Chapter 4

Manipulating the Drawing Environment

The chapters until now have focused primarily on drawing-file customization: establishing and enforcing drawing standards, creating drawing templates, and working with named objects and blocks. While drawing-file customization should be used to form the cornerstone of your overall customization plans for the Autodesk® AutoCAD® program, there are limitations to the productivity gains that can be made with drawing-file customization only.

After you have established the drawing standards and template files that you will use to create new drawings, the next step in becoming more productive is to customize the AutoCAD drawing environment. The drawing environment controls the settings that are used to specify the behavior of commands, where AutoCAD looks for custom files, how the user interface looks, the behavior of the command prompt, and much more.

Getting Started with Drawing-Environment Customization

Although it might be new to you, customizing AutoCAD is something with which you should feel free to experiment. Before you start, I have a few words of advice:

  • Back up the AutoCAD customizable files before making changes to them. In Windows, use the product's Export AutoCAD <release> Settings option on the Start menu or Start screen to create a backup of the custom settings and files for AutoCAD. You can then restore the exported settings using the Import AutoCAD <release> Settings option on the Start menu or Start screen. On Mac OS, you will need to copy the files under the Local and Roaming folders located under /Users/<user_name>/Library/Application Support/Autodesk on your local hard drive.
  • Start small and test often. Too often I have seen people take on a customization project that is more than they are ready for and get frustrated, which has led them to just give up. You have to learn to walk before you can run. Also, make sure you do not customize lots of different files and features in AutoCAD without testing your changes; making too many changes at once could lead to some unnecessary troubleshooting that could have been avoided if additional testing was performed along the way.
  • If you get stuck, take a deep breath and reset AutoCAD to its installed state. You will want to try and restore any files that you previously backed up before resetting AutoCAD, though. Even before resetting AutoCAD, make a copy of the current customized files. On Windows, use the product's Reset Settings To Default option on the Start menu or Start screen to reset the program's custom settings and files. On Mac OS, start AutoCAD and display the Application Preferences dialog box (options command). In the Application Preferences dialog box, on the Application tab click Reset Application Options and then click Reset AutoCAD.

Now that you are ready to get started, here are the ways the drawing environment can be customized that we'll discuss in this chapter:

  • Command-line switches can be used in combination with desktop icons or batch and Bash shell files to control the way AutoCAD starts up.
  • Preferences and settings that affect the way the application looks, where custom files can be located, and how some commands behave can be set and managed with the options command.
  • System and environment variables can be queried and set from the command prompt to control the behavior of AutoCAD and many commands.
  • Command aliases and external commands can be defined to allow quicker access to commands and system variables from the command prompt.
  • Command-line input can be configured to control the way typed input is handled and the choices that are displayed in the command suggestion list.

Customizing the AutoCAD Startup Process

Before you start AutoCAD, you have an opportunity to specify which drawing to open and additional parameters known as command-line switches that can be used to control a number of different features at startup. Command-line switches must be placed after the acad.exe file in the Target field of a shortcut or batch file on Windows, or after AutoCAD in a Bash shell file on Mac OS.

The following shows an example of calling acad.exe on Windows using the /t command-line switch to create a new drawing based on a drawing template file named acad3D.dwt:

"C:Program FilesAutodeskAutoCAD 2014acad.exe" /t "acad3D.dwt"

The following shows an example of calling AutoCAD on Mac OS using the -t command-line switch to create a new drawing based on the acad3D.dwt drawing template file:

"/Applications/Autodesk/AutoCAD 2014/AutoCAD 2014.app/Contents/MacOS/AutoCAD" ↵
-t "acad3D.dwt"

AutoCAD on Windows supports 15 command-line switches, whereas AutoCAD on Mac OS supports only 5. You can use multiple command-line switches when starting AutoCAD: just add a space after a switch and the previous parameter. Table 4.1 lists the most commonly used command-line switches for Windows, as well as 3 of the 5 switches that are supported on Mac OS.

Note
You can search AutoCAD help on the keywords “command line switch reference” to learn about all of the available switches.

Table 4.1 AutoCAD command-line switches

Switch Name(Windows) Switch Name(Mac OS) Description
/b -b Starts the script file after the specified or default drawing is opened at startup
Usage: /b "script_name.scr" or -b "script_name.scr"
/nohardware Disables hardware acceleration
Usage: /nohardware
/nologo -nologo Hides the application's splash screen
Usage: /nologo or -nologo
/p Sets a user profile as current or imports a previously exported user profile
Usage: /p "profile_name|profile.arg"
/t -t Creates a new drawing file based on the specified drawing template file
Usage: /t "template_name.dwt" or -t "template_name.dwt"
/set Loads a Sheet Set (DST) file
Usage: /set "sheet_set_name.dst"
/w Sets a workspace as current
Usage: /w "workspace_name"

On Windows, you can create a new desktop shortcut that starts AutoCAD and specifies the use of more than one switch. The example that follows uses the /t, /p, and /w command-line switches. Begin by copying the book's sample files from www.sybex.com/go/autocadcustomization to a folder named MyCustomFiles.

