dcl Share the most elegant interface design under DCL limitations

[VicoWang]

It is widely known that DCL has its native limitations, and to create beautiful and elegant UIs, it's not only about simplifying the underlying logic but also about DCL's presentation. Please share those DCL interface designs that are worth sharing!

 

Here are the DCL interface designs for my two plugins. In the end, it was the image control that took on everything!!!

 

 

[Paul Li]

Not sure if this is considered elegant but sure takes advantage of the number of image tiles that can be spread onto a giant custom dialog to preview slide files.

This is a screen capture of SMV (SMVslide) which is one of the commands included in my free Script Magician App:

[BIGAL]

If you go old fashioned this is built into a pop menu. If you can use Notepad then you can make one. Note the Next and Previous inbuilt options.

 

But I also have 2x2, 3x3, 4x4 and so on dcl's they are used when relevant to limited choices in code via an image pick.

Edited Saturday at 04:28 AM by BIGAL

[CivilTechSource]

@BIGAL this is beautiful, probably this is where AutoDesk got inspiration for the Block Library Pallette. Do you mind sharing the DCL code?

[Steven P]

Block Library pallet - I had that 20 years ago with FastCAD - which inspired me to make something very similar to BigALs - though I think the workings behind are a bit different - might be wrong, BigAl, do you use slide files for the thumbnails? (I remember you giving me a good instruction of them a few years ago now... which I then ignored.... and went with vector images). Can apply any command / LISP to the thumbnails (for example I have a tab 'Get': "Google", "CAD Standards", "Current Folder" which runs just the LISP to open chrome / explorer) - I think BigAl can do the same too.

 

(B&W because I got too lazy to colour them all in)

[BIGAL]

@CivilTechSource the Block/dwg select is part of the POP menu interface, in particular the Icon section. It's just made with Notepad and you save a MNU file., Autocad handles the actual dcl.

 

Re images yes they are slides, SLD files. Ok the how to. 1st step is you must shrink your screen area down to about 1/4 size. When slides were introduced screens were 640x480 so current screens are way more pixels. I use a lisp to make the slides insert say a block, zoom E, Zoom 0.9XP then MSLIDE, Erase last and insert next. Obviously the name of the saved slide is in the lisp. Without going into now you can make like 200 slides very quickly including inserting other block dwg's. 

 

You can use a program called Slide library it compresses all your slides into one SLB file a bit easier to manage, I have numerous slb files that contain common items eg landscaping, cars.

 

***MENUGROUP=CADARC

***POP1
**CADARC2018
[CADARC]
LOAD CADARC]^C^C(LOAD "CA3ENTR2013")(LOAD "CA4USRLA-2")
[->Set Up]
[DRAWING SETUP]^c^C^p(load "ca11set")
[--]
.............
.............
.............
.............
***icon
**FURN
[FURNITURE:]
[CTONE(CHAIR-1)]^c^cINSERT ca3ch-1 DRAG \1;;DRAG
[CTONE(CHAIR-2)]^c^cINSERT ca3ch-2 DRAG \1;;DRAG
[CTONE(SOFA-1)]^c^cINSERT ca3sof1 DRAG \1;;DRAG

 

[SLW210]

On 9/8/2026 at 8:08 AM, CivilTechSource said:

@BIGAL this is beautiful, probably this is where AutoDesk got inspiration for the Block Library Pallette. Do you mind sharing the DCL code?

From @Steven P's thread.

 

 

 

AutoLISP Code

 

Scroll down to 

Blk_Lib.lsp

Blk_Lib.dcl

Blk_Lib.doc

 

Also some information on making these types of DCL. 

 

Getting Started with Dcl Dialogs just scroll down for DCLs with slide images and Image buttons.

 

 

This is pretty good as well.

 

https://www.theswamp.org/index.php?topic=20878.msg253445#msg253445

[Steven P]

(that was an awesome thread....)

 

Yes, that was the start of me making the above, and using BigAl for inspiration