CUI Editor Enhancements

CUI Editor Enhancements

dcochran
Archived Account
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250 Replies
Message 1 of 251

CUI Editor Enhancements

dcochran
Archived Account
Hello,

We are looking at ways to improve and enhance the CUI Editor in AutoCAD. As a customer, what improvements would you like to see with CUI?

Thanks in advance for your input!

Doug Cochran
Autodesk, Inc.
0 Likes
6,568 Views
250 Replies
Replies (250)
Message 41 of 251

Anonymous
Not applicable
Hi Martin,

Have you tried this in 2007? We actually increased speed quite a bit. For
example on my laptop I can open the CUI Editor in about 8 seconds. Then
next load is almost instant. If that is not fast enough then can you tell
us why? I know I was a CAD Manager for 12.5 years and did a lot of
customization, but we spent most of our time drawing in AutoCAD not
customizing it. Once we had our customization in place we just used it so
for our shop this speed would be more then fast enough.

Also can you give us examples about what you would like to see it do that
you can't do today? Or where it needs to be faster? These are the kinds
of examples we need to make improvements here.

Thanks for taking time to give us the feedback.

Bud Schroeder
AutoCAD Test Development
Autodesk Inc.

"Martin Shoemaker" wrote in message
news:5148056@discussion.autodesk.com...
If the mnu option is discontinued and the CUI isn't fixed (speed to
open, ease of use, reliability, etc.) it will guarantee that I will drop
my subscription and find an alternate program. I'm an engineer. I
don't need someone to hold my hand or pretty up an interface. I need
something that's fast, efficient, and reliable. The CUI isn't any of
those at this point.

Martin

mark wrote:
> in A2k7, mnu was going to be discontinued ...it did not,
> but Autodesk might stop supporting it in future versions, who knows
>
> "Laurie Comerford" wrote in message
> news:5146492@discussion.autodesk.com...
> Hi Mark,
>
> It will never be acceptable until you can make it start instantly.
>
> The 10 second average delay to respond to the command to open the dalog
> box
> is a reflection of incompetant programming.
>
> With my slightly modified MNU editing system I can make a change to the
> MNU
> file and reload the modified menu in less time than it takes to open the
> CUI
> editor.
>
>
> Laurie Comerford
> CADApps
> www.cadapps.com.au
>
> "mark" wrote in message
> news:5146421@discussion.autodesk.com...
> give me an option without goowee (GUI)
> just plain old text editor option, so i can fine tune
> and be in full control
>
> thanks
> mark
>
>
> wrote in message news:5146408@discussion.autodesk.com...
> Hello,
>
> We are looking at ways to improve and enhance the CUI Editor in AutoCAD.
> As
> a customer, what improvements would you like to see with CUI?
>
> Thanks in advance for your input!
>
> Doug Cochran
> Autodesk, Inc.
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Message 42 of 251

Anonymous
Not applicable
Here is my list (also attached for better formatting).

