Michael’s Corner

Michael Beall Michael's Corner is a monthly publication written by Michael E. Beall, Autodesk Authorized Author and peripatetic AutoCAD trainer. Michael travels all over the USA, bringing his fantastic experience and great understanding of AutoCAD to his clients. Michael's Corner brings together many of the tips, tricks and methods developed during these training sessions for the benefit of all users.

Michael's Corner provides something for every AutoCAD user. Every month, a number of articles cover a wide range of topics, suitable for users at all levels, including "The Basics" for those just starting out. Essentially, the aim of Michael's Corner is to help all AutoCAD users work smarter and faster.

This month…

October - One-derful!!!

It's a God-thing.

I had no idea that 14 years ago I would be given the opportunity to make an impact on the professional lives of so many. Only God knew what was ahead, and hopefully, the contributions I have made through Michael's Corner have equipped many of you to be more productive and a bit more savvy using AutoCAD. And apart from all the AutoCAD bashing that is going on, I'm sure it has a long life ahead.

So, in an effort to keep the AutoCAD fires burning, here's what I have for my final installment…

…A reminder on how to customize your hot keys
…Three Power Tools — one for Zoom, one for editing, and one for Layers
…Two Odd Spots — one for Layers and one for Hatching
…Buried text treasure
…And how to Search 14 years of the Archives

As for what's ahead for me, I will continue to present a variety of AutoCAD sessions — Fundamentals, Intermediate, Customizing, Updates, and 2D & 3D. I will also keep training CAP Designer, 20-20 Worksheet, Visual Impression (those three from 20-20 Technologies, Inc.), and some Revit Fundamentals. Next year I'm looking forward to being very involved in training CET (from Configura, Inc.) when Herman Miller joins the growing number of manufacturers embracing this software that is being touted as the ‘Future of Space Planning’. Personally, I'm looking forward to spending a bit more time with Donna, my lovely bride of 30 years. When this posts, we'll probably be within days of going on our 30th Anniversary vacation to the Tanque Verde Ranch in Tucson; Ee-Hah! We had such a good time when we went for our 20th, we figured we'd do it again!

Ah, and I'm hoping to have The AutoCAD Workbench, Final Edition out before snow flies.

And with that, Mike drop! …so to speak.

The LORD bless you and keep you;
The LORD make His face shine upon you,
And be gracious to you;
The LORD lift up His countenance upon you,
And give you peace. Numbers 6:24-26

This month's articles

Change F1 to ESC

Smoother Zoom

Stretch with Extension

Lock Layers with a Crossing Window

Layer Columns & Hatch Background Color

Text Frame on Mtext

From the Vault

Originally published July 2010

Put the Firecracker Back on Explode!

Explode button image I figured the American Independence Day celebration on the 4th of July would serve as a perfect opportunity to review how you can put the firecracker/dynamite back on the ‘Explode’ button. Just be sure to Export the one that's already there in case you blow it (pun intended), and want to put the ‘exploded box’ back.

This will involve opening the CUI, so if you have made any changes to your Ribbon/Panel arrangement, be sure to use Save Current As from Workspace Switching (see: How To Update Your Workspace, p. 2 in The AutoCAD Workbench).

Geek note: You will soon discover that the ..\Icons folder does not contain any .BMP files. There is, however, a certain level of complexity that you must go to in order to do exactly what Autodesk does for button images on the Ribbon. I also found that… "Bitmaps are stored in AcadBtn.xmx as custom resources which are in fact .ICO files (icons)"… but I'm not going there in this example.

Prerequisite: Before you start this exercise, you may want to go to my website and download the suggested .BMP files that you will find at the bottom of that page under CADTutor Files. Please notice the suggestion that you put them in the ..\Support folder of your AutoCAD. One of the files you find there can be the replacement for the current ‘Exploded Box’ icon.

How to Add a Button Top to a Tool on the Ribbon

Open the CUI.
On the left, under Commands, navigate to the Explode command, then click on it to display the Button Image panel in the upper right.
To backup the current image, click Export to open the Export Image File dialog box that defaults to the (very deep) ..\Icons folder.
Under Appearance, click the Button Style item, then click the dropdown to display the four options.
Enter a name for the .BMP, such as Exploded_Box, then click Save.
To put a different .BMP image on that button, click Edit to open the Button Editor dialog box.
Click Import, then navigate to the location where you saved the .BMP files from my website (hopefully in the recommended ..\Support folder).
Select the image file you would like to use for the button top, then click Open.
To complete the procedure, click Save to open the Save Image dialog box where you can enter the name of the button top, then click OK.

Note: Notice that the Save Image dialog box has no ‘Browse’ button; my suspicion is that it is incorporated into the AcadBtn.xmx mentioned in the ‘Geek Note’, above. You will also notice the name given is displayed in the Properties panel for the Explode command.
Click OK to close the Customize User Interface and save your changes… and then you'll see your new Explode button!