Note
This example assumes that you copied the samples files for the book to a folder named MyCustomFiles in your Documents (or My Documents) folder. If you placed the sample files in a different folder, you will need to make the appropriate changes to the value entered in step 7.
1. Minimize all open applications until you see the Windows Desktop. (You can press the Windows+D key combination to minimize all open windows and then repeat the key combination to restore all the applications to their previous display state.)
2. On the Windows Desktop, right-click and then click New → Shortcut from the menu that opens.
Warning
Based on the way your workstation or Windows login has been configured, you might be restricted from adding or modifying shortcuts on the Windows Desktop. You might need to create the new shortcut in a different location, such as the MyCustomFiles folder. Contact your system administrator for information on your company's specific policies.
3. When the Create Shortcut dialog box opens, click Browse.
4. In the Browse For Files Or Folders dialog box, expand Computer and browse to C:Program FilesAutodeskAutoCAD <release>. Then select acad.exe and click OK. You are returned to the Create Shortcut dialog box (see Figure 4.1), and the location of the acad.exe file is displayed.

Figure 4.1 Setting the properties for the new shortcut

image
5. Click in the Type The Location Of The Item text box, and press the End key.
6. With focus still in the Type The Location Of The Item text box, press the spacebar once and then enter the following:
/t "%userprofile%/Documents/MyCustomFiles/C-Size.dwt" /p ↵
"<<Unnamed Profile>>" /w "AutoCAD Classic"
Note
Filenames and folder paths that contain spaces must begin and end with a double quotation mark (“).
7. Click Next.
8. In the Type A Name For This Shortcut text box, clear the current value and then type Classic AutoCAD.
9. Click Finish to create the shortcut. If prompted to replace the shortcut, click No and enter a new name. Then click Finish.
10. Double-click the original AutoCAD shortcut on your desktop. At the command prompt, type wscurrent and press Enter. Write down the value within the angle brackets and press Enter again. At the command prompt, type cprofile and press Enter. Write down the value after the equals sign. You now have recoded the current workspace and profiles so you can restore them later.
11. Double-click the Classic AutoCAD shortcut. The default drawing created will be based on the C-Size.dwt file, and instead of the ribbon, you should see the classic menu bar and toolbars.
12. Double-click the original AutoCAD shortcut on your desktop. The default drawing will no longer be based on the C-Size.dwt file, but the user interface might not be correct until you do the following:
  • From the Workspaces drop-down list on the Quick Access toolbar (see Figure 4.2), select the value of the wscurrent system variable that you wrote down in step 10.
  • Right-click in the drawing window and click Options. In the Options dialog box, click the Profiles tab and then select the profile you wrote down in step 10. Click Set Current and then click OK to set the profile as current and exit the Options dialog box.

Figure 4.2 Switching workspaces

image

After you create a shortcut, you can edit the command-line switches that it uses. To edit a shortcut, right-click the shortcut and click Properties. When the Properties dialog box opens, click the Shortcut tab, and edit the text in the Target text box.

On a system running Mac OS, you can use the following steps to create a Bash shell file named acad-startup.sh that can be used to start AutoCAD and specify the use of the -nologo and -t command-line switches. Begin by copying the book's sample files from www.sybex.com/go/autocadcustomization to a folder named MyCustomFiles.

Note
This example assumes that you copied the sample files for the book to a folder named MyCustomFiles in your Documents folder. If the sample files were placed in a different location, you will need to change the values entered in steps 5 and 8.
1. In the Mac OS Finder, click Go → Applications. In the Finder window, double-click TextEdit.
2. In TextEdit, click TextEdit → Preferences. In the Preferences dialog box, on the New Document tab click Plain Text and then close the dialog box.
3. Click File → New to create a plain ASCII text file.
4. Click File → Save and type acad-startup.sh in the Save As text box. From the sidebar on the left, click Documents → MyCustomFiles and then click Save.
5. In the TextEdit window, enter the following text on one line:
"/Applications/Autodesk/AutoCAD 2014/AutoCAD 2014.app/Contents/MacOS/ ↵
AutoCAD" -nologo -t ˜/Documents/MyCustomFiles/C-Size.dwt
Note
Filenames and folder paths that contain spaces must begin and end with a double quotation mark (“).
6. Click File → Save to save the changes to the shell file.
7. In the Mac OS Finder, click Go → Utilities. In the Finder window, double-click Terminal.
8. In the Terminal window, type chmod u+x ˜/Documents/MyCustomFiles/acad-startup.sh and press Enter. Without changing the permissions of the file, the file can't be executed in the Terminal Window.
9. In Finder, browse to the acad-startup.sh file. Press and hold the Control key, and then click over the acad-startup.sh file. You could also two-finger-click or right-click over the file, based on how your mouse or trackpad is configured.
10. From the shortcut menu, click Open With → Other.
11. In the Choose Application dialog box, scroll down to and double-click Utilities. Click the Enable drop-down list and select All Applications. Click the Always Open With check box and select Terminal. Click open.
12. Double-click the Bash shell file to launch AutoCAD and have it create the default drawing based on the C-Size.dwt file.
Warning
The Terminal Window must remain open while AutoCAD is running because the AutoCAD process is attached to the Terminal Window. Closing the window will cause AutoCAD to crash.

