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MENUBUILDER |
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For those new to what a menu file is, it is the file that controls how your AutoCAD desktop looks and operates. There are several types of files that you will see, they are described below:
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AutoCAD menu files
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File type
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Description
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MNU
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Template menu file.
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MNC
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Compiled menu file. This binary file contains the command strings and menu
syntax that defines the functionality and appearance of the menu.
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MNR
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Menu resource file. This binary file contains the bitmaps used by the
menu.
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MNS
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Source menu file (generated by AutoCAD).
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MNT
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Menu resource file. This file is generated when the MNR file is
unavailable, for example, read-only.
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MNL
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Menu LISP file. This file contains AutoLISP expressions that are used by
the menu file and are loaded into memory when a menu file with the same
file name is loaded.
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We will be dealing only with ".MNU" and ".MNL" files here. The rest will be created by AutoCAD from the ".MNU" files and we don't really need to worry much about them.
For those who don't know what a menu file controls, it defines:
your screen menu |
your pull-downs |
your toolbars |
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your images (icon menus) |
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| your mouse/puck buttons | |
| your tablet layout | |
your help strings |
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| and your accelerators (like <Ctrl>C for copy to clipboard etc.) |
The MENUBUILDER command allows you to assemble menu files from the individual components of many different menu files. You can take the toolbars from one menu and the buttons from another menu and so on. The standard menu file can have the following sections:
| Buttons Pull-downs Toolbars |
Images (icons) Screen menus Tablets |
Helpstrings Accelerators |
The MENUBUILDER command allows you to load
existing menu files and have them broken down into their component parts so you
may use these components to assemble a new menu
file using components from various sources.
This process does not affect your existing menu files so you don't have to worry about messing up your menu files. It simply makes copies of each of the sections listed above that you select and saves them in a special folder for the version of AutoCAD you are using. The locations where these files are stored is shown in the image to the left. You may fill these folders with as many component parts from as many menu files as you would like. Once the menu components are created they become available as a choice when selecting what file to use in the new menu file you are constructing.
No knowledge of how to write menus is needed for this process.
Keyboard shortcut: none
Toolbar button: none
Compatible with AutoCAD Versions:
13, 14, 2000, 2000i, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008
User configurable options: none
Layers: not applicable
Known limitations:
None reported. If there is something this command will not do that you think it should please let us know.
Alternate uses:
None reported. If you have an alternate use for this command submit it here.
Command: MENUBUILDER
The following dialog appears:
Select an area on the dialog above to go to a description for that area below.
Menu filename to create
The first thing to do is specify a name and location for the new menu file. Edit the name in the top box and/or browse to the location that you would like the file created.
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Menugroup
Below when we select components we will select the Std Acad 2002 + APS - Compact (assuming we are using AutoCAD 2002) toolbar file. It has references to the "ACAD" menugroup so "ACAD" will appear as shown above.
Typically the menugroup for this new menu should match the menugroup called out in the toolbars so you should change the "Menugroup" to the same as what is called out in the toolbars (in this case "ACAD").
If you are going to have more than one menu file loaded at the same time (by using the AutoCAD "MENULOAD" command) the menugroup must be different for each menu loaded.
Sometimes there can be more than one menugroup called out in a toolbar file. Having more than one menugroup called out in your toolbar file may mean that you need to edit it to correct the multiple menugroups - or this may be on purpose. In either case they will be listed here so you can see them.
Select Menu Component to Add/Change
You do not have to include all of the components in your menu file if you don't want to, all that is required in a menu is the menugroup and one section. However if this is going to be your primary menu file (loaded with AutoCAD's "MENU" command as opposed to one loaded with AutoCAD's "MENULOAD" command) it is a good idea to include a file for each component.
Let's start with the buttons, click on the line that says "Buttons:" and the following dialog will appear:
The "Std Acad 2002" (this assumes you are in AutoCAD 2002) choice at the top is the only one of the choices shown here that comes standard. The others are examples of other menu components that were loaded later. Select the component file that you would like to use the buttons definitions from. If you do not want any button section in your new menu select the "Do Not Include This Portion of the Menu" button.
Once you have selected a file to use for the buttons this dialog will close and the file selected will appear in the main dialog.
We will skip the pull-downs and next click on the line that says "Toolbars:". The following dialog will appear:
Select the file that you would like to get the toolbar definitions from and the dialog will close and the selection will appear in the main dialog as shown below:
Continue to select menu components until you have specified all that you want. Once again, the menugroup and one other component is all that is required to create a menu file.
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Load Menu Components From an Existing Menu File
This button allows you to load more menu components directly from other menu files. If you have existing menu files that you have created for yourself you may load these files and create component files that you may mix with other components to create custom menus. When the button is pressed you are prompted to select a menu file:
Browse and find the menu file that you would like to get portions of and select it.
The following dialog will appear:
The filename of the menu you selected will appear as the default name for the menu file components. If this is what you would like to call all of the component files you copy from this menu file you may leave it, otherwise enter the name that you would like to give the components. This name will be the name for each of the component files left checked.