I. What I like
A. Workspaces
B. Main/Enterprise structure
C. Drag and drop interface
D. Filtering
E. Transferring
F. .mns Import
II. What needs further work
A. Load order and precedence
1. All items should be a "last loaded" wins, the same as keyboard
shortcuts (priority 3)
2. Option: provide the CAD Manager a way to lock a command or element
in the enterprise file so it cannot be 'overwritten' (priority 3)
B. Core CUI file (acad.cui, adt.cui, abs.cui)
1. These should work perfectly regardless of where they are in the CUI
structure (priority 1)
2. Workspaces defined in the enterprise file, for company
standardization, need to refer to elements from the core CUI, and therefore
the core CUI needs to be partial to the enterprise file (priority 1)
C. Editing the enterprise CUI file
1. Using a profile to switch the enterprise/main files has uncovered a
bug in the CUI/Tool Palette architecture (priority 1)
a. Tool Palette groups are stored in a profile-specific file,
Profile.aws
b. The Project Navigator project-specific tool palette depends on a
drag-and-drop mechanism and affects the current workspace
c. If the current workspace is a workspace defined by the enterprise
file, drag-and-drop appears to work until you restart the application.
Restarting the application reveals the project-specific tool palette did not
remember the changes.
d. Switching a profile to place the enterprise file as the main file
for editing switches the Profile.aws used, which means that tool palette
changes will not be evident in the real, working profile.
2. Password access to the enterprise file would seem the only solution
unless the architecture of tool palettes is changed to avoid a
profile-specific file (which really should be done anyway) (priority 1)
D. Commands
1. Need to be able to select what CUI is to receive new command
definitions (priority 1)
a. The "traditional" OOTB structure does not make it easy to store
personal customizations in the Custom.cui file.
b. Could be accomplished by honoring what CUI file is selected in the
filter
c. The current process, to create the command in the main file
(because you have no choice) then transfer the command to the desired CUI
file, then delete the unneeded command in the main file, stinks
2. There must be a way to copy an existing command (priority 1)
3. The tip box incorrectly lists icon sizes as 16×15 and 32×30 pixels
(priority 1, this is embarrassing!)
a. This has been reported by me many times (DID 759087)
b. Postrio B4 still had this mistake, do not know if it was fixed in
shipping version of AutoCAD 2007
4. Find/Replace needs serious improvement (priority 1)
a. Displaying the element that holds the target is ok, but.
b. The target must be highlighted
i. At times, the target exists more than once in the element, but it
is too difficult to determine which of the multiple targets is the current
one in the dialog
ii. At times, the target exists in a long string, which is not visible
in the element's properties pane
c. Support regular expressions
d. Option: display a grid control of all matching elements for global
editing
5. Need to be able to 'type' the commands as Zoom, or Draw (priority 3)
E. Toolbars
1. Selecting a button on the preview should select the command used by
the button (priority 3)
2. Edits to the toolbar should be reflected immediately in the preview
(priority 1)
F. Shortcut menus
1. Must be possible to define in any CUI file and have it available in
the interface (priority 1)
2. An architectural limitation is currently forcing AutoCAD to look in
only a single CUI file for all shortcut menus (priority 1)
G. Shortcut keys
1. The context menu for shortcut keys should not even be displaying a
New option, since it displays creating a new Temporary Override Key only.
This is a confusing interface. (priority 3)
2. There are still key combos that are valid, but cannot be entered in
the interface (priority 1):
a. Ctrl+F1
b. Ctrl+F4
c. Ctrl+F6
d. Ctrl+F10
e. The arrows keys
H. Mouse buttons
1. Fix it. I don't care what it takes. Just fix it. Mouse button
definitions in the CUI files must be made available. For all multi-button
mice. No matter how many buttons they have. (priority 1)
I. Tablet buttons
1. Why are the Ctrl+Click and Ctrl+Shift+Click buttons missing at least
the Button2 definition? (priority 3)
J. Image Tile menus
1. It should be possible to use the editor to select a slide menu,
right-click, and use the context menu to create a "display menu" command,
which is then selected by the interface to permit the user to drag the new
command to a menu or toolbar. (priority 2)
2. Option: Use drag-and-drop of an Image Tile menu to a menu or toolbar
to create the command and element in one shot (priority 2)
3. The current process to create an command to display the image tile
menu is too arcane for many users
K. Tool Palette support
1. Modifying tool palettes should be part of the CUI (priority 1)
2. This means getting rid of profile-specific files for tool palettes
(priority 1)
L. Workspaces
1. Fix the 'unresolved' bug (if not fixed in AutoCAD 2007) (priority 1)
2. Enterprise workspaces must affect the display of core elements,
therefore the core CUI file must be partial to the enterprise file.
(priority 1)
a. AutoCAD 2007 has a bug with the Dashboard when the core is partial
(priority 1)
b. What other bugs are there because Autodesk does not rigorously test
the CUI with the core as a partial? (priority 1)
3. Selecting a workspace should load assigned customization files, e.g.
.lsp, .fas, .vlx, .dvb, .net, .arx (priority 2)
4. At times, when AutoCAD starts, the current workspace does not
actually refresh the interface (priority 3)
5. Workspaces must completely lock the interface elements (priority 1)
a. If this takes not displaying any interface elements until all CUI
files are loaded, then so be it.
b. The current locking feature is still useless
6. Currently, tool palette editing is affecting the current workspace,
which is a bug when the current workspace is one defined by the enterprise
file (priority 1)
M. Versioning
1. Core commands that are not modified should be migrated to new
versions of the commands when using migration (priority 3)
2. Core commands that are modified should be versioned, so that
migration can flag for actions such as (priority 3):
a. Use current definition
b. Use new definition
c. Edit current definition
3. Any modified commands should be easily filtered/selected to permit
transfer to another CUI file (priority 2)
N. Documentation
1. There is no way to create paper documentation of a CUI file
(priority 2)
2. There is no way to create or display comments for CUI elements
(priority 1)
O. LISP files
1. Why are .fas/.vlx files not in the file filter? (priority 2)

--
R. Robert Bell
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Message 43 of 251

Anonymous
Not applicable
Man, that original copy-n-paste from Word sure stinks.

I. What I like
A. Workspaces
B. Main/Enterprise structure
C. Drag and drop interface
D. Filtering
E. Transferring
F. .mns Import

