Personalize Your Palettes in AutoCAD® Architecture

Douglas V. Bowers, AIA, LEED® AP – Doug Bowers Consulting, LLC

AB314-1 This class will show typical architectural users how to create personal palettes and
temporary palettes to help them be more efficient. While your company may have standard palettes that
are typically used, there are many times that additional personal palettes are very helpful. It is very easy
to create palettes "on-the-fly” with tools that help you on a temporary basis as well, such as specific door
sizes and types being used on a project. Palettes are very versatile and many functions can be
performed by tools on a palette. We will discuss creating, grouping, and customizing the appearance of
palettes. We will also discuss the creation of various types of tools, especially those tools available in
AutoCAD Architecture but not in AutoCAD. Attendees should have some knowledge of AutoCAD
Architecture so that they know which function the tools will perform in the software.

About the Speaker:

Doug is a design software consultant to the AEC community, a Certified AutoCAD Architecture
Professional, a Certified Revit Architecture Professional, and the AEC Technical Editor for the AU
Quarterly Newsletter. He was formerly a VAR Senior Consultant, providing education and
implementation services for AutoCAD® Architecture, Revit® and AutoCAD®. He is a repeat speaker at
Autodesk University, AUGI CAD Camps, and an ATC instructor. For over 20 years, he has been
managing and/or consulting with Autodesk products, including over seven years as the Director of CAD
Technologies for a 240-seat architectural firm. He has also been a Cadence magazine Top Dog winner
and an AUGI CAD Camp Top Dawg.

doug@dougbowersconsulting.com
 Personalize Your Palettes in AutoCAD® Architecture

Autodesk added palettes to AutoCAD-based products, including Architectural Desktop, in the

2004 release and they have been an important feature every since. Palettes provide an easily
customizable and readily accessible means of utilizing important tools.

Autodesk has included some default palettes with AutoCAD Architecture that contain a sampling
of the available tools. It is important to note that the provided palettes are just a small sampling
of the capabilities of the palettes. There are endless possibilities of tool and palette
combinations and ways of organizing your palette tools.

Tool palettes are launched via 3 different methods:

 Typing TP at the command line (shortcut for TOOLPALETTES);
 Pressing CTRL+3; or
 Picking Tool Palettes from the Customization panel of the View
tab.

Organizational Structure
Tool Palette Set is the overall interface that includes various Tool Palettes.
Tool Palettes are individual tabs that contain a collection of tools.
o Tool palettes can be added to or removed from the tool palettes set.
Tools represent individual objects that are added to the drawing or functions that are
performed.
o A tool contains parameters concerning how the object is created when placed in the
drawing. An example is a tool for inserting a 3-1/2” stud wall that is 8’ 1-1/8” high.
o Any combination of types of tools can be placed on a palette.

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 Personalize Your Palettes in AutoCAD® Architecture

Appearance of Tool Palettes

The Tool Palette Set can be either docked or floating. When docked, it can either be
collapsed or open. When docked open, the drawing screen space is reduced by the size of
the docked palette.
A floating tool palette set can have the size adjusted by picking an edge of the palette set
and adjusting the size as desired.

Hiding the Tool Palettes

o The tool palettes can be set to “Auto-Hide” when they are not in use. When the cursor is
moved away from it, the palettes “hide” except for the title bar. When the cursor is
moved back over the title bar, the tool palettes reappear.
o To allow the tool palette set to auto-hide, right-click in the title bar area (the vertical side
that says “TOOL PALETTES”), or pick the small properties icon at the top of the title
bar. Place a checkmark next to Auto-hide on the pop-up menu.
o The quickest way to turn on/off the auto-hide feature is to click on the arrow icon
on the title bar.
 If the double arrow is displayed, then Auto-hide is turned off and the palette set
will be remain fully visible.
 If the single arrow is displayed, then Auto-hide is turned on and the palette set
will hide when the cursor is moved away from it.
o The speed at which the palettes open or close can be adjusted.
 Locate and open the FixedProfile.aws file into Windows Notepad from the following
default location:
 C:\Documents and Settings\<username>\Application Data\Autodesk\ACA
2010\enu\Support\Profiles in Windows XP and
C:\Users\<username>AppData\Roaming\Autodesk\ACA 2010\enu\Support in
Windows Vista.
 After the FixedProfile.aws is opened in Notepad, locate the numbers at the ends
of the 4th and 5th lines.

