Custom Toolbar in AutoCAD 2006
February 17, 2006
In this tutorial, I'll explain the steps for creating a new
toolbar using the Customize User Interface dialog box. This
dialog box is new for 2006 and the method of customizing
toolbars, menus, etc. is very different from previous releases.
To create a toolbar in AutoCAD 2005 and earlier, see "Creating
Custom Toolbar Buttons."
- Choose Tools>Customize>Interface, or type cui on the
- Click the drop-down list at the top of the Customize User
Interface dialog box and choose custom.cui. This is a partial customization file and lets you create a toolbar
without fiddling with your main menu file.
- Right-click the Toolbars item in the main panel of the
dialog box and choose New>Toolbar.
- The new toolbar, named Toolbar1, appears under the Toolbars
item. It is selected, so immediately rename it.
- To see the toolbar in the drawing area, click Apply. It's
very small, because it doesn't have any buttons yet.
- The easiest
way to add a button is to drag a command from the Command List
panel at the bottom-left section of the dialog box. However, the
AutoCAD commands don't all appear because you are now working
with the Custom partial customization file. From the drop-down
list at the top of the dialog box, choose All Customization
- Unfortunately, this collapses the new toolbar that you
created on the list. To find it again in the top pane,
double-click Partial CUI Files, then double-click CUSTOM, then
double-click Toolbars. You should now see your new toolbar.
- From the Categories drop-down list in the Commands List
pane, make sure that All Commands is chosen.
- Scroll down to a command that you want to add (they're
alphabetical) and click it. Tip: You can type the first letter
of the command to jump to the first command starting with that
- Drag the command up to your toolbar, until you see a small
left arrow pointing to your toolbar. Then release the mouse
button. This adds the command to your toolbar.
- Continue to drag commands. You can drag them above or below
the first button.
- You can create your own button if the command you want
to use doesn't have one. For example, the ALIGN doesn't have a
toolbar button. To create a button, select the command in the
upper pane of the dialog box. Then click the Edit button in the
Button Image section.
- Use the Button Editor to edit an existing button or create
one from scratch. To edit an existing button, click one of the
buttons in the Button Image section. Use the tools at the top
and pick a color along the side to draw. Use the Eraser tool to
- When you're done, click Save As and save the button as a BMP
file. Remember the location! Click Close to exit the Button
Editor. Here's my ALIGN button.
- To assign the image to the button, click the Small Image
item in the Properties pane. Click the Ellipsis button and
browse to your BMP file.
- To create a new, custom command, click the New button in the
Command List section.
- In the Properties section, complete the command name, a
description, and the menu macro. Choose an image or create one
in the Button Editor.
- You'll see the new command on the Command List. Drag it to
- Click Apply to see the toolbar. You may need to move the
dialog box. If you like it, click Close. Otherwise, make any
desired adjustments. Here's my final toolbar, enlarged. It
contains buttons for the EXTRUDE, REGION, and ALIGN commands and
a custom command that uses the ROTATE3D command to rotate the
selected object around the X axis.
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