AutoCAD® 2009 & AutoCAD LT® 2009 All-in-One Desk Reference for Dummies®

Chapter 1. The Basics of Customizing AutoCAD

Book IX is designed to help both AutoCAD and AutoCAD LT users improve their workflow through customization. The majority of the customization options in Book IX are available in both AutoCAD and AutoCAD LT. Although AutoCAD LT supports a majority of the same customization options that AutoCAD does, there are exceptions. In this chapter, I mention these exceptions as they arise.

Have you ever wanted to find out how to start AutoCAD with a specific user profile or add your own custom command aliases? Maybe you already understand some of the available customization options but want to find out more about others. Whatever the reason, customization can help to improve drawing accuracy and efficiency. Customization is not necessarily easy, but you don't have to be a programmer to take advantage of these features either.

Why Customize AutoCAD?

AutoCAD is one of the most popular computer-aided drafting programs on the market today, but if you take a good look at the program, you'll probably find that you've barely scratched the surface of what it can do. AutoCAD is designed to be flexible and adaptive to the way you work. And if you don't like the layout of the program, you can always change the way it looks.

Note

Not only can you customize the user interface, or UI, but you can also make changes to reduce repetitive tasks and ensure that CAD standards are followed. The level of customization that AutoCAD offers is much more dynamic than many other ...