Specifying Application Preferences

AutoCAD has evolved over the 30 or so years that it has been around, but the way users work with the software hasn't always followed suit. The AutoCAD on Windows settings have been organized into 12 categories to make it easy to locate a specific setting. (There are even more settings that are specific to AutoCAD-based vertical products.) AutoCAD on Mac groups its settings into 6 different categories. Many settings are available on both Windows and Mac OS, but there are many differences as well, because different features are supported on each platform.

You configure the application preferences using the options command, which displays the Options dialog box on Windows and the Application Preferences dialog box on Mac OS. Figure 4.3 shows both of the dialog boxes. In the Windows Options dialog box, the tabs along the top allow you to switch between settings categories. The vertical tabs on the left of the Mac OS Application Preferences dialog box perform the same function.

Figure 4.3 Setting application preferences

image

You can display the Options or Application Preferences dialog box using one of the following methods:

  • Click the Application menu button → Options (Windows).
  • On the Mac OS menu bar, click AutoCAD <release> → Preferences (Mac OS).
  • Secondary-click or right-click in the drawing window or over the command-line window, and then click Options (Windows) or Preferences (Mac OS).
  • At the command prompt, type options and press Enter (Windows and Mac OS).

Both of these dialog boxes offer an extensive number of settings that can't all be covered in this book. Some of them are user-driven choices that do not impact the use of menu elements, creation and running of scripts, or creation and deployment of AutoLISP programs or other custom programs. Throughout this book when appropriate, I will mention the settings that you should be aware of because they could alter the way you deploy your customization and explain how your customization might be affected. You can click the Help button in the Options or Application Preferences dialog box to learn more about the settings on each tab.

One of the main differences between AutoCAD on Windows and AutoCAD on a Mac OS is in how you can manage application preferences. AutoCAD on Windows supports multiple user profiles, whereas AutoCAD on Mac OS supports only a single user profile. User profiles allow you to configure AutoCAD several different ways, and then switch back and forth between the settings that you might need to use based on the type (2D/3D) or discipline (civil, architectural, etc.) of the drawing you are working on.

The following example explains how to create a user profile named MyProfile in AutoCAD on Windows:

image
1.Click the Application menu button → Options.
2. In the Options dialog box, click the Profiles tab and then click Add To List.
3. When the Add Profile dialog box opens, type MyProfile in the Profile Name text box.
4. Optionally, enter a description in the Description text box.
5. Click Apply & Close.
6. Select the new profile from the Available Profiles list and click Set Current.
7. Switch to other tabs in the Options dialog box and make changes to the settings of the new profile.
8. Click OK to save the changes made to the profile.

A profile must be set as current before AutoCAD can use the settings it was defined with. The next steps explain how to set as current the MyProfile profile that you just created:

1. Click the Application menu button → Options.
2. In the Options dialog box, click the Profiles tab.
3. On the Profiles tab, in the Available Profiles list, select MyProfile and click Set Current.
4. Click OK to exit the Options dialog box.
Tip
You can also use the /p command-line switch, as explained in the section “Customizing the AutoCAD Startup Process” earlier in this chapter, to set a user profile as current when AutoCAD starts up.

User profiles can be shared with other users in your department or company. Use the following steps to export and then import the user profile MyProfile that you created earlier in this section:

1. Click the Application menu button → Options.
2. In the Options dialog box, click the Profiles tab.
3. On the Profiles tab, in the Available Profiles list, select MyProfile and click Export.
4. In the Export Profile dialog box, enter MyProfile in the File Name text box and click Save. Specify a location other than Documents (or My Documents) if you want to, such as the MyCustomFiles folder that you created for this book.
5. Click Import to import the previously exported profile.
6. In the Import Profile dialog box, browse to and select the myprofile.arg file that you created in Step 4. Click Open.
7. In the Import Profile dialog box, keep the name in the Profile Name text box or enter a new one. For this example, type the name MyProfile-Imported.
8. Optionally, enter or change the description that is displayed. If you do not want to use the support paths and other paths defined in the exported user profile, clear the Include Path Information check box. Typically, you always want to use the paths that were exported with the user profile.
9. Click Apply & Close. Set the user profile as current if you want to use it.
10. Click OK to exit the Options dialog box.
Tip
You can use the /p command-line switch to import and set a user profile as current when AutoCAD is started from a shortcut or batch file. I mentioned command-line switches in the section “Customizing the AutoCAD Startup Process” earlier in this chapter.

