Missing Tabs in Tool Palettes

[leedeering]

I hope I'm not beating a dead horse, but there are several previous discussions on this topic, both in the forum and online.  Unfortunately, I still can't find a solution that works for me.  I'm trying to draw walls and according to the tutorial, I should be able to open the Tool Palette, go to Settings and check "All Palettes", which I have done.  It definitely produced more tabs than I had, but does not include the ones I really need, i.e. Walls, Doors, Windows, etc.

I have attached a couple of screenshots that, hopefully help explain my dilemma.  Any help you can offer would be greatly appreciated.

By the way, the software was downloaded from a vender's website.

[R_Tweed]

If you right click on the bottom of your tool palette do you see a design group?

If you select the design group, there is a wall tab available.

[David_W_Koch · Accepted solution]

@leedeering 

Your tool palettes are on the screen (according to your screenshot), so you do not need to find the Customize Workspace button in the Customize User Interface dialog.  For the record, you have to select a Workspace first, then the Workspace Contents will show in the upper right pane, with the Customize Workspace button.

Getting back to the tool palettes, your screen shot suggests that you have the AutoCAD Architecture (Global) profile set current.  That has a very limited amount of content in it, and Will not have separate palettes for Walls, Doors, and Windows.  That is a generic "starter" set of palettes and is meant to be supplemented by region-specific content or content that you create yourself.

When you installed AutoCAD Architecture, did you add any other content packs?  For example, the US Imperial or US Metric content packs will generate a profile for themselves and will have a more robust set of out-of-the-box tool palettes, with multiple tool palette groups.  The Design tool palette group in those content packs does have separate palettes for Doors, Walls, Windows, and other items.

The first thing to do is to open the Options dialog (one way:  type OPTIONS at the command line and press the ENTER key).  Choose the Profiles tab.  Do you see any Profiles other than the AutoCAD Architecture (Global) and the AutoCAD profiles?  If so, set one of them current and the available tool palettes will change to those available in that profile.  If you go with AutoCAD Architecture (US Imperial)  or AutoCAD Architecture (US Metric), you will want to be in the Design tool palette group, not All Palettes, so you have a better shot at seeing all of the tabs at once.  If there are more tables that can be shown, you will see a "stack" of palette tab ends at the bottom of the tabs.  Right click on that stack, to get a context menu that lists all of the available palettes.  Choose one from the context menu to set it current.

[leedeering]

Thank you so much, David.  Every time I get stuck and post a question to the forum, I get such great answers.  Your reply is spot on.  I think without all you experts, I would have stopped trying to understand AutoCAD a long time ago.  There are so many hidden solutions buried within the software and if one doesn't know of them, one is screwed . . . and I'm one who would be totally screwed if not for all your patient help.

Thank you again for sharing your knowledge.

Lee

[leedeering]

Yes, I do have a 'Design' Group when I right click at the bottom, and it is checked.  I had it on "All Palettes", but I changed it to 'Design' when I changed the profile to AutoCAD Architecture Imperial, so I think I should be all set, right?

[David_W_Koch]

The Global profile only has two Tool Palette Groups:  Design and All Palettes.  The US Imperial and US Metric tool palettes have five:  Design, Documentation, Detailing, Visualization, and All Palettes.

Global

US Imperial/US Metric

The palettes in the Global Design Tool Palette Group are:

• Design
• Annotation
• Interiors
• Roombook
• Details
• Materials
• Massing

The palettes in the US Imperial/US Metric Design Tool Palette Group are:

• Design
• Walls
• Doors
• Windows
• Corner Windows
• Spaces
• FF + E
• Massing
• Roombook

If you only have Design & All Palettes and do not have separate palettes for Walls, Doors, and Windows, then you most likely are in the Global profile.  If your profiles are limited to AutoCAD and AutoCAD Architecture (Global), then you likely did not install any other content packs.  But if, as you mention in your last post, you are able to set the profile to AutoCAD Architecture (US Imperial) and do have the specific palettes that you were asking about in your original post, then you are "all set."

At work, we have discipline-specific profiles that are associated with office-custom content for each discipline (we are architects, planners, interior designers, and engineers). Here at home, I went overboard in ACA 2024 and installed all of the content packs, even though I would be challenged to read the labels on anything other than the US and UK content.