Customizing Tool Palettes

By Heidi Hewitt

Tool palettes provide an easy way to access and insert blocks and hatches into your drawings. In this article, you learn how to customize tool palettes that use your existing block libraries. Creating custom tool palettes in AutoCAD LT® 2004 requires minimal time and no programming experience. And it’s so easy it’s almost fun! Using custom tool palettes can immediately increase your drawing efficiency and productivity.

AutoCAD LT 2004 includes three default tool palettes with sample block and hatch tools (Figure 1). You can modify the default tool palettes, but you may find it easier to create new ones using your own block libraries and the AutoCAD® DesignCenter™ feature.

If you have not yet used the DesignCenter feature, now is the time to start. Using DesignCenter, you can access existing block libraries whether you have organized them as individual drawing (DWG) files in a folder or as block definitions in a drawing file. In DesignCenter you simply navigate to the folder or DWG file on your local drive or network server, and right-click the folder or drawing name. An option on the context-sensitive menu automatically creates a new tool palette that references every drawing in the folder or every block in the drawing (Figure 2). You can remove any unwanted tools from the tool palette by right-clicking the tool and choosing Delete Tool.

1. Start AutoCAD LT 2004.

2. Display the Tool Palettes window using one of the following methods:

• From the Tools menu, choose Tool Palettes Window.
• On the Standard toolbar, click the Tool Palettes button.
• On the keyboard, press Ctrl+3.
• At the command prompt, type toolpalettes.

3. Display the DesignCenter feature using one of the following methods:

• From the Tools menu, choose DesignCenter.
• On the Standard toolbar, click the DesignCenter button.
• On the keyboard, press Ctrl+2.
• At the command prompt, type DC.

4. In DesignCenter, choose the Folders tab.

5. Use the Folders list to navigate to the folder or drawing that contains your block library.

Note: If you don’t have access to your own block library, click the Home button to use one of the AutoCAD LT 2004 sample drawings.

6. Right-click the folder or drawing name and choose Create Tool Palette. Note: If you right-click a folder, the menu option is Create Tool Palette of Blocks, and if you right-click a drawing (DWG) file the menu option is Create Tool Palette.

When you create a tool palette, the individual block tools are pointers back to the original block definitions. If you insert a block from a tool palette, it behaves just as if you used the Insert command and browsed to the location of the block. Unlike the Insert command, however, you can apply preset properties to your tools. For example, if you always want a particular block to insert onto a particular layer, you can preset the tool properties of the block tool so that, regardless of the drawing’s current layer, the block always inserts onto the correct layer. To access the Tool Properties dialog box (Figure 3), right-click the tool and choose Properties.

Try it!

1. Open or create a drawing with several layers.

2. Insert one of your blocks into the drawing. Notice the layer on which the block was inserted and the scale at which it was inserted.

3. Right-click the block tool and choose Properties.

4. In the Tool Properties dialog box, change some of the properties such as scale and layer and then choose OK.

5. Insert the block again. Notice the difference from the first insertion.

6. Continue to experiment with the different tool properties.

Using tool palettes in AutoCAD LT is fast and easy. If you have existing block libraries and five minutes of spare time, you can create your own custom tool palettes. You are sure to benefit from an immediate increase in both drawing productivity and consistency. So what are you waiting for?

Good luck and have fun!