How to Create an Entirely New Tool Palette

[sbrusco]

Hi All,

How can I create an entire tool palette 'file' from scratch? Not just a tool in a palette/tab, and not just a new palette/tab, but a whole new palette file. All I can find is how to create a new palette inside an already existing palette file.

TIA

Sal

[steven-g]

Right click on the toolpalettes side bar and choose customize or type the command cutomize, to enter the toolpalette customize daialogue.

It won't give you a completely new palette but if you create new groups and drag the palettes from the left intop the new group on the right you can build your own palettes and swap between them as you want (from the right click on the toolpalette side bar)

[_Tharwat]

Hi,

Unfortunately that is not available with AutoLISP so you need to ask or start learning any .NET language to be able to have your own a standalone palette.

[sbrusco]

Hi Tharwat,

Sorry for any confusion but I was not asking to do this with LISP, dotNET or any programming language. I just want to create a new, blank tool palette file that I can then add new palettes to.

Sal

[sbrusco · Accepted solution]

Hey Steven-G,

Thanks for your input but my goal is to have a TP "file" with only my custom tool palette  "tabs" so I think I have to make a copy of an existing TP file, add my custom TP  tabs and then remove all the tabs from the file that I copied. I hope this makes sense.

I am just a little confused though why Autodesk doesn't have a way to do this without all the hoop-jumping. Maybe some day.

Sal

[steven-g]

It makes perfect sense, but my last reply possibly didn't. You can create your own Custom palette and fill it with tabs and commands that you want, And by naming this new palette you can swith between different versions. What you can't do is have multible versions open, You are only allowed 1 toolpalette but how it looks and what it contains can be swithed at will. I use different toolpalettes for different types of work or projects, it saves on having to try and find the tool I need in a long list of tabs.

Hopefully the attached image will give enough clues as to how to go about doing it. It's a bit rough but it might help

EDIT I can't post images from here, I'll try later

[sbrusco]

Hi Steven,

I may have a bubble in my brain but I just can't see the answer here. I have attached a composite that I hope will help all understand the terms I'm using and I hope no one takes offense by it. It is really for MY benefit.

The top left of the image is taken from Windows explorer and this is where I see files I'm calling the TP "FILES." The right side of the image is taken from AutoCAD and you can see what I'm calling the TP "TABS" and of course, you can also see the "TOOLS."

I can create TOOLS in an existing TP FILE, and I can create new TABS also. What I cannot seem to do is to create a new FILE from scratch. You last reply more clearly states that creating new "FILES" is what you're talking about but without the image, I'm still lost.

I will wait for you to post the image and hopefully my bubble will have popped by then.

Thanks for your patience.

Sal

[steven-g]

I certainly hope this gets you going in the right direction. It is just a screen shot of Autocad with a few notes about where to click. I do think we are both talking about the same thing, it's just a matter of how you get there. One note in the image I will state here again, in the customize dialogue for the tollpalette there are 2 panels one is for the individual Tabs (the left side) and the other is to create custom ToolPalettes (the right side -called Palette groups).

You can't add your commands into the palette tabs from here, you still do that within the tool palette, but what you can do is setup which Tabs you want to see, in the toolpalette and that way you swap the contents of what you see in the toolpalette by just selecting a named group by right clicking on the title bar of the toolpalette.

You can also swap these groups using a macro, so you could have a toolpalette tab with tools in it to swap toolpalettes (groups). Groups can have the same Tabs as each other. And I would advise against deleting the built in Toolpalette tabs unless you are absolutely sure you don't need anything from them because once deleted they are gone.

[sbrusco]

Allow me to back up one level. Please refer to the attached shot of the AutoCAD "OPTIONS" in the "Files" tab. At some point you have to direct AutoCAD to read a particular TP "ToolPalette" and this is done with the "OPTIONS" command as shown in the attached. All you've talked about so far is how to add to, modify or re-group an existing TP "FILE"

What I want to know is how to create a NEW TO FILE from scratch. I think I have to start with a copy of AutoCAD's default TP, add my stuff and then delete all the AutoCAD stuff from the "copy" of the TP.

[rapidcad]

If you point your options to an empty folder, AutoCAD will automatically create a blank tool palette to start from inside that blank folder. You will have no tools on it (insertion tools, LISP tools, Commands) but you can certainly use design center or even windows explorer to start populating from scratch. If you want AutoCAD commands and such, they can be dragged right out of the CUI's command list from any loaded menu. You can even copy something from a complete tool palette to the clipboard and paste it on the new one. Of course you can import any exported tool palettes as well.

Tool palettes are probably the easiest of all GUI's to customize. You can even use a free XML editor to change things globally (such as paths for stored blocks).

Hope this helps,

[steven-g]

OK I have to be honest, that's a new one for me, but first impressions I prefer the method I'm using now,it's so easy to swap between palette content, and at least visually I don't think there is a big difference.

[rapidcad]

Hi Steven,

Nice graphic by the way. You are talking about the use of palette groups and using lisp or macros to achieve multiple palettes (first seen back in maybe '06 done by Chip Harper). I like those too, but for the OP's question, he was just trying to create his own tool palette without all the overhead XML that would be leftover if you clear out the example file Autodesk gave us with every release. 

Your way is a great way to manage different menus as well. However, if a user has completely custom palette content and he needs none of the example palette content that ships with AutoCAD, it makes sense to start over and create you own tabs up until a point. After about 15 palettes with a typical CAD resolution, the tabs are too numerous to display the lowest ones without right clicking on the "stack of pancakes at the bottom (revealing the hidden few that can't display otherwise). I run into this some but it doesn't bother me to right-click unless I'm going to those hidden ones frequently.

[Anonymous]

  I couldn't stand the pancakes, as I had literally hundreds of different palettes.

 So I have been using this way to create an enterprise solution for the last 8 years:

First, I created a custom toolbar (I know, old school)

 Then I created an empty directory that I wanted a palette in:  In the example below, that directory was S:/ACADBLKS/TOOL PALETTES/Civil/Bus

Then I set a number of buttons up to handle each palette that would coincide with what I needed to work on:  Each of those could have tabs in them, but I wasn't willing to fight a very large stack.  I just add more buttons...

  the code attached to each icon on the toolbar looks like this:

^C^CToolPalettesClose;*_TOOLPALETTEPATH "S:/ACADBLKS/TOOL PALETTES/Civil/Bus";ToolPalettes

  What I am doing is changing the current path of the palette on the fly, depending on which button on the toolbar is selected.

Also, I wanted the users to be able to manage their own palette, which would affect no other users on the network.

  For this, I created a button which sent the current user to their own palette/directory, by using this sytax:

^C^CToolPalettesClose;*_TOOLPALETTEPATH (strcat "S:/ACADBLKS/TOOL PALETTES/User/" (getvar "loginname"));ToolPalettes

I plaeced this one out on the network as well, as I wanted all customizations to be backed up regularly and that doesn't happen on our local machines.

 This may be more that the original poster wanted, but it does give the best of both worlds.

 If all you want is one palette, set the environment variable TOOLPALETTEPATH in the options dialogue box to an empty directory and create from scratch.

 Thoughts?

d.

[rapidcad]

ddawson - very nice solution for those who use a lot of palette tabs (more than about 12). Like I said earlier, I first saw something like this called Multiple Tool Palettes by Chip Harper on these forums about 10 years ago. It was my first exposure to customizing them. I think Autodesk University's archives should also have some tool palette class material. I'll see if I can dig some up soon. I'm buried right now though.