Michael's Corner is a monthly publication written by Michael E. Beall, Autodesk Authorized Author and peripatetic AutoCAD trainer. Michael travels all over the USA, bringing his fantastic experience and great understanding of AutoCAD to his clients. Michael's Corner brings together many of the tips, tricks and methods developed during these training sessions for the benefit of all users.
Michael's Corner provides something for every AutoCAD user. Every month, a number of articles cover a wide range of topics, suitable for users at all levels, including "The Basics" for those just starting out. Essentially, the aim of Michael's Corner is to help all AutoCAD users work smarter and faster.
It's a God-thing.
I had no idea that 14 years ago I would be given the opportunity to make an impact on the professional lives of so many. Only God knew what was ahead, and hopefully, the contributions I have made through Michael's Corner have equipped many of you to be more productive and a bit more savvy using AutoCAD. And apart from all the AutoCAD bashing that is going on, I'm sure it has a long life ahead.
So, in an effort to keep the AutoCAD fires burning, here's what I have for my final installment…
…A reminder on how to customize your hot keys
…Three Power Tools — one for Zoom, one for editing, and one for Layers
…Two Odd Spots — one for Layers and one for Hatching
…Buried text treasure
…And how to Search 14 years of the Archives
As for what's ahead for me, I will continue to present a variety of AutoCAD sessions — Fundamentals, Intermediate, Customizing, Updates, and 2D & 3D. I will also keep training CAP Designer, 20-20 Worksheet, Visual Impression (those three from 20-20 Technologies, Inc.), and some Revit Fundamentals. Next year I'm looking forward to being very involved in training CET (from Configura, Inc.) when Herman Miller joins the growing number of manufacturers embracing this software that is being touted as the ‘Future of Space Planning’. Personally, I'm looking forward to spending a bit more time with Donna, my lovely bride of 30 years. When this posts, we'll probably be within days of going on our 30th Anniversary vacation to the Tanque Verde Ranch in Tucson; Ee-Hah! We had such a good time when we went for our 20th, we figured we'd do it again!
Ah, and I'm hoping to have The AutoCAD Workbench, Final Edition out before snow flies.
And with that, Mike drop! …so to speak.
The LORD bless you and keep you;
The LORD make His face shine upon you,
And be gracious to you;
The LORD lift up His countenance upon you,
And give you peace. Numbers 6:24-26
If you want to set one of the buttons of your car radio to a specific station, you have to actually be in the car with the radio on. Similarly, if you want to add a Panel to the Ribbon, you have to make a Tab for the panel to "live" in. The exercises are created in AutoCAD 2010; A2009 is similar. Hang on tight, here we go.
Important: Since the Ribbon is directly associated with a Workspace, I would (highly) recommend you save your current workspace if you haven't done so already. Then use
again and make a workspace that is exclusive to this exercise. My Workspace name for this exercise is Add a Tab & Panel.Open the CUI from the Manage tab of the Ribbon, or just type CUI.
Navigate to
, then expand the Ribbon node. [The CUSTOM node is the optimum location for your customized menu components as these will be retained if AutoCAD needs to be re-installed or if when you upgrade to the next version.]Under the Ribbon node, right-click on Tabs, then click New Tab and enter a name. In this exercise, I'm naming it CT-AUG09.
Under the Ribbon node, right-click on Panels, then click New Panel and enter a name. In this exercise, my panel name is Cool Stuff.
Note: Under your panel name, you will see three default components: Panel Dialog Box Launcher, Row 1, and <SLIDEOUT>. In the next step, you will put commands in Row 1 for this panel.
Similar to adding commands to a toolbar (see December 2008 & January 2006), from the Command List, drag and drop your favorite command(s) up and release it next to Row 1.
Then, after populating Row 1 with commands, drag your "Cool Stuff" panel up, and drop it beside your tab.
To have your new tab (with the associated panel) recognized in your workspace, go back up to the Workspaces node and click the name of the workspace where you want this tab & panel to (mine is current). You will now see the Workspace Contents area in the upper right quadrant of the CUI.
Under Workspace Contents, click Customize Workspace.
Under CUSTOM (where you made your tab and panel), put a check in the box beside your newly created Tab. You will now see your new tab Ribbon Tabs listing of your Workspace Contents.
Click Done, then click OK to apply and close the CUI, then check out your new tab!
Note: If you want to add more commands to your panel, just open the CUI, go to CUSTOM and expand your Panel, then drag and drop commands onto Row 1. When you apply the changes and close the CUI, your panel will be updated with the additional commands!