 The 4th line stating “<PaletteRollupInfo PaletteRollupDelay="600"/>” determines

the speed (in milliseconds) at which the palettes “roll-up” or close.
o Change only the number (600 by default) to specify a different speed.
 The 5th line stating “<PaletteRolloutInfo PaletteRolloutDelay="200"/>” determines
the speed (in milliseconds) at which the palettes “roll-out” or open.
o Change only the number (200 by default) to specify a different speed.
 The changes will take effect the next time AutoCAD Architecture is launched.

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 Personalize Your Palettes in AutoCAD® Architecture

Docking the Tool Palette Set

o To allow the tool palette set to be docked, right-click in the title bar area (the vertical side
that says “TOOL PALETTES”), or pick the small properties icon at the top of the title
bar. Place a checkmark next to Allow Docking on the pop-up menu.
 After allowing docking, right-click on the palette again and select Anchor Left or
Anchor Right; or
 While pressing the mouse button over the Tool Palette Set title bar, move it to the
desired side of the screen for docking.
o The tool palette set can NOT be docked on the top or bottom of the screen.
o When docked, the tool palette set will extend the full height of the ACA graphics window.
 If another palette (such as Properties, DesignCenter, or External References) is
docked on the same side of the screen as the tool palette set, then the tool palette
set will not be the full height of the ACA graphics window.
 The first palette docked on that side will be above the other palette(s).
o To move the tool palette set from a docked position, select the double bar going across
the top of the palette and drag it into the ACA graphics screen.
Transparency of the Tool Palettes
o If ACA is installed on a computer with Windows XP or Vista, the palettes have the ability
to be transparent so that information under a floating palette can be visible. (The correct
hardware acceleration settings and video drivers must be in place.)
o To allow the tool palette set to be transparent or
change the transparency values, right-click in the
title bar area (the vertical side that says “TOOL
PALETTES”), or pick the small properties icon
at the top of the title bar. Click on
Transparency… on the pop-up menu.
 To make the tool palettes transparent,
remove the checkmark next to “Disable all
windows transparency (global)”.
 To adjust the degree of transparency, move
the slider bar for any setting between Clear
and Solid.
o The “Apply these settings to all palettes” allows
you to determine whether the setting affects only
Tool Palettes or all palettes within ACA.

o Note that turning ON transparency can adversely affect the performance of ACA,
depending on the computer specs and the size and quantity of drawings that are
open.

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 Personalize Your Palettes in AutoCAD® Architecture

Display of Tools on a Tool Palette

o The tools on a tool palette can be displayed in 3 different ways:
 Icon Only
 Displays the tool with only an icon view of the
tool.
 The tools can display with multiple tools in one
row, depending on the width of the tool palette
set.
 Icons with Text
 Displays both the icon and the text label for the
tool.
 The tools can display with multiple tools in one
row, depending on the width of the tool palette
set.
 The text for the tool will appear below the icon
and be truncated to 2 lines.
 List View
 Displays both the icon and the text label for the tool.
 The tools will display as one tool per line regardless of the width of the tool
palette set.
 The text for the tool will appear to the right side of the icon.
o To change the display of the tool palette view, right-click in the title bar area (the vertical
side that says “TOOL PALETTES”), right-click anywhere in the blank area of the palette,
or pick the small properties icon at the top of the title bar. Click on View Options…
on the pop-up menu.
 Adjust the size of the image as desired and select the view style as desired.
o The view settings can be applied to just the current palette or all of the palettes of the
tool palette set. It can be very handy to have specific palettes display different than
others depending on the type of tools that are on the palette and the amount of
information that needs to be conveyed concerning the tool.
o Note that the text size is determined by the Windows settings.
 To change this setting in Widows XP, go to the Windows Desktop, right-click, and
select Properties from the pop-up menu. Go to the Appearance tab and select the
Advanced button.
 In the Item list box, select the appropriate item to change the text type and size.
 Active Title Bar Size= Palette Title Bar width
 Active Title Bar Text = Palette Title Bar text height
 Message Box Text = Tab Label text height
 Scrollbar = ¾ Palette Scroll Bar
 Tooltip = Tool Name and Properties Palette text
 These settings are based on the Windows XP and Vista operating systems.