II. What needs further work
A. Load order and precedence
1. All items should be a "last loaded" wins, the same as keyboard shortcuts
(priority 3)
2. Option: provide the CAD Manager a way to lock a command or element in
the enterprise file so it cannot be 'overwritten' (priority 3)
B. Core CUI file (acad.cui, adt.cui, abs.cui)
1. These should work perfectly regardless of where they are in the CUI
structure (priority 1)
2. Workspaces defined in the enterprise file, for company standardization,
need to refer to elements from the core CUI, and therefore the core CUI
needs to be partial to the enterprise file (priority 1)
C. Editing the enterprise CUI file
1. Using a profile to switch the enterprise/main files has uncovered a bug
in the CUI/Tool Palette architecture (priority 1)
a. Tool Palette groups are stored in a profile-specific file, Profile.aws
b. The Project Navigator project-specific tool palette depends on a
drag-and-drop mechanism and affects the current workspace
c. If the current workspace is a workspace defined by the enterprise file,
drag-and-drop appears to work until you restart the application. Restarting
the application reveals the project-specific tool palette did not remember
the changes.
d. Switching a profile to place the enterprise file as the main file for
editing switches the Profile.aws used, which means that tool palette changes
will not be evident in the real, working profile.
2. Password access to the enterprise file would seem the only solution
unless the architecture of tool palettes is changed to avoid a
profile-specific file (which really should be done anyway) (priority 1)
D. Commands
1. Need to be able to select what CUI is to receive new command definitions
(priority 1)
a. The "traditional" OOTB structure does not make it easy to store
personal customizations in the Custom.cui file.
b. Could be accomplished by honoring what CUI file is selected in the
filter
c. The current process, to create the command in the main file (because
you have no choice) then transfer the command to the desired CUI file, then
delete the unneeded command in the main file, stinks
2. There must be a way to copy an existing command (priority 1)
3. The tip box incorrectly lists icon sizes as 16×15 and 32×30 pixels
(priority 1, this is embarrassing!)
a. This has been reported by me many times (DID 759087)
b. Postrio B4 still had this mistake, do not know if it was fixed in
shipping version of AutoCAD 2007
4. Find/Replace needs serious improvement (priority 1)
a. Displaying the element that holds the target is ok, but...
b. The target must be highlighted
i. At times, the target exists more than once in the element, but it is
too difficult to determine which of the multiple targets is the current one
in the dialog
ii. At times, the target exists in a long string, which is not visible in
the element's properties pane
c. Support regular expressions
d. Option: display a grid control of all matching elements for global
editing
5. Need to be able to 'type' the commands as Zoom, or Draw (priority 3)
E. Toolbars
1. Selecting a button on the preview should select the command used by the
button (priority 3)
2. Edits to the toolbar should be reflected immediately in the preview
(priority 1)
F. Shortcut menus
1. Must be possible to define in any CUI file and have it available in the
interface (priority 1)
2. An architectural limitation is currently forcing AutoCAD to look in only
a single CUI file for all shortcut menus (priority 1)
G. Shortcut keys
1. The context menu for shortcut keys should not even be displaying a New
option, since it displays creating a new Temporary Override Key only. This
is a confusing interface. (priority 3)
2. There are still key combos that are valid, but cannot be entered in the
interface (priority 1):
a. Ctrl+F1
b. Ctrl+F4
c. Ctrl+F6
d. Ctrl+F10
e. The arrows keys
H. Mouse buttons
1. Fix it. I don't care what it takes. Just fix it. Mouse button
definitions in the CUI files must be made available. For all multi-button
mice. No matter how many buttons they have. (priority 1)
I. Tablet buttons
1. Why are the Ctrl+Click and Ctrl+Shift+Click buttons missing at least the
Button2 definition? (priority 3)
J. Image Tile menus
1. It should be possible to use the editor to select a slide menu,
right-click, and use the context menu to create a "display menu" command,
which is then selected by the interface to permit the user to drag the new
command to a menu or toolbar. (priority 2)
2. Option: Use drag-and-drop of an Image Tile menu to a menu or toolbar to
create the command and element in one shot (priority 2)
3. The current process to create an command to display the image tile menu
is too arcane for many users
K. Tool Palette support
1. Modifying tool palettes should be part of the CUI (priority 1)
2. This means getting rid of profile-specific files for tool palettes
(priority 1)
L. Workspaces
1. Fix the 'unresolved' bug (if not fixed in AutoCAD 2007) (priority 1)
2. Enterprise workspaces must affect the display of core elements,
therefore the core CUI file must be partial to the enterprise file.
(priority 1)
a. AutoCAD 2007 has a bug with the Dashboard when the core is partial
(priority 1)
b. What other bugs are there because Autodesk does not rigorously test the
CUI with the core as a partial? (priority 1)
3. Selecting a workspace should load assigned customization files, e.g lsp,
.fas, .vlx, .dvb, .net, .arx (priority 2)
4. At times, when AutoCAD starts, the current workspace does not actually
refresh the interface (priority 3)
5. Workspaces must completely lock the interface elements (priority 1)
a. If this takes not displaying any interface elements until all CUI files
are loaded, then so be it.
b. The current locking feature is still useless
6. Currently, tool palette editing is affecting the current workspace,
which is a bug when the current workspace is one defined by the enterprise
file (priority 1)
M. Versioning
1. Core commands that are not modified should be migrated to new versions
of the commands when using migration (priority 3)
2. Core commands that are modified should be versioned, so that migration
can flag for actions such as (priority 3):
a. Use current definition
b. Use new definition
c. Edit current definition
3. Any modified commands should be easily filtered/selected to permit
transfer to another CUI file (priority 2)
N. Documentation
1. There is no way to create paper documentation of a CUI file (priority 2)
2. There is no way to create or display comments for CUI elements (priority
1)
O. LISP files
1. Why are .fas/.vlx files not in the file filter? (priority 2)
0 Likes
Message 44 of 251

Anonymous
Not applicable
oh wow, nice comment!
I hate to say it, RINGER....

