Can i save my toolbars and setup??

I was wanting to save my toolbar setup and commands,or the way my screen looks. Do you do that in the options, profile section. If so do you just name the current screen shot as something and export to safe place. I have done this once before but some one else helped and cant remember all the steps... Thanks in advance!!

You can create a workspace and save it. Once it's saved you can use it all the time. It will save your toolbar placement as well as which dialog boxes are open. Just remember, any changes you make, do a saveas and overwrite the previous workspace. Just type in "WORKSPACE" and go from there.

Yes, *backing up* one's customizations is very helpful for IT repairs, new computers, and software updates.

There's a couple of components:

Workspace - The way your screen looks, which toolbars, palettes, etc. are on/off and their location, etc. See the WORKSPACE command.

Settings - Many of these can be manipulated with the OPTIONS command's dialog, and are stored (predominantly) within the active Profile.

CUI - This holds all of your (custom?) command macros, toolbars, ribbon tabs, workspaces, etc.. See the CUI command.

It's a good idea to have a backup of all of your custom files, so that if anything were to be corrupted you don't lose production time. I keep all of my custom stuff in an aptly named 'Custom.cui(x)' file.

There's more to it, but this should get you started.

You can create a workspace and save it. Once it's saved you can use it all the time. It will save your toolbar placement as well as which dialog boxes are open. Just remember, any changes you make, do a saveas and overwrite the previous workspace. Just type in "WORKSPACE" and go from there.

This does not overwrite my drawing template that i use does it? Sorry for too many questions, i have one set of toolbars saved in the options, profile tab. I believe it has an .arl extension or something similar. This workspace though where does it save it too! I tried doing that and backed out before comepleting. Will it eventually ask where to save to? Thanks again.

This does not overwrite my drawing template that i use does it? Sorry for too many questions, i have one set of toolbars saved in the options, profile tab. I believe it has an .arl extension or something similar. This workspace though where does it save it too! I tried doing that and backed out before comepleting. Will it eventually ask where to save to? Thanks again.

No it does not overwrite your template. Your template file is a DWT file. The Workspace is saved in the currently loaded CUI file. The ARG file is simply a Profile which again has nothing to do with Workspaces. Hope this helps.

I tried using the workspace and everything went back to original setup, No toolbars , etc. So i imported the .arg file of my toolbars and it came back, dont know what i did wrong, during the workspace command, i think it asked if i wanted to replace and i said no, and it reverted back. Does that sound right. Gonna have do some research on this workspace command before i do anything apparently, i dont understand the command completely.... Ty for the quick reply...

People very often confuse ARG profiles having a direct association with Workspaces, which is not the case. However, there is a variable that can automatically save the changes of Workspaces to the ARG file which is the only association I know of. From the help menu:

Workspaces and Profiles

 

Workspaces work with and complement the control over your drawing environment that profiles provide.

 

Workspaces control the display of menus, toolbars, and palettes in the drawing area. When you use or switch a workspace, you change the display of your drawing area. You manage your workspaces from the Customize User Interface dialog box.

 

Profiles save environment settings including many of your user options, drafting settings, paths, and other values. Profiles are updated each time you make a change to an option, setting, or other value. You can manage your profiles from the Options dialog box.

 

Note

When you make changes to the drawing display, the changes are stored in your profile and are displayed the next time you launch the program, regardless of your workspace settings. The profile changes are not automatically saved to a workspace unless you select the Automatically Save Workspace Changes option in the Workspace Settings dialog box.

Here is a link to this info: http://exchange.autodesk.com/autocad/enu/online-help/search#WS1a9193826455f5ffa23ce210c4a30acaf-79d5.htm

I take away the Autosave Workspace variable. I like having control of when and how I make my changes to the interface.

Hogfan,

I just happened to read through your post, as I'm researching workspaces. I can't help but notice how wary you seem of trying things (I guess for fear of messing up your AutoCAD?). Let me tell you, don't be afraid to try new things, thats how you learn... At my first CAD job we would sometimes have a week or two of down time, and I took that time starting on the menu at File Open, clicked to see what it did, and proceeded to go down the line clicking and exploring every possible thing in AutoCAD that could be clicked. I'm now been responsible for creating and design of completely customized sets of standards from the ground up for two major companies. Of course I've has lots of schooling since then, but by dissecting AutoCAD and not being afraid to try things I had a very solid knowledge base right from the starting gate. Good luck with what you were doing, and don't be afraid to just jump in there.

A bit more complicated you can have multiple profiles that do certain things including reading different custom.cui on start up these are simply accessed by copying the desktop icon and changing the properties line /p mynewprofile etc The first thing we do is have a custom icon and put the default one out of harms way makes it so much easier to get Autocad working agian for the guys with 11 fingers who screw it up.