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Usage of Tool Palettes

Selection of Palette to View
o To select the desired tool palette, simply click the tab with the
name of the tool palette.)
o If the tool palette tab is not visible, click on the “stack” at the
bottom area of the tabs (as shown at right. From the pop-up
menu, select the desired tool palette to make active.
Relocate a Tool Palette to a different position in the Tool Palette Set
o Right-click over the tab of the tool palette to be moved. Select Move Up or Move Down
as desired. The tool palette will move one position in the direction chosen.
o Palettes can also be relocated in the Palettes Groups portion of Customize Palettes.
Delete a Tool Palette
o Click on the tab of the tool palette to be deleted to make it active.
o Right-click over the tab and select Delete Palette.
Adding a Tool Palette to the Tool Palette Set
o Users have the ability to add a custom Tool Palette and add their own specific Tools to
the palette
 Right-click in the title bar area of the Tool Palette Set (the vertical side that says
“TOOL PALETTES”), or pick the small properties icon at the top of the title bar.
Click on New Palette on the pop-up menu.
 A new palette will be added just above the active tool palette and the user will see a
box containing the text “New Palette” that can be renamed.
o Add a pre-defined palette from the Content Browser
 These tool palettes are dragged from the Content Browser. The Content Browser is
a repository of the various tool palettes that have been created.
 Launch the Content Browser via one of 3 different ways:
o Typing CB or CONTENTBROWSER at the command line;
o Pressing CTRL+4; or
o Picking Content Browser from the Content panel of the
Insert tab.
 Select the desired Catalog, then the desired Category, and
then you will see the various tool palettes that are available within that category.

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 Personalize Your Palettes in AutoCAD® Architecture

 To drag the entire Tool Palette to the Tool Palette Set in ACA, pick on the icon
with a blue circle containing the letter “i” (the i-drop icon). While holding
down on the mouse button, drag it over the Tool Palette Set and release the
mouse button. The Tool Palette will be added to the Tool Palette Set at the top
of the Set.
o When the mouse button is placed over the i-drop icon, a little eyedropper will
appear.
o While the mouse button is depressed, the little eyedropper will become dark
with a little plus (+) sign at the top of it.
 Do not proceed until this occurs.
 Depending on the size of the palette, this could take a few seconds.
o When the Tool Palette is added to the Tool Palette Set, all of the tools on the
tool palette will come with the tool palette.
 Depending on the size of the Palette, it could take as much as a minute
for the Tool Palette to appear on the Tool Palette Set.
o While the Tool Palette is being copied to the Tool Palette Set, the following
dialog box will appear. Wait until this dialog box disappears before
proceeding with doing anything else.

 To drag only specific Tools from a Tool Palette in the Content Browser to a
specific Tool Palette already in ACA, either double-click on the desired palette
image or click on the desired palette name. The Content Browser will now
display the tools that are included on the selected Tool Palette.
o Pick on the i-drop icon for the desired tool. While holding down on the
mouse button, drag it over the Tool Palette that is desired to get the tool and
release the mouse button. The individual tool will be added at the bottom of
the Tool Palette that is currently active and visible in the Tool Palette Set.
o Note that users can drop a tool directly into the ACA drawing window where it
is executed immediately.

Usage of Tools
Basics.
o There are 3 different types of tools in AutoCAD Architecture:
 Object Tool
 There is an Object Tool for the different types of objects available in ACA (such
as Wall, Door, Window, etc)

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 The properties of the object tool closely match the properties available during the
ADD function of the specific object.
 Content Tool
 This tool is for placing Design Center content.
 Command Tool
 This tool allows any command string to be executed, whether that be ACA
related or AutoCAD related.
 This is the tool to use when neither of the other 2 types of tools can be used.
o To initiate the tool, simply click on it.
 If using an object tool and the object style selected does not already exist in the
drawing, it will automatically be imported when the tool is selected.
o Lines, arcs, and polylines can easily be converted to walls by using a wall tool (object
tool).
 Highlight the desired linework, click on the tool that represents the desired wall style
and properties, and then right-click.
 From the pop-up menu, select Apply Tool Properties to, and then select Linework.

