There are many things in the AutoCAD User Interface that jump out at you. The cursor, the Ribbon, Layout, and Files tabs, and even the View Cube. All are handy and dominant for a reason. But as we all know, sometimes it’s the little things that can make a huge difference.
In AutoCAD, there are some very small controls that are often overlooked. Knowing about them can affect how you set up your environment, thus helping you boost your productivity.
Today I’m going to discuss three such elements. I’ll show you where to find them, how to use them, and what they can do for you. Let’s start at the top, and we’ll work our way down.
Quick Access Toolbar
You'll find a small, pulldown control button on the right side of the Quick Access Toolbar (QAT). Click it to get a menu that allows you to customize the QAT. You can check or un-check the commands you want, access the complete list of commands to choose from, change where the QAT docks, or even turn on the old-style Menu Bar.
Ribbon Visualization States
Working our way down the interface (slightly), you’ll find a similar button arrangement at the right end of the Ribbon tabs.
There are two parts to the button. Think of the right side (or down arrow side) as the selection menu and the left side (or up arrow side) as the action button.
Click the right side to get a menu of the three minimization states or the option to cycle through them all, which is the default. Now, when you click on the left part of the button, the Ribbon will either cycle through all states or toggle between the chosen minimized state and the fully maximized Ribbon.
If you value your screen space, you might want to give each Ribbon state a try. Perhaps you’ll find one that's more to your liking.
Status Bar Customization
Finally, our short journey takes us all the way to the bottom of the GUI, to the very bottom right, in fact. The last control in the Status Bar is shown as three horizontal lines. Click it to display the customization menu for the Status Bar. Again, check or un-check your desired items for display.
The Status Bar is contextual; so what’s shown is based on whether you’re in Model Space or a Layout tab. The customization menu is also contextual, so you’ll see different options after switching your space. Don’t forget that you may want to set each to your liking.
Summing Up
This post has just dealt with three small and easily overlooked elements of the UI, but they can give you a great deal of control. Remember, when you get your interface set up to your liking, you might want to save it as its own Workspace.
My next Community Voices blog will focus on similar UI controls, but these, instead of just being small and difficult to notice, are not even visible at all! Stay tuned…
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