final deliverables, it is important to have good workflows for this. A very handy feature for creating PDF and DWF files (that in my experience seems to be fairly unknown) is Auto Publish.

Auto Publish is found on the Plot and Publish tab in the options dialog.

There are quite a few options available in the Auto Publish Settings dialog. Some of the key ones are:

• Publish on Close, Save, or to prompt before publishing
• Choosing the file format, PDF or DWF
• Single-Sheet or Multi-Sheet
• The output location. Drawing Folder creates the file in the same folder the drawing is in. A full path could be provided here as well. Note: these settings are stored in the registry so this path can be added to a network based profile so multiple workstations output to the same location.

Once the preferred settings are made the Auto Publish needs to be toggled on before it will be in effect.

In my settings I chose to publish a PDF when I close my drawing file. I also specified the location to be the Drawing Folder. With these settings in place and the Automatic Publish toggled on when I close my drawing a PDF is automatically created.

Notice the layout tab name is added to the filename just like when publishing directly from AutoCAD. In the future the PDF will automatically be overwritten when I close the file again.

Auto Publish is a very flexible feature and the settings are stored in the AutoCAD profile which makes it great for managing a network based AutoCAD environment. The Automatic Publish toggle is off by default and there is not a registry key for this state. When the toggle is on and if you want to force it to be on through the AutoCAD profile here is the registry key for that (in the General section of the registry)

"AUTOMATICPUB"=dword:00000001

The Auto Publish settings are also stored in the AutoCAD profile in the AcAutoPublishOpts section of the registry.

Take some time to explore all of the options with Auto Publish, this can offer several streamlined workflows to the design environment.