o Walls, doors, windows, and other objects can have its properties changed to match
those of an object tool on a palette.
 Highlight the desired object (such as a wall) in the drawing, click on the tool that
represents the desired style and properties, and then right-click. From the pop-up
menu, select Apply Tool Properties to Wall. (or Door, Windows, etc.)
 If the style does not already exist in the drawing, it will be automatically imported
during this function.
 Doors, windows, openings, and door/window assemblies can be interchanged with
the different tools.
Adding a Tool to a Tool Palette.
o Adding an Object Tool.
 Adding an Object Tool through the Style Manager.
 Launch the Style Manager from the Style & Display panel
of the Manage tab.
 In the Style Manager dialog box, highlight the desired
object style and drag it from the Style Manager to the active tool palette.
 When ACA recognizes that an object style is to be placed onto a tool palette, it
displays a plus (+) sign at the mouse cursor. Simply click on the tool palette to
place the object style on the palette.
o There will be a time lag between the time that the style is dragged out of the
Style Manager and to the tool palette. The length of the time lag is
dependent on the size of the drawing from which the object style is copied in
the Style Manager.

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 After placing the object style on the tool palette, that tool can then be modified to
preset properties of the tool, such as size.
o Right-click on the new tool and select Properties… from the pop-up menu.
o The properties that can be modified are basically the same as the properties
on the Design tab of the selected object type.
 Examples of object tools:

 Adding an Object Tool through the Content Browser.

 See sub-section of “Adding a Tool Palette to the Tool Palette Set” above for
adding a specific tool.
 Adding a Detail Component
 Open the Detail Component Manager from the Details panel
from the Home menu.
 Browse to the desired detail component and drag it to the tool
palette.
o Adding a Content Tool.
 AEC Content can be added from the Design Center.
 Launch the Design Center and navigate to the desired folder.
 In the Design Center, highlight the desired file and drag it to the
desired tool palette.

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o Adding a Command Tool.

 Through the CUI:
 Right-click in the title bar area (the
vertical side that says “Tool
Palettes”), or pick the small
properties icon at the top of the
title bar. Select the Customize
Commands… option from the
pop-up menu.
 Highlight the desired command(s)
from the list and drag it to the tool
palette.

 Copying an entity from within a drawing to a palette:

 Highlight an entity (only one item is to be highlighted) in a drawing and release
the mouse button.
 After the entity is highlighted, again pick on the entity with the left mouse button.
 While holding down the left mouse button, drag the entity to the desired palette
and release the button. The entity will be placed on the palette and maintain the
properties of that entity while it was placed in the drawing.
 Copying a command tool from another palette:
 Navigate to a tool palette that contains a similar command tool.
 Highlight the tool, right-click, and select Copy. Navigate to the desired tool
palette to contain the new tool, right-click, and select Paste. Highlight the new
tool, right-click, and select Properties. Modify the properties as desired, such as
the command name, layer, etc.
 Through the Content Browser:
 Open the Content Browser, navigate to the Autodesk AutoCAD
Architecture Stock Tool Catalog, then go into the category that
contains the desired tool.
 Pick on the i-drop icon for the desired tool. While holding
down on the mouse button, drag it over the Tool Palette that is
desired to get the tool and release the mouse button.
 The Helper Tools category contains 2 generic command tools.
o Command Tool
 Contains only a command line (similar to a toolbar button).
o Command Tool with Properties
 Contains a command line with several other available settings.

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Modifying the Image Properties of the tool.

o The properties of the image can be modified by right-clicking on the image and selecting
one of the following:
 Specify Image
 Specify an image file to use for the image
instead of the default one created by ACA.
 If you want a basic image for a complex
appearing item, create a bitmap image and
then specify that image for the tool image
 Refresh Image
 Refreshing the image will make it take on the latest view in the viewer and the
monochrome or selection settings.
 Monochrome
 Set Image from Selection
 This option allows you select entities in the graphics window that you desire to be
displayed as the image.
o The image viewer of the tool properties will determine the view for tools added or
updated after selecting the view.
 This can create possible undesirable views when setting a 3D view for an AEC
object then adding tools such as blocks which are not desired to be in a 3D view.
Modifying the Properties of the Command Tool.
o Highlight the new tool, right-click and select Properties… from the pop-up menu.
Modify the properties as desired. To change the command (even to a different
command name), enter the command string in the Command box under the Basic
category.
o The command string is similar to information added to a menu toolbar button and can
include LISP formulas.
o There are many different options available for pre-setting on the command tool, with
most of them being a setting of “Current” or “ByLayer”.
o When adding a line, arc, etc as a command tool, there is an option for a flyout.
 If YES is selected in Use Flyout option, then the user will have a choice from the
following commands when selecting that tool:
 Line, Arc, Circle, Ellipse, Polyline, Ray, Splice, Construction Line
 The user creating the command tool can determine which of the above types of
“lines” can be placed by the tool.