Customizing the Elements in the Drawing Window

The drawing window used to create and edit the objects in an open drawing file can be customized to show different elements. Some of the elements in a drawing window (see Figure 4.4) are designed for when you work on 3D models and others for when you are working on 2D drawings.

Figure 4.4 Elements of the drawing window

image

The following elements can be customized using the options command to display the Options dialog box (Windows) or Application Preferences dialog box (Mac OS):

Crosshairs

The crosshairs provide you with a visual guide and an indicator of the location in the drawing window for the next point you pick. You can control the size of the crosshairs on the Display tab in the Options dialog box (Windows) or the Cursor & Selection tab in the Application Preferences dialog box (Mac OS). As an alternative to the dialog box, you can use the cursorsize system variable to change the size of the crosshairs. On Windows, you can also enable the display of the Z-axis and axes labels for the crosshairs on the 3D Modeling tab of the Options dialog box.

Viewport Menus

Viewport menus allow you to access named and preset viewport configurations, views, and visual styles. You can also control the display of the ViewCube®, SteeringWheels®, and Navigation Bar. You can toggle the display of the Viewport menus on the 3D Modeling tab in the Options dialog box (Windows) or the General tab in the Application Preferences dialog box (Mac OS). The vpcontrol system variable can also be used to toggle the display of the Viewport menus.

UCS Icon

The UCS icon shows the directions of the X-, Y-, and Z-axes in the current drawing. You can customize how the UCS icon looks using the Properties option of the ucsicon command. In addition to the appearance of the UCS icon, you can control if and where the UCS icon is displayed with the ucsicon command. The display of the UCS icon in a viewport with a 2D or 3D visual style can be controlled on the 3D Modeling tab in the Options dialog box (Windows) or the Look & Feel tab in the Application Preferences dialog box (Mac OS). As an alternative to using the dialog boxes, you can use the system variables that begin with ucs to control the behavior of the UCS icon as well as when it is displayed.

Layout Tabs (Windows Only)

Layout tabs allow you to switch between Model and any named layouts that are defined in the drawing. When the tabs are suppressed, a new button is added to the status bar. You can toggle the display of the Layout tabs on the Display tab in the Options dialog box.

ViewCube

The ViewCube allows you to rotate the current view of the drawing by clicking one of the predefined areas or dragging the cube. The ViewCube is designed primarily for those who work on 3D models, but it does have some functionality that those working on 2D drawings can take advantage of. You can control the behavior and size of the ViewCube with the Settings option of the navvcube command, which displays the ViewCube Settings dialog box. The display of the ViewCube in a viewport with a 2D or 3D visual style can be controlled on the 3D Modeling tab in the Options dialog box (Windows) or the Look & Feel tab in the Application Preferences dialog box (Mac OS). As an alternative to using the dialog boxes, you can use displayviewcubein2d and other system variables that start with navv to display and control most of the features of the ViewCube.

Element Colors

The colors for some of the elements in the drawing window are inherited from the operating system, but most of the colors used by elements in the drawing window are controlled by AutoCAD. The colors used by the drawing window can be controlled on the Display tab in the Options dialog box (Windows) or the Look & Feel tab in the Application Preferences dialog box (Mac OS). There is no alternative approach using system variables to manipulate the colors used in the drawing window, but you can use the ActiveX API with AutoLISP or VBA if you are using AutoCAD on Windows.

The changes made to these drawing-window elements are persisted between sessions as part of the AutoCAD user profile. AutoCAD for Mac does not support creating additional user profiles like AutoCAD on Windows does. For information on creating user profiles, see the “Specifying Application Preferences” section earlier in this chapter.

Configuring Command and Dynamic Input

An area of AutoCAD customization that is often overlooked is one that every user interacts with hundreds of times in a day—the command prompt. The command prompt is displayed in the command-line window and dynamic input features. When a command is not active, as you enter values at the command line or in a dynamic tooltip, you will see a suggested list of commands and system variables; the suggestions are based on the letters or numbers that you enter. You can customize the way you enter coordinate, angular, and distance values while a command is active and dynamic input is enabled.

Command Input Search Options

Starting with AutoCAD 2013, in Windows the Input Search Options dialog box (inputsearchoptions command) allows you to change the input settings for the command prompt (see Figure 4.5). In AutoCAD for Mac, use the -inputsearchoptions command; the Input Search options dialog box is not available. The -inputsearchoptions command is also available on Windows.

