Shared Tool Palettes

[dsibbo]

Can anyone tell me the best way to share my tool palettes.

 

I have created blocks & saved them on our shared drive, I have set my tool palettes up how I want them, Alphabetical order and set the size for the images to display.

 

I now want to give this palette to all my colleagues to use as standard for when they open their CAD.

 

Can anyone tell me how to do this please?

 

Thanks

[tzframpton]

Options > Files Tab > Tool Palette File Locations. Just map everyone else to the shared drive directory. Make sure you're the only one with Write access to this folder or they can overwrite any changes you make.

[dsibbo]

Will I then have to go around each persons machine and set up a tool palette from this location and make it look like my one?

 

I was looking for the palettes to be automatically set up like mine once they are mapped to the drive, will this be the case?

[tzframpton]

Yes, each workstation will need to have this location path'd manually. How many workstations are we talking about here? If a lot, then I can direct you to a nice LISP file that can automate this.

[dsibbo]

It is not the location path that I have a problem with, there are only around 15 computers which won't take me long at all. The problem will come if I have to path all the computers to the blocks, and then manually set up the tool palette for each machine.

[Mike_Taylor]

Copy all of the palette files from the location you were originally writing them too and copy them to a folder on your network.

 

When you add the tool palette locations to the palette list ensure that it is not on the top of the list, this will ensure that they are not over writing them regardless of read/write acces to the folder.

 

You can also set the network folder with the tools palettes in it to the top of your support path and this will allow you to update them very easily.

 

 

If you have any tool palette groups, go to tools, options, customization, tool palettes and you can export the palette group to that network folder.

 

After setting up the tool palette locations, go to tools, customization, tool palettes, and right click on the window on the right hand side and import the palette group you just exported.

[tzframpton]

Be careful with Exporting. This creates a XTP file and when imported, it imports as a local *.ATC file. This isn't the proper method when trying to network all the tools together.

[BlackBox]

FWIW - The Autoloader mechanism for 2012+ (something I'm having to become adept at for the Autodesk Exchange App store) also supports Tool Palettes, but is still relegated to .bundle on the local disk... No Network location support. Doh! You'd think Autodesk would allow the end-user to define the Autoloader Main/Enterprise paths.

 

In any event, the point is, it (Autoloader) seems to do well with Tool Palettes, it just requires that one replicate them out to local user at login, command, etc..

[dsibbo]

OK I am still a little confused. I have copied all the files onto the shared network as in the 2 images.

 

I can go on a colleagues computer and then what is my next step?

[Mike_Taylor]

You will want to add the folder on the network to the Tool Palettes Support Files under the options.

[Ivan006]

I'm doing the same thing here at my office. Is it possible to get a lisp file to automatically set-up someones computer with a tool palette I designed for the office?

 

I'm not to sure how to make up a lisp file to run a tool palette.

 

I think it would be very useful since I have more than 15 people using AutoCAD and we need to standardize our tool palette.

 

Thanks

[tzframpton]

I'm doing the same thing here at my office. Is it possible to get a lisp file to automatically set-up someones computer with a tool palette I designed for the office?

 

I'm not to sure how to make up a lisp file to run a tool palette.

 

I think it would be very useful since I have more than 15 people using AutoCAD and we need to standardize our tool palette.

 

Thanks

There's really no need. Once you set their workstation up, it's done. So 15 setups and that's all you need to do. Just send out an email showing where to path... it's not really rocket science.

 

[Ivan006]

Ok. Thanks.