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Fastest way to get to "Options"?


nestly

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I've probably only done it 2 or 3 thousand times, but I haven't been Cad'ing too much lately, and somehow I've forgotten the shortcut to get to "Options" (ie Tools>Options)

 

Thanks

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why does it matter? how many times do you anticipate needing that anyway? I'm all for speed and efficiency, but how many times a day do you need the options? LOL

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....how many times a day do you need the options? LOL

 

... that depends on what I'm doing. I've got AutoCAD set up the way I like, so I don't need to go into "options" at all when I'm just drawing, but if I'm helping someone else get AutoCAD setup and customized, then I may be in and out of "Options" all day long.

 

Dadgad, thanks, but it's even faster than that. There's a key combination that brings up the Options dialog box without any clicks, picks, or enters. (similar to the way Ctrl+P brings up the Plot dialog)

 

It actually bothers me most that I can't remember something I've literally done thousands of times.

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It actually bothers me most that I can't remember something I've literally done thousands of times.

 

I use 4 CAD programs on a daily basis. There is no way I can, or need, to remember all the little differences between these programs.

Cool thing is, right mouse button is context sensitive in all of these programs. Gives me what I need when I need it without memorization. (for the other stuff Post-It notes :P )

 

I once came up with a clever technique that took me several days to perfect.

Hand wrote my notes on a half sheet of paper.

Lost the paper and couldn't figure out the technique for 4 years.

Then one day found where I had put it on one of my dozens of CAD books as a bookmark.

Was surprised how simple the solution was after beating my head against the wall for 4 years.

I will never forget the steps now. Maybe there is a lesson in there somewhere.

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"OP" does it on mine. I couldn't remember either, so I tried a couple things till I found it. It's nothing I've ever set myself so I'm guessing it's an out of the box thing.

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(for the other stuff Post-It notes :P )

 

Wonderful things aren't they? My monitors sometimes have a multicolored halo of Post-Its.

 

One of the places I worked for in the past had a guy that was a hot-key freak. An excellent LISP programmer and had written hundreds of of them, and they all had a 1 to 3 letter hot key combination. Way to many for anybody to remember, so he wrote a lisp that when you typed "hotkeys" in on the command line, it would open a text file in Notepad that was a list of all his inventions.

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I once came up with a clever technique that took me several days to perfect.

Hand wrote my notes on a half sheet of paper.

Lost the paper and couldn't figure out the technique for 4 years.

Then one day found where I had put it on one of my dozens of CAD books as a bookmark.

Was surprised how simple the solution was after beating my head against the wall for 4 years.

I will never forget the steps now. Maybe there is a lesson in there somewhere.

 

That's pretty close to what I'm experiencing. It's so simple, it's ridiculous, yet it eludes me. I recall when I first learned of it that it's undocumented. Now that you mentioned it, I used to maintain a database of obscure/undocumented AutoCAD tips and tricks, I'm going to fire up one of my old computers and see if I can find the shortcut there.

 

Jack, "OP" is the OOTB alias for Options, and it's what I'm using now until I find the shortcut. "CONFIG" is also an old/obscure command that starts the Options dialog.

 

So far, we have 6 different ways to get into Options, but all them require more than one click or pick or keystroke. The one I'm thinking of is a "true" shortcut in that it's two keys (or a key and a mouse button) pressed simultaneously.

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Interesting that when you enter OP at the commandline, or use the right hand click shortcut menu OPTIONS choice you are taken to the Profiles tab in the options dialog. If you right click in the commandline box and choose OPTIONS there it directs you to the Display tab.

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Mine always opens to whatever tab was active the last time the Option dialog was closed with "OK" or "Apply"

 

Also, I had no luck finding the shortcut in my old notes :(

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Mine always opens to whatever tab was active the last time the Option dialog was closed with "OK" or "Apply"

 

Also, I had no luck finding the shortcut in my old notes :(

 

Yeah, you're right, I thought it did that too, and now it is doing that. Don't understand why it acted as previously described when checking it a few minutes ago. Now all 3 ways are targeting the open and save tab, where I just made a saved change.