Next, if all you really want from this menu file is the toolbars and the tablet definitions then you can uncheck the rest and only those left checked will be created.
Components missing in the menu file selected will show greyed out and will not be selectable.
Once the name has been selected and only the components wanted are checked select "OK" and the component files will be created.
The files are created in the folders corresponding to the version of AutoCAD that you are using below the "MenuFiles" folder as shown below. So if we are using AutoCAD release 2002 the files will be created in the "2002" folder. The filename is what you selected in the dialog above with a number added to the beginning corresponding to what type of component the file is. The numbers and component types are listed here:
- Header/disclaimers/menugroup name
- Mouse/Puck button definitions
- Pull-downs (pops)
- Toolbars
- Images
- Screen menus
- Tablets
- Help strings
- Accelerators
The next time you select one of the components from the main menu the component files you just created will be listed in the possible choices.
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Create Menu
Once all of the above information has been entered press "Create Menu" and the menu file will be written. A ".MNL" file will also be created with the same name as the menu file (.MNU). So from the example above the menu file that was created would be called "Custom1.mnu" and "Custom1.mnl" would also be created so that the APS-2008 software will load whenever this menu is loaded.
If the APS-2008 software is loading from your "ACAD.LSP" file or if you are using another menu as the primary menu file and the APS-2008 software is already loading from the primary menu's ".MNL" file, you may delete the ".MNL" file for this menu.
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For this example we will combine portions of standard APS menus with other menu files. Below we are using AutoCAD® 2002 and so many of the component choices say 2002 in them. The AutoCAD version will change to show the version that you are using. We used AutoCAD 2002 in this example but the steps shown here are identical for all the other versions as well.
1. Type in MENUBUILDER at the command prompt
The following dialog will appear:
2. Enter a name for the new menu file
Enter a name for your new menu file in the box titled "Menu filename to create:"
Include the full path with the filename. You may manually type your menu name in the box and/or click "Browse..." to help enter the path to where your new menu file will be created.
3. Load components from your existing menu files
We will assume that you need to load some of your "old" menu files so that
you may use portions of them in the new menu file. To load components from your
"old" menu files press the
button and the following will appear:
Browse and find the menu file that you would like to load, select it and
press "Open".
The following dialog will appear:
This is where you can name the components that you are loading. The default name is the same name as the menu file that you selected but you may change that to anything that will help you remember what components these are.
If you don't want to get all the components from this menu file you may uncheck any you don't want.
When you are ready press "OK" and the menu file will be read in and the component file(s) created so that you may select them later when you assemble your new menu.
Repeat this step as many times as needed until all the components that you will need are loaded.
4. Specify the component that you would like to use for the Buttons
Click on the line for buttons as shown above. A dialog with choices similar to the following will appear:
Select the menu name that has the buttons that you would like for your new menu. For this example we will select the buttons from "JoesReallyCoolMenu".
5. Specify the component that you would like to use for the Pull-downs
Select "Pull-Downs (Pops)" and the choices for the pull-downs will appear
Select the standard AutoCAD® toolbars that also have APS-2008 commands added to them (Std Acad 2002 + APS). See APS modifications to standard AutoCAD menus for more on what APS-2008 commands were added to the standard ACAD menu.
6. Specify the component that you would like to use for the toolbars
We have a couple standard choices to select from here. There is the standard AutoCAD toolbars, the standard ACAD toolbars with the "Full" set of APS toolbars added, and the standard AutoCAD toolbars with the "Compact" set of APS toolbars added. Select the "Std Acad 2002 + APS - Compact" set of toolbars.
See APS modifications to standard AutoCAD menus for more on what APS toolbars have been added to the standard ACAD toolbars for both the "Full" and "Compact" sets.
7. Specify the menugroup name for your menu
Since we have selected a toolbar component we are now ready to enter the menugroup for our menu. The MENUBUILDER command searches through the selected toolbars and finds all the menugroup references and displays them. The toolbars we selected have references to the "ACAD" menugroup so "ACAD" appears as shown above.
Typically if you are going to load your menu using AutoCAD's MENU command the menugroup will usually be "ACAD".
If you are going to load your menu using AutoCAD's MENULOAD command the menugroup will usually NOT be "ACAD".
In either case the menugroup must match what is called out in the toolbars or the toolbars may not work properly. Enter the menugroup name in the box as shown here.
8. Specify the component that you would like to use for the images
We have not added anything to the standard images section, so if you haven't added anything in your menus either select the "Std Acad 2002" menu.
9. Specify the component that you would like to use for the screen menu
Select the screen menu that you want to use. If you plan to use APS Layer Schemes to control your layers and want to display your layers on the screen menu you need to use the "APS" screen menu component as shown above.
10. Specify the component that you would like to use for the tablet
Select the tablet that you would like to use. There are two APS tablet layouts provided with the software. The first is for those who use the standard AutoCAD tablet layout and fits in tablet area 1 (the top rectangular area shown in the image to the right). The component name for this layout is "APS-Tablet1 + Std Acad 2002-Tablets234".
The second tablet layout covers the entire tablet. The component name for this one is "APS".