Matt Stachoni
|>On Tue, 18 Apr 2006 20:59:56 +0000, dcochran <> wrote:
|>
|>>We are looking at ways to improve and enhance the CUI Editor in AutoCAD.
|>
|>Sweet!
|>
|>>As a customer, what improvements would you like to see with CUI?
|>
|>Fire the people responsible for its design and QA testing.
|>
|>>Thanks in advance for your input!
|>
|>You're welcome.
|>
|>Matt
|>mstachoni@comcast.net
|>mstachoni@bhhtait.com
James Maeding
Civil Engineer and Programmer
jmaeding - athunsaker - com
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Message 45 of 251

mid-awe
Collaborator
Collaborator
I realize that I've already commented, but I wanted to add something here after reading several statements after my own.

I am much newer than many others here but in the last few years I have found myself wishing often for a simple GUI for editing mnu/mns files natively, and CUI leaves much to be desired. The CUI editor lacks to a degree that I prefer using VLIDE for MNS editing, even though all it offers is simple tabbing. In fact, if I could have gotten some syntax coloring, collapsible structures (tree view), error checking, and combined mnu/mns/mnc as a single file I would've been well pleased and welcomed the change. With the addition of the new workspaces, very interesting, Autodesk could've seen a very different customer response.
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Message 46 of 251

Anonymous
Not applicable
Hi Matt,

Thanks for the feedback. Some of these things where implamented in 2007
but you still have some great suggestions. I posted some of the updates we
did in 2007 below next to your comments.

Thanks again for the feedback this is very helpful.

Bud Schroeder
AutoCAD Test Development
Autodesk Inc.


wrote in message news:5148446@discussion.autodesk.com...
Thanks for the opportunity, Doug.

(I use Autocad 2006, so disregard any of these suggestions that have already
been added to 2007.)

A.
I think the drag'n'drop from the 'Command List' to the 'Customisations in
all CUI files' section needs to be fixed. It automatically scrolls at
(fairly) high speed as soon as you enter the scroll area. The only way
around it is to do an anti-clockwise semi-circle maneuver with the mouse.
BUD: This should be better in 2007. We have made some changes here.


B.
I don't know if this is already possible, but how about relative paths for
bitmap locations?
BUD: For 2007 we have a default ICON path and you can change it to the path
that you want to use.

C.
Workspace import and export (or drag'n'drop)?
BUD: You can do that today in the Transfer TAB. Just open the menu that
has your Workspace on the left side and the menu that you want to transfer
to on the right. Grab the Workspace and drag it.

D.
Copy'n'Paste of whole or partial toolbars, pull-downs etc. (mentioned by
other replies)
BUD: Something we are looking at for future versions.

E.
Vaguely related: More than one enterprise menu. An enterprise path? Used
only for items called from the enterprise cui.
BUD: You can kind of do this now, but It depends on why you want multiple
Enterprise CUI files. For example you can have an Enterprise CUI file with
partial CUI files loaded in that same file. They are all treated as an
Enterprise CUI file. For different CUI files, you could use a profile and
change the Main and CUI paths to different CUI files.

F.
How about utilising right-clicks a little more?
BUD: What would you like to see used more in the Right Click?

G.
Multiple copy of strings of text, like Microsoft Office.

H.
A filter for the 'Command List'. As in the layer dialog.
BUD: You can filter and search the command list today? Are you looking for
more granularity in how you filter?

I.
Search and replace of text. (Checkboxes of which fields to search.)

J.
How about a more simple way of ordering the pull-down menus?
BUD: Can you tell us more about what you would consider more simple? Right
now you just click on the Workspace in CUI and expand the Menu. Then just
drag them where you want them to show up. Are you looking for a different
way? Thanks.

K.
Once again, vaguely related: How about fixing the toolbar placement & lock
facility? I still have toolbars that don't stay where I want them to.
BUD: Sorry that one is not in the CUI except for the default location of the
toolbars. And that actually is the same as it was in the old MNU format.
But I will pass it on to the team that implamented the locking. Can you
give me some examples of the issues your seeing so that I can share that
with them?

L.
How about being a bit more HELPful? Context sensitive help would be great,
especially with stuff like the Element ID.
BUD: We did a lot of work on Help in 2007 including adding videos to show
how the dialog flows. I would be curious to see what you think of the help
in 2007 and if it's more helpful.

M.
How about having the images in the 'Button Image' area in groupings of where
they come from. dll, bmp file, etc
How about which menu (or partial) they are related to?
BUD: Would it be just the groupings or the entire image/icons section?
Most of this comes from the old MNU system. Also if you add a custom icon
you do see the path in the propertie. But it sounds like you want to see
more here.

As for going back to mns files?
Yes mns files were easier to edit, but the CUI system is OK.
Autodesk have been moving towards complete Windows integration for years,
obvious to anybody who wanted to see the patterns.
The mns system was (obviously) incapable of being modified to suit the
advanced requirements.
I just hope Autodesk don't add those (Microsoft Office style) silly
shrinking pull-down menus!! ;-)))

Anyway, cheers!