Figure 4.5 Customizing the input search options for the Command prompt

image

The command prompt features that you can control are as follows:

AutoComplete

Controls whether AutoCAD attempts to match the letters or numbers users enter at the command prompt against all of the registered commands and system variables. Because of the way matching is performed, you see a larger number of entries in the suggestion list than when the feature is disabled. If you are using AutoCAD on Windows, you can enable mid-string searching and control whether the suggestion list is sorted by usage or alphabetically.

AutoCorrect (AutoCAD 2014 on Windows Only)

Allows AutoCAD to monitor the way you input commands and system variables. Over time, if you enter the same incorrect name more than three times and choose the correct one from the suggestion list, AutoCAD creates a command alias for you based on the incorrect name and the command or system variable you meant to enter. For more information on how the AutoCorrect feature works, see the section “Adding Synonym and AutoCorrect Entries (Windows Only)” later in this chapter.

Search for System Variables

System variables are added to the suggestion list with commands. If you do not work with system variables all the time, disabling this feature can reduce the number of entries in the suggestion list for you. If you are using AutoCAD on Windows, you can separate commands and system variables in different areas of the suggestion list.

Suggestion-List Delay

You can specify the number of milliseconds between keystrokes that AutoCAD delays before displaying the suggestion list. If you are a fast typist or the command prompt doesn't seem to recognize the keystrokes you type, you might want to set this number higher than its default of 300. You can also change the delay value by using the inputsearchdelay system variable.

Search Content (AutoCAD 2014 on Windows Only)

Several of the named objects that can be created in a drawing can be set as current or used by entering the name of the object at the command prompt. If you do not set a named object as current or insert a block by typing its name at the command line, you might want to consider turning it off.

Command Input History

As input is entered at the command prompt, it is stored and can be recalled later. When a command is not active, you can access recently used commands; when a command is active, you can access recently entered coordinate input. The inputhistorymode system variable controls the type of input that is recorded and where it can be accessed from. Recent input can be accessed from the command line on both Windows and Mac OS (see Figure 4.6). On Windows systems, you can also access recent input from the drawing-window shortcut menu. Additionally, you can press the up- and down-arrow keys on the keyboard to cycle through recent commands and input.

Figure 4.6 Accessing recently used commands and coordinate values

image

You can also use the cmdinputhistorymax system variable to control the number of coordinate input entries that are recorded. If you reduce the value of the cmdinputhistorymax system variable, the changes might not be obvious until you restart the application, reopen any drawings that are currently open, or open another drawing.

Dynamic Input

Dynamic input displays prompts, tooltips, and pointer and dimension input fields at the cursor when the feature is enabled. The Dynamic Input tab of the Drafting Settings dialog box (dsettings command), as shown in Figure 4.7, allows you to customize the fields and tooltips used for dynamic input. You can also use the system variable dynmode to enable or disable dynamic input. On Windows, you can also control the display of the Z field of the pointer input field on the 3D Modeling tab in the Options dialog box (options command).

Figure 4.7 Controlling the behavior and appearance of dynamic input

image

The following explains what each area of the Dynamic Input tab controls:

Pointer Input

Clear Enable Pointer Input to suppress the ability to enter coordinate values when prompted for a point by the current command. Click Settings to display the Pointer Input Settings dialog box and specify the coordinate format that should be applied when a command requests a second or next point. You can also control when the coordinate tooltips are displayed. The dynpicoords and dynpiformat system variables can be used to control the pointer input options at the command prompt.

Dimension Input

Clear Enable Dimension Input Where Possible to suppress the ability to enter distance and angular values based on the previous point when prompted for a second or next point by the current command or while using grips. Click Settings to display the Dimension Input Settings dialog box and control the number and type of dimension input fields to display when being requested for coordinate, distance, and angular values while a command is active. The dyndivis and dyndigrip system variables can be used to control the dimension input options at the command prompt.

Dynamic Prompts

The settings in this section control if the prompts and messages displayed near the crosshairs should be merged into a single tooltip or displayed as multiple tooltips. The dynprompt, dyninfotips, dyntooltips, and tooltipmerge system variables can be used to control the appearance of the dynamic input tooltips at the command prompt.

Drafting Tooltip Appearance

Clicking this button displays the Tooltip Appearance dialog box, which allows you to control the color, size, and transparency for dynamic input tooltips and fields.

Creating and Modifying Command Aliases

Command aliases allow you to quickly start a command or access a system variable by entering a few letters at the command prompt instead of entering its full name or locating it in the user interface. Don't confuse command aliases with keyboard shortcuts, which are key combinations that require you to press a combination of the Ctrl/Control, Shift, Alt/Option, or Command keys with a letter, number, or virtual key. I discuss more about creating custom shortcut keys in AutoCAD on Windows in Chapter 5, “Customizing the AutoCAD User Interface for Windows.”

AutoCAD comes with hundreds of predefined command aliases that are available for many of the most commonly used commands and system variables. You can save time performing everyday drafting tasks by learning the command aliases for the commands you use most frequently, since you do not need to move the cursor outside the drawing area to start a command.