See APS Tablet Layouts to see both of these tablet layouts. For this example, however, we will select the tablet from the "Bob07" menu.
11. Specify the component that you would like to use for the helpstrings
Since there is typically not very much customization in this area we recommend that you select "Std Acad 2002 + APS".
12. Specify the component that you would like to use for the accelerators
Select the accelerators that you would like. If you have done any customization select your menu component, otherwise the "Std Acad 2002" one will work nicely.
13. Look over your selections
Take one last look over all your selections to make sure that everything is the way you would like it.
14. Create the file
Press the
button and your new menu file will be written at the location specified.
Depending on which type of menu you created you may now either use the AutoCAD
"MENU" command or the AutoCAD "MENULOAD" command to load your new menu.
Use AutoCAD's "MENU" command for loading your main menu file. This is the most common.
Use AutoCAD's "MENULOAD" command to load secondary menu files. These are typically partial menus that are "added" or loaded "in addition to" the main menu.
The APS-2008 software comes with a sample menu and several sample menu component files for each supported version of AutoCAD (13, 14, 2000, 2000i, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008).
The menu files
are located in your "Custom" folder with backup copies located in the "MenuFiles"
folder. They include the following:
APS-MENU-13.mnu
APS-MENU-14.mnu
APS-MENU-2000.mnu
APS-MENU-2000i.mnu
APS-MENU-2002.mnu
APS-MENU-2004.mnu
APS-MENU-2005.mnu
The component files are located in the folders under the "MenuFiles" folder, each named for the AutoCAD version they work with.
The included component files for each version:
| Component filename (substitute your Acad version number for X ie: 13, 14, 2000, 2000i, 2002, 2004, 2005 etc.) |
Description * = component is used in the above menu files |
| 1-Std Acad X.mnu | * This has the standard AutoCAD disclaimers, and the menugroup (which may be changed within the MENUBUILDER command) |
| 2-Std Acad X.mnu | * Standard button section from the "acadfull.mnu" file (if available "acad.mnu" if not) |
| 3-Std Acad X
+ APS.mnu
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* The standard pull-down section from the "acadfull.mnu" file (if available "acad.mnu" if not) with APS-2008 commands added where they contextually make sense and select AutoCAD commands have been replaced with APS-2008 commands See here for a listing of these added commands and replacements. |
| 3-Std Acad X.mnu | The standard pull-down section from the "acadfull.mnu" file (if available "acad.mnu" if not) |
| 4-Std Acad X
+ APS - Compact.mnu See here to view the toolbars from this menu component. |
* The standard toolbars section from the "acadfull.mnu"
file (if available "acad.mnu" if not) with
APS-2008 toolbar buttons added
where they contextually make sense and select AutoCAD commands have been
replaced with
APS-2008 commands. See
here for a listing of these added
commands and replacements. "Compact" means that the toolbars have been condensed using flyouts and a few toolbar commands that are commonly accessed by keyboard shortcuts or other methods have been deleted. |
| 4-Std Acad X
+ APS - Full.mnu See here to view the toolbars from this menu component. |
The standard toolbars section from the "acadfull.mnu" file (if available "acad.mnu" if not) with APS-2008 toolbar buttons added where they contextually make sense and select AutoCAD commands have been replaced with APS-2008 commands See here for a listing of these added commands and replacements. |
| 4-Std Acad X.mnu | The standard toolbars section from the "acadfull.mnu" file (if available "acad.mnu" if not) |
| 5-Std Acad X.mnu | * The standard icons section from the "acadfull.mnu" file (if available "acad.mnu" if not) |
| 6-APS.mnu | * This is the APS-2008 screen menu that must be used if you are going to use layer schemes and have your layers appear on the screen menu portion of the screen. See the "Displaying and controlling layers" section here for more information. |
| 6-Std Acad X.mnu | The standard screen section from the "acadfull.mnu" file (if available "acad.mnu" if not) |
| 7-APS.mnu | This is the APS-2008 tablet layout that was designed completely from scratch and therefore has very little similarity to the standard AutoCAD tablet layout. Many feel it is a superior tablet layout, but we'll let you decide. You can see what this tablet layout looks like or download a drawing of it here. |
| 7-APS-Tablet1 + Std Acad X-Tablets234.mnu | * This is the standard AutoCAD tablet layout for your version of AutoCAD with the APS-2008 tablet area 1 layout inserted in it. See what the APS-2008 tablet area 1 layout looks like and/or download a drawing of it here. |
| 7-Std Acad X.mnu | The standard tablet section from the "acadfull.mnu" file (if available "acad.mnu" if not) |
| 8-Std Acad X + APS.mnu | * The standard helpstrings section from the "acadfull.mnu" file (if available "acad.mnu" if not) with the APS-2008 command helpstring definitions added at the end. |
| 8-Std Acad X.mnu | The standard helpstrings section from the "acadfull.mnu" file (if available "acad.mnu" if not) |
| 9-Std Acad X.mnu | *The standard accelerator section from the "acadfull.mnu" file (if available "acad.mnu" if not) |
The numbers on component files correspond to the following sections:
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