Screen menu

Hi, I know I am a dinosaur, but I like my right hand screen menu, and I am still using 2008 as I like that too.

I have installed 2012 on my laptop, as I thought that may still support the RH menu, but can't find an option to display it having uploaded my cui file.

Is it possible, or has everything progressed beyond that now?

Are you asking about the right click shortcut menu? That is still in the software, look at the screenshot, to figure out what value you want to assign to the SHORTCUTMENU system variable.

I personally enjoy using the time sensitive right click option, as shown in the other screenshot.

Should you be talking about the DASHBOARD, that has been replaced by the RIBBON.

Thanks for that, but this is what I want (hopefully you can see this?)

Cheers,

Mike

Screenshot.doc

Interesting, I have never seen that before.

I learned on 2009, which I believe was the first year for the dashboard, this looks like a precursor to that.

Most of these can be found on the TOOLS dropdown menu, accessed from your MENU BAR, and then some.

that could be a custom tool bar, you can export your old profile, then import it

http://www.cadtutor.net/forum/showthread.php?87260-Saving-my-settings-in-2015-when-moving-to-another-computer

post #7 by nestly

It's difficult to remember back that far, but I believe that is the AutoCad tool bar list, Menu Bar - TOOLS > TOOL BARS > AutoCad, and in those days I think one could detach it or option for it somewhere, drag and drop, and dock it just like the rest of the toolbars. I know back in 2009, I inherited a 2008 LT workspace with it docked like the OP's workspace and immediately got rid of it because it took up over an inch of drawing space, and was at least three times redundant, given command use, and the already displayed and docked individual default toolbars. It would not show the toolbar checkoff list, rather menus of the toolbar selected off it, when it was displayed as the OP has it.

IMHO, liking AutoCad 2008 is Stockholm Syndrome. I was held hostage to it for about 17 months, and logged 11 unrecoverable corrupted drawings due to its, and the drug saturated IT geek's vagaries. It was possibly the worst bug ridden release of all time. I had to show the IT Geek how to download and apply the Bloated Scale List hotfix. Never mind that the 2009 release fixed almost all of its issues, but Guiding Light Management refused to upgrade until AutoDesk dropped support for it. I think the Infantry is the only other organization I wanted out of worse than that company.

It was the Screen Menu. I have 2000 running on my computer for the heck of it and you use options, display, pick screen menu to have it show. It was always part of the acad.mnu file. It was a pretty clever interface for the time, the way you could move back and forth, call up osnaps, and use keys to have it move to different parts of the menu. I was just looking at the R10 book and in it they describe how to use the screen menu if you don't have a pointing device! Can you imagine no pointing device for AutoCAD? I know, I know, some other old timer will pipe in and say they worked without one and that's how they liked it.

It was the Screen Menu. I have 2000 running on my computer for the heck of it and you use options, display, pick screen menu to have it show. It was always part of the acad.mnu file. It was a pretty clever interface for the time, the way you could move back and forth, call up osnaps, and use keys to have it move to different parts of the menu. I was just looking at the R10 book and in it they describe how to use the screen menu if you don't have a pointing device! Can you imagine no pointing device for AutoCAD? I know, I know, some other old timer will pipe in and say they worked without one and that's how they liked it.

No pointing device?!?! Is that even possible?

When I first started drafting my only pointing devices were a sharp stick and a well aimed third digit.

Ok to give the right answer it is sort of supported now and it is a screen menu called from a menu, it was real cool way of entering values that you commonly use as well as the all the autocad commands, it is supported via lisp so you could pick a value rather than having to type see second code example. You can have a description but the value within the menu can be different.

You have to turn it back on its turned off as a default its disabled. It was just dropped. I had a project that I wanted to use it with but despite the information provided never really got it to work as good as it used to. http://blogs.rand.com/support/2012/10/what-happened-to-blips-and-screen-menu-in-autocad-2012-and-2013.html

REDEFINE SCREENMENU 1

***SCREEN
**S
[AutoCAD]^C^C^P(ai_rootmenus) ^P
[* * * *]$S=OSNAPB
[ASE:]^C^C^P(ai_aseinit) ^P
[bLOCKS]$S=X $S=BL
[DIM:]^C^C$S=X $S=DIM0 _DIM

**wallht
[AutoCAD]^C^C^P$S=X $S=S
[sELECT]
[WALL]
[HEIGHT]

[2100]2100
[2200]2200
[2300]2300
[2400]2400
[2500]2500
[2600]2600
[2700]2700
[2800]2800
[2900]2900
[3000]3000

example code as a partial load menu

***MENUGROUP=ALSSCRN
***SCREEN
**Srcn1 3
[Pick num]
[line1]0

[1]1
[2]2
[3]3

**Scrn2 3
[pick num2]
[line2]-1
[line3]-4

[4]4
[5]5

When I first started drafting my only pointing devices were a sharp stick and a well aimed third digit.

my sharp stick was also know as a .......pencil

nice find al

Thanks - that seems logical. However, I have exported my old 2008 profile, and copied it onto my laptop, but I can't see how to import it into 2012. It exports into two base folders - Program Files and Documents and Settings, but when I go to import in AutoCAD it is looking for a .arg file?

my sharp stick was also know as a .......pencil

 

nice find al

MGS do you have a custom 2008 mnu file or did you customise the acad.mnu either way in 2012 you are probably better using MENULOAD and load a partial mnu. We have all our custom stuff toobars and menu's in seperate mnu files, make supgrades so much easier, We are 2013 going 2016 takes about 5 minutes to set up less if I was to write a lisp. Re your profile again we have a lisp that sets all the support paths etc once done we export it as a "PROFILE" and yes its a ARG file. Once one is set up takes only a few minutes to repeat over again another machine.