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o Examples of command tools:

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Grouping Tool Palettes

o Tool Palettes can be grouped so that only specific palettes are seen by the user at any
one time.
 Examples of grouping are Client specific tool palettes, Project-type specific tool
palettes, or Type of work tool palettes
 When a Group is selected, only the palettes that have been placed in that group will
be displayed.
 The Tool Palette Set title bar will inform the user whether a specific group is
displayed or all palettes are displayed.
 The following illustrates the standard Design palette group being active.
o Creating a new Group
 Right-click in the title bar area (the vertical side that says “Tool Palettes”), or pick the
small properties icon at the top of the title bar. Select the Customize… option
from the pop-up menu.
 When the Customize dialog box appears, right mouse-click in the blank area on the
right side under the Palette Groups heading. Select New Group when it appears.
 A new folder appears under Palette Groups, at which time it can be given any
name.
 Highlight a tool palette name from the left pane under the Tool Palettes heading.
While holding down on the left mouse button, drag the tool palette into the right pane
under the new Palette Group name
and release the mouse button.
 A long bar will appear which
displays where the tool palette will
be placed. This allows the user to
specify the position of the tool
palette when that particular Group
is selected.
 A plus sign (+) will also appear
representing that a tool palette is
being added to the Group.
 Continue to drag as many different
tool palettes into a group as is
desired.
 Palettes can be relocated within a group by highlighting the desired palette name
under the desired group and dragging it to the new location within the group.
 Pick the Close button when done adding palettes to a group.
o Changing to a specific Group
 Right-click in the title bar area (the vertical side that
says “TOOL PALETTES”), or pick the small properties
icon at the top of the title bar.
o From the pop-up menu, select either the name of the
desired Group to display or All Palettes to display all
palettes that the user has as part of their Tool Palette Set.

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o Renaming a Tool Palette Set

 The title that appears on the bar of the entire tool palette set can be changed to read
any that you desire.
 Right-click on the title bar and select Rename Palette Set, then type in the text that
you desire.
 The title bar will display your desired text followed by the selected tool palette group.
Sharing Tools or Tool Palettes
o Custom tool palettes can be shared via a couple of different methods.
o The first method to share tool palettes is to use the Content Browser.
 The Content Browser is a tool inside AutoCAD Architecture designed for the sharing
of tools and tool palettes.
 When users add Tools or Tool Palettes, those can be shared by copying those tool
palettes to a shared catalog in the Content Browser.
 To copy a palette to the Content Browser, pick on the tool palette tab with the left
mouse button and drag the tool palette to the Content Browser. (A plus (+) sign will
appear when the mouse is moved into the Content Browser area.) Release the
mouse button to drop the tool palette into the Content Browser category.
 Other users can go to that shared Catalog and drag the palette onto their palette set.
o The second method to share tool palettes is to create palettes to a specific folder and
then add that folder to a user’s profile.
 Go to the Options dialog box and then go to the Files tab. Scroll down to the Tool
Palettes File Locations section.
 Pick the Add button on the right to add a folder that contains the palettes that are to
be shared.
 The first folder shown in this group will be the location where new palettes are
created by the user
 Any other folders listed in this area will display palettes contained in those
folders.
 This shared palettes folder should be in a locked folder on the server to prevent
users from accidentally modifying the palettes.
 Note that the Authoring Palette File Locations section of the Options dialog box
addresses block authoring palettes that are used in the block editor and provide tools
for creating dynamic blocks.
o AutoCAD Architecture does NOT have the import/export palette options which are in
generic AutoCAD.

Summary
Palettes are very flexible and capable of many things. You are encouraged to experiment with
them and see what you can do with them. Enjoy.

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