AutoCAD® 2011 & AutoCAD LT® 2011 Bible

Chapter 29. Customizing Commands, Toolbars, and Tool Palettes

IN THIS CHAPTER

• Understanding the basics of customization

• Creating keyboard shortcuts for commands

• Customizing toolbars

• Customizing the Quick Access Toolbar

• Customizing tool palettes

Customizing AutoCAD and AutoCAD LT can increase your efficiency and productivity. The time spent in preparation will be paid back many times. Before you start customizing, you need to know some basics that apply to almost all customization tasks. After you understand these basics, the process becomes much easier.

Overall, AutoCAD LT offers less customizability than AutoCAD; however, most of the features in this chapter apply to both AutoCAD and AutoCAD LT.

Working with Customizable Files

The capability to customize AutoCAD and AutoCAD LT is based on the fact that many of the support files are text files that you can edit yourself. The menu customization and tool palettes are in XML files that you customize by using the Customize User Interface Editor and the Customize dialog box. Table 29.1 lists the most important files and their functions.

Figure 29.1 shows a portion of one of these files, acad.pgp, which lists command shortcuts, or aliases. The equivalent file for AutoCAD LT is acadlt.pgp. The files listed in the table can be located in one of AutoCAD's support file search paths (Application Button

Tip

Use the Search text box from the Start menu or ...