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Interesting that when you enter OP at the commandline, or use the right hand click shortcut menu OPTIONS choice you are taken to the Profiles tab in the options dialog. If you right click in the commandline box and choose OPTIONS there it directs you to the Display tab.

 

Hmm...when i do OP it takes me to the last one used. In other words, if i was on display, thats what it opens on the next time. Interesting. I use options maybe once a month whether I need to or not so I hadn't noticed.

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Firstly...

 

... that depends on what I'm doing. I've got AutoCAD set up the way I like, so I don't need to go into "options" at all when I'm just drawing, but if I'm helping someone else get AutoCAD setup and customized, then I may be in and out of "Options" all day long.

 

Dadgad, thanks, but it's even faster than that. There's a key combination that brings up the Options dialog box without any clicks, picks, or enters. (similar to the way Ctrl+P brings up the Plot dialog)

 

It actually bothers me most that I can't remember something I've literally done thousands of times.

 

... Why have you not considered standardizing your AutoCAD Profile(s)?

 

Then there's no need for you to jump in and out of Options at all, unless it's to deviate from the standard.

 

Second, if three keystrokes is too many for you "O" + "P" + "Enter/Right Click", then consider assigning the necessary keystrokes to a mouse button that supports macros (like the Logitech G700), etc.. I do this with simple macros like "M" + "2" + "P" + "Enter", to full on DOS strings that start with the "Windows Button".

 

Again, I am a big believer in customization, but there *should* emanate from a 'standard(s)'-centric origin, IMO.

 

HTH

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Mine always opens to whatever tab was active the last time the Option dialog was closed with "OK" or "Apply"

 

FWIW - This ^^ is correct.

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Firstly...

... Why have you not considered standardizing your AutoCAD Profile(s)?

 

Then there's no need for you to jump in and out of Options at all, unless it's to deviate from the standard.

 

"I" have, for myself. As I stated previously, the reason I'm entering the Options dialog frequently is to help someone else learn the AutoCAD "options" and to help them customize AutoCAD to their needs and help them understand what the "Options" do. This person is a co-worker from a different company, and while I "could" simply give them my profile, it would likely not suite them as each of us have our own preferences as what settings are "best"

 

 

 

Second, if three keystrokes is too many for you "O" + "P" + "Enter/Right Click", then consider assigning the necessary keystrokes to a mouse button that supports macros (like the Logitech G700), etc.. I do this with simple macros like "M" + "2" + "P" + "Enter", to full on DOS strings that start with the "Windows Button".

y

Yeah, I know how to define my own shortcuts, but the point is that there's already a shortcut built into AutoCAD that goes straight to the Options Dialog box. All I'm asking is if anyone knows what it is, as I'm currently unable to retrieve it from the grey matter between my own ears, and I'm unable to find it documented anywhere.

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Nestly, I was genuinely trying to be helpful, and not criticize what you're trying to do. Perhaps that was not how my post was received. In any event, I admire your willingness to help others learn.

 

Again, looking for the built-in methods, the Civil 3D 2012 default "acad.pgp" only lists two command aliases (for the Options command):

 

  • PREFERENCES (discontinued in AutoCAD 2004)
  • OP (same for AutoCAD 2009-2011)

AFAIK - In order to use less keys than the latter command alias listed above, you would be relegated to something such as assigning a programmable macro button, or this (which only saves one keystroke):

 

(defun c:` ()
 (command "._options")
 (princ))

 

Perhaps someone more knowledgeable can offer a better solution?

 

HTH

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Sorry if I came off as unappreciative, I'm just irritated that I can't find the specific solution I'm after. It's nobody's fault by my own for not remembering it (well, I kinda blame Autodesk for not documenting it).

 

I was starting to doubt my sanity, but I reviewed some of the videos I've made, and sure enough, I can see that I used to be able to open the Options dialog box without using any menus, and without anything appearing in Dynamic Input box, which means that it's not a command, an alias, or a lisp, all of which requires an "Enter" to execute.

 

Maybe a hypnotist could help me remember before I pull all my hair out. :lol:

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