{"id":5096,"date":"2016-09-13T06:00:26","date_gmt":"2016-09-13T13:00:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.autodesk.com/blogs\/autocad\/?p=5096"},"modified":"2020-04-07T14:49:35","modified_gmt":"2020-04-07T21:49:35","slug":"customizing-the-autocad-tool-palette-tuesday-tips","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.autodesk.com/blogs\/autocad\/customizing-the-autocad-tool-palette-tuesday-tips\/","title":{"rendered":"Customizing the AutoCAD Tool Palette \u2014 Once Around the Blocks: Tuesday Tips with Heidi"},"content":{"rendered":"

The real value of tool palettes, an AutoCAD feature since the 2004 release, becomes evident when you customize them to meet your needs. Customizing the AutoCAD tool palette is so easy and powerful, I could teach an entire class on it\u2014and I have! But for today\u2019s Tuesday Tip, I\u2019ll just share my favorite method for creating a custom tool palette of blocks. It\u2019s so easy I bet you\u2019ll want to try it right now!<\/p>\n

You probably already have a block library (on your local or network drive) that\u2019s organized into folders with a bunch of small DWG files that you use for blocks, or DWG files with many block definitions in them, or a combination of both. They all work great for this tip!<\/p>\n

We\u2019ll be using AutoCAD DesignCenter to quickly create a new tool palette of your existing blocks so, if you haven\u2019t already, now would be a good time to read last week\u2019s Tuesday Tip on AutoCAD DesignCenter<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s get going!<\/p>\n

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  1. Launch DesignCenter (DC alias)<\/li>\n
  2. Navigate to your existing block library<\/li>\n
  3. Right-click on the folder or DWG file that contains your block definitions<\/li>\n
  4. Choose Create Tool Palette from the right-click menu<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    \"AutoCAD<\/p>\n

    A new tool palette with the folder or DWG name that you right-clicked on is automatically created and, like magic, it includes tools for all the blocks!<\/p>\n

    \"AutoCAD<\/p>\n

    Now you have quick and easy access to your favorite blocks right from the tool palette. It doesn\u2019t get any easier than this, right? You can right-click on each of the tools to modify any of the individual properties, such as name, scale, and even the layer on which you want it inserted!<\/p>\n

    Note<\/strong>: It\u2019s important to realize that blocks in your tool palette are links to the definitions in a drawing. Notice the Source file location in the tool properties. If you move your block library (source files), the links in the tool palette will break.<\/p>\n

    \"AutoCAD<\/p>\n

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    Customizing the AutoCAD tool palette: A bit more context<\/h2>\n

    \"AutoCAD<\/p>\n

    When you open Tool Palettes\u2014accessed from the View ribbon tab or the TOOLPALETTES command (TP alias)\u2014you\u2019ll see several tabs. Each tab is a palette, itself with multiple tools. It\u2019s unlikely that most of them are particularly useful to you, and they\u2019re not intended to be. Rather, they\u2019re intended to inspire you with ideas and examples. There is, for example, a Modeling palette with just a few of the tools you might use for 3D modeling. And there\u2019s a Constraint palette with tools for applying parametric constraints.<\/p>\n

    \"AutoCAD\"AutoCAD<\/p>\n

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    And there are several palettes with blocks, including both imperial and metric versions. Some of the blocks are even \u201cdynamic\u201d as indicated by the lightning bolt icon.<\/p>\n

    \"AutoCAD<\/p>\n

    \"AutoCAD<\/p>\n

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    There are palettes with hatches, tables, lights, cameras, and more. In fact there are so many palettes you can\u2019t see all the tabs at one time! Fortunately, however, you can right-click on the tab edges at the bottom of the tool palette to display a menu of all the tabs for easy navigation. When you select a palette from the menu, the tool palette tabs scroll up or down accordingly.<\/p>\n

    \"AutoCAD\"AutoCAD<\/p>\n

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    As I said, out of all these palettes and tools there are likely only a few that apply to your particular workflow. The real value of tool palettes comes when you customize them to meet your needs.<\/p>\n

    By now I\u2019m sure you see that customizing the AutoCAD tool palette really is easy\u2014especially if you\u2019re a right-clicking machine. Remember: Where you right-click matters! For example, if you right-click on a tool you can do things like delete or rename that tool. If you right-click on a tool palette tab, you can move it up or down as well as rename or delete that entire palette. Deleting unnecessary tools and palettes is a good place to start!<\/p>\n

    \"AutoCAD\"AutoCAD<\/p>\n

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    Want to learn more about AutoCAD tool palettes?<\/h2>\n

    I hope you found this helpful. We\u2019ve only scratched the surface of customizing the AutoCAD tool palette. For more great information, check out the following resources.<\/p>\n

    Autodesk University Online Learning classes<\/h3>\n