Customizing AutoCAD & F/X CAD 2015

(note: The following catalog of content covered in this webinar is time stamped to allow you to follow along or skip to sections of the video that are relevant to your questions, You can also search for content on this page using the FIND command in your browser (CTRL + F in Windows, Command + F in Mac OS.)

Customizing AutoCAD & F/X CAD 2015

Note: This webinar is primarily geared toward AutoCAD 2015 and F/X CAD 2015, but the customization information covered will be largely relevant to other versions of AutoCAD as well.

• Basics
• Ribbon Customization
• Options Dialog Box
• System Variables and Other
• Profiles vs. Workspaces
• Quick Review of File Organization and Backup Concepts
• Next Steps and More Information

0:00 – 3:08: Intro, TOC

3:09 – 12:39: Basics

Reloading the Land F/X Menus (3:19)

Type MENULOAD in the Command line (you can actually type anywhere on the screen – you don’t have to click on the Command line). (3:30)

The Load/Unload Customizations dialog box opens. You can reload your menus here. (3:40)

The new location for the cuix files: LandFX > _menus_ (4:00)

• 2015 folder for 2015 users
• 2014 folder for 2014 users
• Legacy folder for users of 2010 – 2013

Select your version’s cuix (menu) file, then click the Close button to reload the menus. (5:10)

Support File Search Path (5:16)

Type OPTIONS (5:27)

In the Options dialog box, select the Files tab. (5:33)

The Support File Search Path appears at the top of the list of files. (5:34)

• Here, you can find out, for example, which computer(s) on your network is running AutoCAD or F/X CAD, and where it is stored. (5:40)

Turn Ribbon On and Off (6:11)

Type RIBBONCLOSE and press Enter to close the ribbon. (6:25)

Type RIBBON and Enter to open the ribbon. (6:36)

Turn Toolbars On and Off (6:50)

Type –TOOLBAR in the Command line and press Enter (7:10)

The Command line asks you to specify a toolbar. You can also right-click in the toolbar area to open toolbars. (7:30)

Saving your workspace (8:55)

Turn Menus On and Off (9:20)

Type MENUBAR in the Command line and press Enter.When prompted to enter a value, enter1 to turn on the menus.(9:30)

Light and Dark Themes (10:00)

Type THEME in the Command line. When prompted to enter a value, type 0 for Dark theme and 1 for Light.

Resetting all these options to the default settings (10:50)

12:40 – 17:39: Ribbon Customization

Overview of the new Land F/X ribbons (12:40)

Moving portions of the ribbons around (14:15)

The Quick Access toolbar (14:24)

• Adding commands to the Quick Access toolbar by right-clicking and then selecting Add to Quick Access Toolbar (14:50)
• Show the Quick Access Toolbar below the ribbon (right-click, then select Show Quick Access Toolbar Below the Ribbon) (15:25)

Question: How do I get the ribbons if I have an earlier version?(14:06)

Answer: By downloading the latest Setup64 Installer.

17:40 – 27:25: Options Dialog Box

The Hover effect, which highlights an object in your drawing when you hover over it. This is a default setting in the 2015 installation. (18:00)

The Display tab (includes an option for turning the layout tabs on and off: Display Layout and Model Tabs (18:50)

The Open and Save tab (19:40)

• The Automatic Save function – it’s a good idea to make sure this option is checked and the Minutes between saves are set to a small number. This setting will ensure that your drawing saves automatically at that interval, preventing the loss of work due to crashes, etc. (19:50)
• The File Open setting: Keep this at a low number as well (20:40)
• The recommended settings for the Proxy objects for custom objects pull-down menu: Do not show proxy graphics (21:10)
•  Some additional recommended settings: check the box next to Show Proxy Information dialog box, and set the ObjectARX Applications pull-down menu toCommand invoke. (TheProxy Information dialog box will inform you of excessive proxy objects in a drawing you open and, as a result, let you know that the drawing needs to be cleaned using the Land F/XNuke tool.) (22:00)

The Plot and Publish tab (22:50)

• The importance of unchecking the Background Processing options (Plotting and Publishing) for better performance (23:00)
• The Hardware Acceleration option: a good one to turn off if your computer is fast enough on its own, as it has the potential to cause problems. However, we recommend opening an especially large drawing and then turning this option on and off to determine whether it helps speed up your performance. (23:48)

The User Preferences tab (24:48)

• The Right-Click Customization button: This button opens a dialog box that allows you to customize the menus that appear (or don’t appear) when you right-click within your drawing (25:00)

The Selection tab (26:32)

• Turning the Hover selection function on and off (checking and unchecking the When No Command Is Active box under Preview / Selection Preview)(26:50)

27:26 – 34:12: System Variables and Other

Turning file tabs on and off (type FILETAB and press Enter) (27:47)

The STARTUP command: type STARTUP in the Command line and press Enter. When prompted to enter a value, in CAD 2015 you can enter: 0 to start the drawing without any defined settings, 1 to open the Create a New Drawing dialog box upon startup, 2 to open a new tab, and 3 to open a drawing with the title Drawing1. (28:30)

Layer Isolation (LAY ISO). This is a handy command that isolates a single layer so you can work solely on that layer. This command is not turned on in the default settings. To turn this command on and off, type LAYISO and LAYUNISO in the Command line. You can also turn off the Lock and Fade option by typing LAYISO, then typing S for Settings, and turning this option off. (29:45)

The Layer Properties Settings: New Layer Notification. (31:32)

• Click the gear icon to open the Layer Settings. Uncheck the New Layer Notification box to turn this option off. (32:20)

Turning off the XREF Fade option(Options dialog box, Display tab): Change the Xref display setting to 0 to prevent external references (Xrefs) from displaying excessively dark. (33:08)

34:13 – 38:44: Profiles vs. Workspaces

Definitions:

Profiles: Profiles are dynamic changes you make in the Options dialog box that are reflected in your current profile. For this reason, you should create your basic profile and export it for future reference. Profiles will keep most of your “workspace” appearance settings, with some limitations – specifically, having the ribbons turned on or off. (34:50)

Workspaces: Workspaces will save your interface customizations nicely: ribbons, tools, menus, etc. Workspaces won’t save your support file search paths or anything in the Options dialog box. For this reason, you should use a combination of both workspaces and profiles. (35:37)

Exporting your profile (select the Profiles tab in the Options dialog box, click the Export button, and save the profile file to your backup location.)  (36:02)

Saving a Workspace (36:20)

Side note: In Windows 8.1: holding the mouse wheel down doesn’t allow you to pan anymore, and instead opens a browse function. This is a Windows setting rather than an AutoCAD setting. (37:35)

To allow your mouse to pan in CAD, set your MBUTTONPAN system variable to 1: Type MBUTTONPAN in the Command line, and type 1 when prompted to Enter a value.

38:45 – 42:20: Quick Review of File Organization and Backup Concepts

Some important backup concepts:

• Use automated backups
• Land F/X backup: FX Admin > Check for Updates:Check the box to Back Up Land F/X Projects.This setting will back up your Land F/X data to LandFX > Data > Backup (39:10)
• Cloud backups
• 3-2-1 rule: Back up to three different locations on two separate media, one of which is off-site (40:49)

42:21 – end: Next Steps and More Information

Another note on backing up: Also back up your acad.cuix (43:25)