Some of the commonly used command aliases are l for line, e for erase, and dli for dimlinear. If a command alias does not exist for the commands or system variables you commonly use, you can define new or override existing aliases by editing the acad.pgp file.

In addition to starting an AutoCAD command, command aliases can be used to start external applications from AutoCAD on Windows only. For example, you can launch Windows Explorer or File Explorer by using the alias explorer or start Notepad by entering notepad at the AutoCAD command prompt.

Tip
As an alternative to using external commands, you can define a command that uses the AutoLISP startapp function to call an external application from AutoCAD on Windows or Mac OS. For information on AutoLISP and the startapp function, see the AutoCAD Help system.

Defining Command Aliases

Command aliases are stored in the acad.pgp file, which is a plain ASCII text file that can be edited using Notepad on Windows or TextEdit on Mac OS. The acad.pgp file is divided into two sections: external commands and command aliases. I cover external commands in the section “Defining External Commands (Windows Only)” later in this chapter.

Two pieces of information are required to define a command alias: an abbreviation, which is the shortened command name (or alias) you want to use to start a command, and then the name of the AutoCAD command you want to start. A command alias can only start a command; it can't pass any values to the options of the command it starts. If you want to start a command and pass values to the options of the command that is started, you can use a script, action macro, or a custom command defined with AutoLISP. I discuss scripts and action macros in Chapter 8, “Automating Repetitive Tasks.”

A command alias has the following syntax:

<abbreviation>, *<command>

Table 4.2 lists some of the most commonly used command aliases and how they are defined in the acad.pgp file.

Table 4.2 Commonly used command aliases

Abbreviation Command
E, *ERASE
C, *CIRCLE
CO, *COPY
DLI, *DIMLINEAR
L, *LINE
Z, *ZOOM

The acad.pgp file is loaded each time AutoCAD is started, when the reinit command is used, or when the re-init system variable is set to a value of 16. When the acad.pgp file is loaded, AutoCAD reads the file in a top-down order looking for command alias definitions. If AutoCAD encounters one or more command aliases with the same abbreviations, it remembers only the last command alias it read as it follows the “last one in wins” rule.

Since the acad.pgp file allows you to define more than one command alias with the same abbreviation and AutoCAD uses the “last one in wins” rule when loading command aliases, Autodesk recommends that you place all your custom command aliases under the User Defined Command Aliases section of the acad.pgp file. The User Defined Command Aliases section is located at the bottom of the acad.pgp file.

The following example explains how to define a new command alias and redefine two of the standard command aliases that come with AutoCAD:

1. Do one of the following:
  • On the ribbon, click Manage tab → Customization panel → Edit Aliases drop-down menu → Edit Aliases (Windows).
  • At the command prompt, type ai_editcustfile and press Enter. At the Custom File to edit: prompt, type acad.pgp and press Enter (Windows).
  • Click Tools menu → Customize → Edit Command Aliases (PGP) (Mac OS).
  • At the command prompt, type aliasedit and press Enter (Mac OS).
2. In Notepad or TextEdit, scroll to the bottom of the PGP file and enter the following text:
REV, *REVCLOUD
L, *PLINE
JU, *JUSTIFYTEXT
3. Click File → Save to save the changes to the PGP file.
4. In AutoCAD, at the command prompt, type re-init and press Enter. At the Enter new value for RE-INIT <0>: prompt, enter 16 and press Enter.
5. Try the command aliases you entered in step 2 to make sure they work as expected. Normally L would start the line command, but here you defined a new command alias that starts the pline command instead of line. If you need to make any changes, switch back to the text editor with the PGP file and make any necessary changes. Then reload the PGP file as explained in step 4.
Tip
In AutoCAD on Windows, you can use the Express Tools Command Alias Editor (aliasedit command) to define and modify both command aliases and external commands in the acad.pgp file.

Defining External Commands (Windows Only)

External commands are stored in the acad.pgp file, just like command aliases are, but they are only supported in AutoCAD on Windows.

External commands use the following syntax:

<abbreviation>,[<shell_call>],<flag>,[*]<prompt>,

abbreviation

The name that you enter at the command prompt to start the external application.

shell_call

Specifies which command to use from the MS-DOS or Windows command prompt. Some examples of commands that you can use are START, which allows you to launch an application, DEL to delete a file, or TYPE to display the contents of a file.

flag

Controls how the application is called. The available values can be found in the acad.pgp file by searching on the text External command format.

prompt

Specifies an instructional message to the user at the AutoCAD command prompt, and requests input from the user that can be passed to the command in the shell_call argument.