Matt
0 Likes
Message 47 of 251

Anonymous
Not applicable
please do not encourage Autodesk with statements like that.
Matt just offered some really cool ideas and all you can say is "I love the middle button mouse pan..."
Like duh! We are saying we want that and more.
I don't think you get what he said.

adtuser
|>Hi Matt,
|>I don't understand this complaint. You've brought it up many times before. Have
|>you tried MBUTTONPAN=0? You get all of your menus back. I for one love the
|>middle mouse button pan and would like to keep it.
|>
|>Have you considered getting a swiss army type mouse with more than 3 buttons?
|>
|>Regards.
|>
|>

James Maeding
Civil Engineer and Programmer
jmaeding - athunsaker - com
0 Likes
Message 48 of 251

Anonymous
Not applicable
Bud,

Speaking as a consumer, would you accept this type of a response from
Microsoft if it took 8+ seconds for the Tools / Customize dialog to appear
in Word?

--
Ralph Sanchez
http://www.texupport.net
--


"Bud Schroeder [Autodesk Inc.]" wrote in message
news:5148242@discussion.autodesk.com...
Hi Laurie,

What version of AutoCAD are you running? 2006 or 2007? I did some testing
using my IBM T42 Laptop and the CUI opens up in under 8 seconds the first
time and around a second each time after. We made a lot of speed changes
specifically for AutoCAD 2007 so you should see a lot more speed that way.

Also besides speed do you have any suggestions for improving the Editor?

Thanks again for the feedback and we look forward to hearing back from you
about the editor.

Bud Schroeder
AutoCAD Test Development
Autodesk Inc.

"Laurie Comerford" wrote in message
news:5146492@discussion.autodesk.com...
Hi Mark,

It will never be acceptable until you can make it start instantly.

The 10 second average delay to respond to the command to open the dalog box
is a reflection of incompetant programming.

With my slightly modified MNU editing system I can make a change to the MNU
file and reload the modified menu in less time than it takes to open the CUI
editor.


Laurie Comerford
CADApps
www.cadapps.com.au

"mark" wrote in message
news:5146421@discussion.autodesk.com...
give me an option without goowee (GUI)
just plain old text editor option, so i can fine tune
and be in full control

thanks
mark


wrote in message news:5146408@discussion.autodesk.com...
Hello,

We are looking at ways to improve and enhance the CUI Editor in AutoCAD. As
a customer, what improvements would you like to see with CUI?

Thanks in advance for your input!

Doug Cochran
Autodesk, Inc.
0 Likes
Message 49 of 251

Anonymous
Not applicable
Hello,

Thanks for the feedback. I have seen a couple people say we are dropping
support for MNU/MNS. We are not dropping this, and will continue to convert
the MNU/MNS files. In 2007 we made a lot of improvements to the help for
CUI. I would be curious to see what you think of that help. If it covers
what your looking for.

Thanks again for the feedback on this, it really helps.

Bud Schroeder
AutoCAD Test Developemnt
Autodesk Inc.


wrote in message news:5148317@discussion.autodesk.com...
To say I'm disappointed at this cui thing is an understatement.

When introducing new features, especially such significant ones, please do
your testing. Test, test and test again before release! And please provide
adequate documentation to make usage and customization not so difficult.
How many users here are satisfied with the documentation of sheetset manager
in the VBA reference? Autodesk had the whole year to improve it since they
introduced it in 2005. But seems nothing was done to this regard. And now
we're looking at this ugly cui thing which is even worse. It is not a $30
or $300 software. Users are expecting something better. I suppose most
companies need to make money. Who can afford that amount of time to having
employees debugging software? This is supposed to be Autodesk's work.
Plus, Autodesk is releasing new version every year! (This probably can be
another topic.) IMHO, most new features, if not coming with sufficient
documentation which allows customization, using lisp, vba, arx, or whatever
else are probably not worth trying for those who have been customizing
AutoCAD, because they probably have spent their time to figure out how to
accomplish that already. Maybe in different ways, but they work, and they're
under full control.

Finally, whatever Autodesk is going to do with cui, please don't drop mns.

Thanks.
0 Likes
Message 50 of 251

Anonymous
Not applicable
Hi Herman,

You can also put the toolbars in a Workspace and turn them back on that way.
For example you could turn off all the toolbars you don't want on, then save
that as a Workspace. Then anytime you want just those toolbars use that
workspace.

Also do you have any ideas on how it could be simpler? If so we would
really like to hear that as well. One thing that we are looking at is are
things harder to do or just different because it's changed? Then we want
to make the right changes based on the feedback.

Thanks again for your feedback.

Bud Schroeder
AutoCAD Test Developement
Autodesk Inc.

wrote in message news:5148306@discussion.autodesk.com...
Not quite. In previous versions there was a dialog box available to turn
toolbars on/off. AFAIK, this dialog was discontinued in 2006, though the
command line interface is still there.

"Right click any toolbar" is not possible if no toolbar is visible.
0 Likes
Message 51 of 251

Anonymous
Not applicable
Agreed.