Here is a lisp for setting up your support stuff rather than manualy doing CONFIG. This was made for 2012.

; resets the paths usefull for update versions of Autocad
; by A H 2011
; This sets a reference to the install path of your product
; the gets are their for info maybe other use
; use this to find other settings 
;(vlax-dump-object (vla-get-files (vla-get-preferences (vlax-get-Acad-object))) T)

(vl-load-com)
; make temp directory
;(vl-mkdir "c:\\AcadTEMP")

(setq *files*  (vla-get-files  (vla-get-preferences (vlax-get-Acad-object))))

; savepath
;(vla-get-AutoSavepath *files*)
(vla-put-AutoSavepath *files* "C:\\AcadTemp")

; custom icons
;(vla-get-CustomIconPath *files*))
(vla-put-CustomIconPath *files* "P:\\Autodesk\\ICONS")

; custom menu
;(vla-get-Menufile *files*))
;(vla-put-Menufile  *files* "C:\\Users\\2013xxx")

; printers config
;(vla-get-PrinterConfigPath *files*)
(vla-put-PrinterConfigPath *files* "P:\\AutoDESK\\Plotting\\Plot Styles 2011")

; printers style sheet
;(vla-get-PrinterStyleSheetPath *files*)
(vla-put-PrinterStyleSheetPath *files* "P:\\AutoDESK\\Plotting\\Plot Styles")

; printer drv's
;(vla-get-PrinterDescPath *files*)
(vla-put-PrinterDescPath *files* "P:\\AutoDESK\\Plotting\\Drv")

; print spooler
;(vla-get-PrintSpoolerPath *files*)
(vla-put-PrintSpoolerPath *files* "C:\\AcadTemp\\")

; template  path
;(vla-get-TemplateDwgPath *files*)
(vla-put-TemplateDwgPath *files* "P:\\Autodesk\\c3d Templates")

; template location
;(vla-get-QnewTemplateFile *files*)
(vla-put-QnewTemplateFile *files* "P:\\Autodesk\\c3d Templates\\xxx.dwt")

;make new support paths exist + new
(setq paths (vla-get-SupportPath *files*))

(setq coggpaths 
 "P:\\autodesk\\supportfiles;
 P:\\autodesk\\lisp;
 P:\\autodesk\\fonts;
 P:\\autodesk\\hfs fonts;"
 )

(setq newpath (strcat coggpaths paths))
(vla-put-SupportPath *files* newpath)

; Tempdirectory 
;(vla-get-TempFilePath *files*))
(vla-put-TempFilePath *files* "C:\\AcadTemp\\")

;   PlotLogFilePath = "C:\\Documents and Settings\\axxx\\local 
settings\\application data\\autodesk\\c3d 2011\\enu\\"
(vla-put-PlotLogFilePath *files* "C:\\AcadTemp\\")

;   LogFilePath = "C:\\Documents and Settings\\axxxD\\local 
settings\\application data\\autodesk\\c3d 2011\\enu\\"
(vla-put-LogFilePath *files* "C:\\AcadTemp\\")


; xref temp path
;(vla-get-TempXrefPath *files*))
(vla-put-TempXrefPath *files* "C:\\AcadTemp\\")

; end use of *files*
(vlax-release-object *files*)

; exit quitely
(princ "All Done")

Hi. Following on from the above, I have had 2012 with the old right hand screen menu (because I have a lot of customised commands which I don't want to lose)

working perfectly well on a laptop.

I have now tried to set it all up on a desktop which hadn't been used for this before.

Having installed 2012 on a trial basis (I know I will have to upgrade it, but wanted to set it up identically to my laptop version first) the screen menu is there and works until I close AutoCAD, and when I start it again, the menu space it there, but it is blank - no menu text. The only way I can get it back is to re-install the software.

There is obviously something small doing this, but I am using the same disk, the same files, and the same file locations as used on my laptop - any ideas?

Did you double check the path(s) to the customized files under Options > Files and Folders? Where in the pecking order is the path(s) to these files? At the very top or somewhere nearer the bottom?

Thanks - yes - everything is set up exactly as on my laptop - I have gone through it page by page

Could it be the Profile you are using?

I only have the one profile.

In the last hour, I have installed 2014 on my desktop, which was the whole idea of having put 2012 on, so that I could set it up identically to my laptop working version (and another 2008 version which I prefer, but thats another story!), and then migrate the settings to a version I could get authorised.

However, I still get the blank menu space - no text at all.

Are we talking a .MNU file?