The following shows a couple of the external commands that are predefined in the acad.pgp file:

DEL,      DEL,            8,File to delete: ,
NOTEPAD,  START NOTEPAD,  1,*File to edit: ,

The following steps explain how to define a new external command to start the Windows Calculator (calc.exe):

1. Do one of the following:
  • On the ribbon, click Manage tab → Customization panel → Edit Aliases drop-down menu → Edit Aliases.
  • At the command prompt, type ai_editcustfile and press Enter. At the Custom File to edit: prompt, type acad.pgp and press Enter.
2. In Notepad, scroll to the bottom of the PGP file and enter the following text:
CALC, START CALC, 1,,
3. Click File → Save to save the changes to the PGP file.
4. In AutoCAD, at the command prompt, type re-init and press Enter. At the Enter new value for RE-INIT <0>: prompt, type 16 and press Enter.
5. At the command prompt, type calc and press Enter. If successful, the Windows Calculator should be displayed. If not, switch back to Notepad and make sure you correctly defined the external command and that you reloaded the PGP file with the re-init system variable.

Adding Synonym and AutoCorrect Entries (Windows Only)

Starting with AutoCAD 2014, two new command alias–related features were introduced. These features are known as synonyms and AutoCorrect, and they are available in AutoCAD on Windows only. Synonym and AutoCorrect entries are stored in the acadSynonymsGlobalDB.pgp and AutoCorrectUserDB.pgp files, respectively, and follow the same syntax as the command aliases I mentioned in the section “Defining Command Aliases” earlier in this chapter.

Note
The synonym and AutoCorrect features are available in only AutoCAD 2014 and AutoCAD 2014–based products.

Synonym entries allow you to provide a natural name or term as an alternative to an AutoCAD command; this should not be a shortened name, though, like the command aliases in the acad.pgp file. For example, you might commonly use the term symbol at your company or in your industry as opposed to block. AutoCAD does not have a symbol command, so in previous releases you had to learn both the AutoCAD lingo and its commands. Now with synonyms, it is much easier to enter some industry terms like symbol or callout at the AutoCAD command prompt and start an associated command. You can add your own or change existing synonyms in the acadSynonymsGlobalDB.pgp file using Notepad.

The following example explains how to add a synonym entry for the term bevel and have it start the chamfer command. For more information on defining command aliases and reloading PGP files, see the “Defining Command Aliases” section.

1. On the ribbon, click Manage tab → Customization panel → Edit Aliases drop-down menu → Edit Synonym List.
2. In Notepad, scroll to the bottom of the PGP file and enter the following text:
BEVEL, *CHAMFER
3. Save the changes to the PGP file, and then reload it with the re-init system variable.
4. At the AutoCAD command prompt, type bevel and press Enter. If successful, the chamfer command should be started.

AutoCorrect entries share the same syntax as synonyms and command aliases, but you typically do not add new entries to the AutoCorrectUserDB.pgp file directly using Notepad. Instead, AutoCorrect entries are added automatically as a result of incorrectly entering the name of a command or system variable and then choosing the correct spelling from the suggestions list.

You must misspell a name and select the correct one three times before the term will be added to the AutoCorrectUserDB.pgp file. You enable the AutoCorrect feature and the number of times a correction must be made before an entry is added to the PGP file by using the Input Search Options dialog box (inputsearchoptions command); see Figure 4.5 earlier.

The following steps explain how to check if AutoCorrect is enabled, and if it isn't, how to enable it:

1. Right-click over the command-line window and click Input Search Options.
2. In the Input Search Options dialog box, make sure Enable AutoCorrect and Remember Corrections After Mistypes are both checked. Set Remember Corrections After Mistypes to a value of 3. Click OK.

You can add an AutoCorrect entry from the AutoCAD user interface for a misspelling of the line command by performing the following steps:

1. At the command prompt, type linr and wait for the suggestions list to open.
2. In the suggestions list (see Figure 4.8) that appears, click LINE.

Figure 4.8 Command suggestion list based on typed characters

image
3. Press Esc to end the line command.
4. Repeat steps 1–3 two more times.
5. At the command prompt, type linr. This time you should see a new AutoCorrect entry in the suggestion list (see Figure 4.9). Pressing Enter starts the line command. Press Esc to end the line command.

Figure 4.9 AutoCorrect entry in the command suggestion list

image

Working with System and Environment Variables

Commands and dialog boxes are used to create, modify, and manage drawing objects and application settings. When most commands or dialog boxes are used, they store and access settings that might be held temporally in memory or persist within individual drawing files across application sessions. Some of these settings are exposed for users and developers to gain a level of control over AutoCAD; the exposed settings are known as system and environment variables.

System and environment variables can be accessed from the command prompt or through supported programming languages. Of the two variable types, system variables are the most common. Both types of variables can store values that represent a string, number, coordinate point, lists of values, and much more. You can query and set the value of a system variable with the setvar command, or with the getvar and setvar AutoLISP functions. Environment variables can be queried and set using the getenv and setenv AutoLISP functions. There is no equivalent to the setvar command that allows you to directly access and set the value of an environment variable.