--
R. Robert Bell


"Ralph Sanchez" wrote in message
news:5148880@discussion.autodesk.com...
Bud,

Speaking as a consumer, would you accept this type of a response from
Microsoft if it took 8+ seconds for the Tools / Customize dialog to appear
in Word?
0 Likes
Message 52 of 251

Anonymous
Not applicable
ack, this reminded me of another of my CUI pet peeves:
If this CUI system is supposedly standalone, yadda yadda, why is it that the MNR gets recompiled, hosing the 2004 users loading the MNU toolbars in the same path?!
After all of this, it still relies on an MNR? And I would assume the number 1 request for any new release is that it would be compatible with previous versions during the transition period. But once again, an Autodesk upgrade makes loading the same toolbar menu from multiple versions impossible.

--J
0 Likes
Message 53 of 251

Anonymous
Not applicable
Bud,

Speaking of CUI, I found a glitch the other day when making an ADT 2006 Network
Deployment (you probably already know this, but here goes):

In the Network Deployment wizard, if you do everything by default, the Main CUI
is ADT.CUI.

If you select Specify Settings (Search Paths and File Locations), the default
that comes up is ACAD.CUI. If you don't explicitly change it back to ADT, you
get a non-standard profile.

Not sure if this was fixed in 2007, but thought I'd just point it out - I missed
it the first time and had to revise the deployment, which takes FOREVER.

Matt
mstachoni@comcast.net
mstachoni@bhhtait.com
0 Likes
Message 54 of 251

Anonymous
Not applicable
Hi Ralph,

Word does not allow me to customize nearly as much as I can in AutoCAD using
the CUI Editor. So yes. Also as a consumer I spent most of my day drawing.
So an 8 second hit to open this dialog would not have been an issue for the
company I worked for. Considering that it opens up almost instantly on the
second time I would have hardly paid attention to it. I did see one comment
that if this were not a model dialog box that the time frame would not be as
much of an issue. Would that be true for you as well?

Also I should add that we do try to keep making it faster. It's not that we
don't want it faster, it's that this is as fast as we can get it to go at
this time!

Thanks and let us know what you think about the model vs non model idea.

Bud





"Ralph Sanchez" wrote in message
news:5148880@discussion.autodesk.com...
Bud,

Speaking as a consumer, would you accept this type of a response from
Microsoft if it took 8+ seconds for the Tools / Customize dialog to appear
in Word?

--
Ralph Sanchez
http://www.texupport.net
--


"Bud Schroeder [Autodesk Inc.]" wrote in message
news:5148242@discussion.autodesk.com...
Hi Laurie,

What version of AutoCAD are you running? 2006 or 2007? I did some testing
using my IBM T42 Laptop and the CUI opens up in under 8 seconds the first
time and around a second each time after. We made a lot of speed changes
specifically for AutoCAD 2007 so you should see a lot more speed that way.

Also besides speed do you have any suggestions for improving the Editor?

Thanks again for the feedback and we look forward to hearing back from you
about the editor.

Bud Schroeder
AutoCAD Test Development
Autodesk Inc.

"Laurie Comerford" wrote in message
news:5146492@discussion.autodesk.com...
Hi Mark,

It will never be acceptable until you can make it start instantly.

The 10 second average delay to respond to the command to open the dalog box
is a reflection of incompetant programming.

With my slightly modified MNU editing system I can make a change to the MNU
file and reload the modified menu in less time than it takes to open the CUI
editor.


Laurie Comerford
CADApps
www.cadapps.com.au

"mark" wrote in message
news:5146421@discussion.autodesk.com...
give me an option without goowee (GUI)
just plain old text editor option, so i can fine tune
and be in full control

thanks
mark


wrote in message news:5146408@discussion.autodesk.com...
Hello,

We are looking at ways to improve and enhance the CUI Editor in AutoCAD. As
a customer, what improvements would you like to see with CUI?

Thanks in advance for your input!

Doug Cochran
Autodesk, Inc.
0 Likes
Message 55 of 251

Anonymous
Not applicable
Hi Matt,

No I have not seen that. I'll pass it by the ADT team and see if they know
about it.

Thanks for pointing it out.

Bud

"Matt Stachoni" wrote in message
news:5148910@discussion.autodesk.com...
Bud,

Speaking of CUI, I found a glitch the other day when making an ADT 2006
Network
Deployment (you probably already know this, but here goes):

In the Network Deployment wizard, if you do everything by default, the Main
CUI
is ADT.CUI.

If you select Specify Settings (Search Paths and File Locations), the
default
that comes up is ACAD.CUI. If you don't explicitly change it back to ADT,
you
get a non-standard profile.

Not sure if this was fixed in 2007, but thought I'd just point it out - I
missed
it the first time and had to revise the deployment, which takes FOREVER.

Matt
mstachoni@comcast.net
mstachoni@bhhtait.com
0 Likes
Message 56 of 251

Anonymous
Not applicable
It's great that subsequent loads are faster but, as you mentioned, users
spend most of their time drawing. Because of this, it's likely that they'll
only ever see the first instance of the CUI dialog in any given session.

