Customizing Enhancements

SolidDesigner 2001 includes the following enhancements:

• Creating New Commands and Modifying Existing Commands
• Creating New Menus
• Recording Macros
• Specifying Abbreviations
• Application-Specific Toolbars
• Restrictions Removed

Exercises:

• 1. Creating a Macro to Extrude a Block
• 2. Specifying an Abbreviation

Creating New Commands and Modifying Existing Commands (Windows only)

With the pixel editor and the macro recorder, it is easy to create new icons and assign a command sequence to them. You can also select existing commands and modify them. This is all done in the User Defined Command dialog which is displayed when you click New or Modify.

The newly-created or modified commands can then be dragged into your personal toolbar.

See Exercise: Creating a Macro to Extrude a Block for step-by-step instructions on how to do this.

Creating a New Menu with the New Menu Command (Windows only)

To create a new menu item, select New Menu in the Categories box and drag the New Menu command in the Commands box to any menubar, toolbar, or context menu. To change the name, right-click the mouse button, select Button Appearance and change the text.

Recording a Macro (Windows only)

Recording a macro is easy with SolidDesigner 2001. Simply click the Record button to start recording, make your selections and/or enter values, and stop the recording when you are done.

Note the following when defining commands and recording macros:

• The Localized (Optional) box provides additional fields for localized naming purposes. They are filled automatically if left blank.
• You can specify the name of an existing group or enter a new name to create a new group (for example, My Commands).
• The UI Behavior box specifies the position of a menu when it is displayed:
  • Default places the menu below the main menu (assuming it has not been moved).
  • Relative places the menu next to the button.
  • None means no menu.
• When recording a macro, clicking in the viewport is not allowed.
• Editing an icon does not affect existing icons currently available in toolbars and menus.

Specifying Abbreviations (Windows only)

Frequently-used commands can be called by simply entering an abbreviated string in the user input line. For example, entering the string dac in the user input line can be set to execute the command Delete 3D All at Top.

Application-Specific Toolbars

Restrictions Removed (Windows only)

Keyboard shortcuts need to be unique across add-on applications

Now it is possible to assign the same accelerator key to different commands in different applications as long as these commands are not valid at the same time.
As an example, now you can assign the function key F4 to 3D Hidden On/Off in SolidDesigner and the same accelerator for the different Annotation command 2D Hidden On/Off. Because both commands cannot be accessed at the same time (either the SolidDesigner command or the Annotation command) you can use the same accelerator for these commands.

Keyboard customizations for add-on applications are lost

Now you can interactively assign keyboard shortcuts to commands which belong to add-on applications. In release 8.0X those assignments were lost after the session. Now these assignments are correctly restored in the next SolidDesigner session.

Keyboard customizations are not stored during Export Customizations

With release 2001, SolidDesigner writes a new file with name SolidDesigner.acc into your personal customization directory when the button Export Customizations is pressed. This file contains all keyboard shortcut and abbreviation key sequences. This allows keyboard customization to be taken over in the next revision.
If other add-on applications were activated when the Export Customizations button is pressed, those keyboard customizations are written to application specific files in application specific directories under the personal customization directory. For example, Annotation keyboard customizations will be stored to Annotation/Annotation.acc.

Note: This new mechanism allows the setting up of keyboard customizations at site and corporate level by providing those files in the site and/or corporate customization directories. The settings done in those files overwrite/augment settings done in the sd_avail_cmds.cmd files.

Exercise 1: Creating a Macro to Extrude a Block

This example shows you how to record a macro, assign it to a button and place the button in a toolbar. In this example, the macro generates an extruded block having the dimensions 100x50x55.

1. Click Tools, then Customize to display the Customize dialog.
2. Make sure the Commands tab is enabled.
3. Click New to display the User Defined Command dialog.
4. Under Command ID:
   • Type in Extrude 55 in the Name field.
   • Select Machine in the Group field.
   • Select SolidDesigner in the Application field.
5. Under Description, type in Extrudes a 55 mm block. This is the prompt text.
6. Under Image, click Browse and select the bitmap image extrude.bmp from ../personality/bitmaps/bmp/commands/SolidDesigner/Machine.
7. Click Modify and use the pixel editor to modify the image in such a way that it is easily recognized. In this example, the number 55 was added.
8. Click Save to save the modified image.
9. Click Record to start recording the macro. Notice that the User Defined Command dialog is reduced to a Stop Command Recording button. Do the following:
   1. Click Create 2D in the main menu
   2. Click Rectangle
   3. In the user input line, enter 0,0 100,50
   4. Click Machine in the main menu
   5. If necessary, enter a part name (for example, p1)
   6. In the Distance field, enter 55
   7. Click OK
   8. Click Stop Command Recording to return to the full User Defined Command dialog.
   9. Click OK to close this dialog and return to the Commands tab.
10. Scroll down the Categories box and highlight Machine. Your new command (Extrude 55) should now be available at the bottom of the Commands box. Simply drag this command into your favorite toolbar and close the Customize dialog.

To verify if the macro works, click the Extrude 55 button to create an extruded block.

Exercise 2: Specifying an Abbreviation

To specify the abbreviation:

1. Click Tools, then Customize to display the Customize dialog.
2. Click the Abbreviations tab.
3. Select the category Delete from the Category box.
4. Highlight Delete All 3D.
5. Under Enter New Abbreviation, type dac.
6. Click Assign.
7. Click Close to close the dialog or continue specifying other abbreviations.

To execute the command, type dac in the user input line and press Enter.