You can learn more about accessing system and environment variables with AutoLISP and VBA from the AutoCAD Help system. If you are using Managed .NET and C++ with ObjectARX®, you will want to use the documentation that comes with the ObjectARX SDK to learn how to access system and environment variables.

Note
You can learn more about the AutoCAD Managed .NET and ObjectARX programming interfaces at www.objectarx.com.

Listing and Editing System Variables

The setvar command allows you to list all supported system variables and their current values. The following explains how to obtain a listing of all supported system variables:

1. At the command prompt, type setvar and press Enter.
2. At the Enter variable name or [?]: prompt, type ? and press Enter.
3. At the Enter variable(s) to list <*>: prompt, type * and press Enter. The command displays about 20 entries and waits for you to press Enter to continue. This allows you time to review the values of the system variables that are listed.
Tip
You can use wildcard matching to display a refined system-variable listing. For example, you can enter *DIM* at the Enter variable(s) to list <*>: prompt to list all the system variables that start with or contain the characters DIM.
4. Press Enter when you are ready to review the next entries. Continue pressing Enter to step through the system variables or press Esc to cancel the setvar command.

The system-variable list displayed by the setvar command contains the name, current value, and read-only state of each variable listed. You can access additional information about a system variable from the product's Help system.

3DCONVERSIONMODE 1
3DDWFPREC        2
APBOX            0
APERTURE         10
Press ENTER to continue:
Tip
You can export a list of all system variables and their values by turning command logging on before starting the setvar command. Command logging can be turned on using the logfileon command, and then turned off again using the logfileoff command. The filename and folder where the log file is created is stored in the logfilename and logfilepath system variables.

Use the following steps to access help for a system variable (or command) from the command prompt. These specific steps explain how to access help for the dimtp system variable:

1. At the command prompt, type dimtp. Do not press Enter as you normally would.
2. Press F1 (Windows) or Control+F1 (Mac OS). The Help window opens to the topic related to the system variable.
Tip
On Windows, you can also use the Express Tools System Variable Editor (sysvdlg command) to access a list of all available system variables; their current value and the values that can be expected or applied are also listed.

You can change the value of a system variable by entering its name directly at the command prompt or at the Enter variable name or [?]: prompt of the setvar command. Follow these steps to change the value of the dynmode system variable, which enables the use of dynamic input:

1. At the command prompt, type dynmode and press Enter.
2. At the Enter new value for DYNMODE <3>: prompt, enter 0 and press Enter. Record the value in the angle brackets (< >). The Dynamic Input icon on the status bar reflects that the feature is now disabled. You could also verify that it is displayed by starting a command, such as line or circle.
3. At the command prompt, type dynmode and press Enter. Type 3 or the value that was in the angle brackets, and press Enter to restore the default or previous value.

When you assign a value to a system variable, the value you are assigning must be of the correct data type. For example, the dynmode system variable expects an integer and if passed a string of "3" instead of 3, an error message is displayed and the command ends. The same happens if you enter an unexpected value. Refer to the Help topic that covers the system variable for information about the type of data and the values that the system variable expects.

Listing and Editing Environment Variables

Environment variables are kind of a mystery at times since they are not really documented, so in many ways they must be discovered. A few of them can be found in the AutoCAD product documentation, but the best option is to use your favorite search engine and see what other users have found. I do not have a great understanding as to why they are not documented like system variables.

Even though they are not commonly used, there are three environment variables you might need to change or query from time to time based on your drawing requirements:

MaxArray

Specifies the maximum number of objects that can be created during a single use of the ARRAY command.

MaxHatch

Specifies the maximum number of objects that can be displayed within a single hatch object. If you see the message Hatch Pattern Too Dense, you will need to increase the number of objects that can be displayed for hatch objects. If the limit is exceeded, the hatch object appears as a single fill. You might need to close and reopen a drawing for the new setting to be applied.

ACAD

Specifies the paths listed under the Support File Search Path of the Files tab in the Options dialog box on Windows or Application tab in the Application Preferences dialog box on Mac OS.

When you want to query or set the value of an environment variable, you need to use the getenv and setenv AutoLISP functions. The name of the variable is case specific, so MaxArray—not MAXARRAY or maxarray— must be provided to the functions. Also, when setting the value of an environment variable you must provide it as a string. In the following steps, you return and set the value of the MaxHatch environment variable:

1. At the command prompt, enter 
(setq mh (getenv "MaxHatch"))

When you press Enter, the value of the environment variable is returned as a string to the command-line window.

2. At the Command prompt, enter 
(setenv "MaxHatch" "1000")

When you press Enter, the new value is repeated in the command-line window.

3. At the Command prompt, enter 
(setenv "MaxHatch" mh)

When you press Enter, the previous value is restored.

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