I do think it would make sense for the form to be non-modal for testing
purposes. I'm not sure whether or not that would make it any more
responsive, though.

I don't mean to sound combative here. I think we all appreciate the fact
that Autodesk seems to want to make it better. Many thanks to both Bud and
Doug for interacting with us here.

--
Ralph Sanchez
http://www.texupport.net
--


"Bud Schroeder [Autodesk Inc.]" wrote in message
news:5148917@discussion.autodesk.com...
Hi Ralph,

Word does not allow me to customize nearly as much as I can in AutoCAD using
the CUI Editor. So yes. Also as a consumer I spent most of my day drawing.
So an 8 second hit to open this dialog would not have been an issue for the
company I worked for. Considering that it opens up almost instantly on the
second time I would have hardly paid attention to it. I did see one comment
that if this were not a model dialog box that the time frame would not be as
much of an issue. Would that be true for you as well?

Also I should add that we do try to keep making it faster. It's not that we
don't want it faster, it's that this is as fast as we can get it to go at
this time!

Thanks and let us know what you think about the model vs non model idea.

Bud





"Ralph Sanchez" wrote in message
news:5148880@discussion.autodesk.com...
Bud,

Speaking as a consumer, would you accept this type of a response from
Microsoft if it took 8+ seconds for the Tools / Customize dialog to appear
in Word?

--
Ralph Sanchez
http://www.texupport.net
--


"Bud Schroeder [Autodesk Inc.]" wrote in message
news:5148242@discussion.autodesk.com...
Hi Laurie,

What version of AutoCAD are you running? 2006 or 2007? I did some testing
using my IBM T42 Laptop and the CUI opens up in under 8 seconds the first
time and around a second each time after. We made a lot of speed changes
specifically for AutoCAD 2007 so you should see a lot more speed that way.

Also besides speed do you have any suggestions for improving the Editor?

Thanks again for the feedback and we look forward to hearing back from you
about the editor.

Bud Schroeder
AutoCAD Test Development
Autodesk Inc.

"Laurie Comerford" wrote in message
news:5146492@discussion.autodesk.com...
Hi Mark,

It will never be acceptable until you can make it start instantly.

The 10 second average delay to respond to the command to open the dalog box
is a reflection of incompetant programming.

With my slightly modified MNU editing system I can make a change to the MNU
file and reload the modified menu in less time than it takes to open the CUI
editor.


Laurie Comerford
CADApps
www.cadapps.com.au

"mark" wrote in message
news:5146421@discussion.autodesk.com...
give me an option without goowee (GUI)
just plain old text editor option, so i can fine tune
and be in full control

thanks
mark


wrote in message news:5146408@discussion.autodesk.com...
Hello,

We are looking at ways to improve and enhance the CUI Editor in AutoCAD. As
a customer, what improvements would you like to see with CUI?

Thanks in advance for your input!

Doug Cochran
Autodesk, Inc.
0 Likes
Message 57 of 251

Anonymous
Not applicable
After 4 months of messing around with the cui in 2006 (which I was forced to buy by the deadline), I've still not moved 2006 into production drafting in our office. At this point I don't see it happening in the future. For customized menus we use slides, toolbars and digitizers with customized mnu and mns files.

I've tried over and over to get the customized tablet area one in the mnu file into 2006. I've tried using the cui interface after reading messages here and watching the linked videos, all to no avail. The only way I've gotten the area one of the tablet menu to work properly is to use menuload to load my old acad.mnu from 2002. Unfortunately the 2002 mnu overwrites the 2006 menu. I haven't figured out how to make a partial menu of just the area one menu and have it work. Because the area one portion of the 2002 mnu file worked properly in 2006, I know there is a soultion to getting my customized menu to work properly, I just don't know how and can't find out from the documentation.

Here is a snipped version of my partial mnu file I'm trying to get to work:

***MENUGROUP=tabletareaone

//
// Begin AutoCAD Tablet Menus
//
// This is the TABLET1 menu. You may put your own
// macros and menu items here in these spaces.
// All of the "blank" line items actually contain a
// backslash so that no command is issued when you pick any
// of them from the tablet. Remove them if you want an Enter
// to happen when they are selected, or place your own
// macros in their place.

***TABLET1
**TABLET1STD
[A-1]^C^C-INSERT UVR
[A-2]^C^C-INSERT UVL
[A-3]^C^C-INSERT UVHORZU
[A-4]^C^C-INSERT UVHORIZD

[snip

**ENDTAB

If anyone has any suggestions on how to edit this partial menu so that it works please let me know. It does load but does not work.

I started on release 2.6 and have never had this much trouble upgrading Autocad. I found it very simple to cut and paste my custom menus into the mnu or mns files. I have hit a dead end with 2006 and can't see paying Autodesk for more of this in the future. I will stay with 2002 for now and see what happens.

Lowell
0 Likes
Message 58 of 251

Anonymous
Not applicable
Hi Ralph,

Thanks for the feedback. This is what we want to hear. Your not being
combative, your pointing out what you would like to see change. For you
speed seems to be a big issue. We are allso very appriciative to every one
who posts to this thread, it all helps.

Thanks again for the feedback.

Bud

"Ralph Sanchez" wrote in message
news:5148979@discussion.autodesk.com...
It's great that subsequent loads are faster but, as you mentioned, users
spend most of their time drawing. Because of this, it's likely that they'll
only ever see the first instance of the CUI dialog in any given session.

I do think it would make sense for the form to be non-modal for testing
purposes. I'm not sure whether or not that would make it any more
responsive, though.

I don't mean to sound combative here. I think we all appreciate the fact
that Autodesk seems to want to make it better. Many thanks to both Bud and
Doug for interacting with us here.

--
Ralph Sanchez
http://www.texupport.net
--


"Bud Schroeder [Autodesk Inc.]" wrote in message
news:5148917@discussion.autodesk.com...
Hi Ralph,

Word does not allow me to customize nearly as much as I can in AutoCAD using
the CUI Editor. So yes. Also as a consumer I spent most of my day drawing.
So an 8 second hit to open this dialog would not have been an issue for the
company I worked for. Considering that it opens up almost instantly on the
second time I would have hardly paid attention to it. I did see one comment
that if this were not a model dialog box that the time frame would not be as
much of an issue. Would that be true for you as well?

Also I should add that we do try to keep making it faster. It's not that we
don't want it faster, it's that this is as fast as we can get it to go at
this time!

Thanks and let us know what you think about the model vs non model idea.

Bud





"Ralph Sanchez" wrote in message
news:5148880@discussion.autodesk.com...
Bud,

Speaking as a consumer, would you accept this type of a response from
Microsoft if it took 8+ seconds for the Tools / Customize dialog to appear
in Word?

--
Ralph Sanchez
http://www.texupport.net
--


"Bud Schroeder [Autodesk Inc.]" wrote in message
news:5148242@discussion.autodesk.com...
Hi Laurie,

What version of AutoCAD are you running? 2006 or 2007? I did some testing
using my IBM T42 Laptop and the CUI opens up in under 8 seconds the first
time and around a second each time after. We made a lot of speed changes
specifically for AutoCAD 2007 so you should see a lot more speed that way.

Also besides speed do you have any suggestions for improving the Editor?

Thanks again for the feedback and we look forward to hearing back from you
about the editor.

Bud Schroeder
AutoCAD Test Development
Autodesk Inc.

"Laurie Comerford" wrote in message
news:5146492@discussion.autodesk.com...
Hi Mark,

It will never be acceptable until you can make it start instantly.

The 10 second average delay to respond to the command to open the dalog box
is a reflection of incompetant programming.

With my slightly modified MNU editing system I can make a change to the MNU
file and reload the modified menu in less time than it takes to open the CUI
editor.


Laurie Comerford
CADApps
www.cadapps.com.au

"mark" wrote in message
news:5146421@discussion.autodesk.com...
give me an option without goowee (GUI)
just plain old text editor option, so i can fine tune
and be in full control

thanks
mark


wrote in message news:5146408@discussion.autodesk.com...
Hello,

We are looking at ways to improve and enhance the CUI Editor in AutoCAD. As
a customer, what improvements would you like to see with CUI?

Thanks in advance for your input!

Doug Cochran
Autodesk, Inc.
0 Likes
Message 59 of 251

Anonymous
Not applicable
On Thu, 20 Apr 2006 14:06:34 +0000, adtuser wrote:

>Hi Matt,

>I don't understand this complaint. You've brought it up many times before. Have
>you tried MBUTTONPAN=0? You get all of your menus back.

As I mentioned in my previous post:
>For me and many of my users it's no bargain and we actually have MBUTTONPAN=0.

So yeah, I have them back, but miss MBP. I finally resorted to creating a macro
tied to F6 that swaps them back and forth, but it's still a kludge.

> I for one love the middle mouse button pan and would like to keep it.

I'm not requesting anyone taking it away. Far from it. I simply want the other
three optional keys back and the freedom to apply MBP to any button or kbd+mb
combination.

>Have you considered getting a swiss army type mouse with more than 3 buttons?

Yep. Have one (Logitech MX1000). But the other buttons are just not very
comfortable to use for me, and I have to use Logitech's drivers to assign them.
And even then I have to first assign a macro (except for MBP's press-drag pan
action) to a keyboard macro, and then assign that through Logitech's drivers.
It's not like I can assign "unassigned" to it and have AutoCAD pick it up as
another button.

Matt
mstachoni@comcast.net
mstachoni@bhhtait.com
0 Likes
Message 60 of 251

Anonymous
Not applicable
Rick,

I've pondered over this request of yours, and feel you might be missing
something.

Workspaces control the visibility of interface elements *within the
constraints of the loaded cui files*. How would a workspace within a partial
cui file even be created that would "know" of the elements normally
contained by its "master" cui file?

Since a workspace in a partial cui could not

--
R. Robert Bell


"Rick Moore" wrote in message
news:5147027@discussion.autodesk.com...
Allow workspaces to be saved in partial menus
0 Likes