How do I add custom symbols to the AutoCAD command space?

nimbleotter18 said:I'm a designer.
It’s honestly such a drag—every single time I work on a new layout, I have to manually copy all my custom symbols (which I’ve set up as blocks)
over to the workspace just so I can pull them from there when needed.

What I actually want is to have them floating right there near my drawing area—you know, like a toolbar where you can just click an icon.
Basically, I want them as icons that stay pinned to my screen every time I launch AutoCAD.

I’m pretty sure it’s possible, but I haven't a clue how to pull it off.

Any help would be appreciated! Thanks!🙏

I'm not sure if this will do the trick for you, but you could try dumping all those blocks you use into one specific folder. Then, whenever you need one, just hit CTRL+2—that should open up your Design Center by default—and you can just drag and drop whatever you need directly into the file.
Not sure if that's what you're looking for, but that's all I've got.

Jesse Morgan36 said:Not sure if this helps, but you could just dump all your usual blocks into one folder. Then, when you need them, hit CTRL+2 to open it (it defaults to Design Center) and just drag whatever you need.
Don't know if that actually works for you, though.

Fine, I put my blocks in a folder, but how am I supposed to save it so CTRL+2 actually pulls it up? Be more specific.

nimbleotter18 said:Alright, so I toss all my blocks into one folder—now what? How am I supposed to call them up using CTRL+2? Can you be a little more specific here?

Look, saving them in a folder is fine—doesn't really matter where. Just hit CTRL+2 and the DESIGN CENTER window pops up. Find your folder on the left side, and once you double-click a file, a bunch of icons will show up in the right pane (blocks, dimstyles, layers, etc.). Double-click "blocks" to see your stuff, then just drag and drop them straight into your drawing. Or, if you prefer, just use copy/paste, or right-click the block and select "insert block"—that way you can actually scale it before dropping it in. This is all based on how AutoCAD 2006 works, anyway; I haven't a clue about the newer versions.

Jesse Morgan36 said:Just toss them all into one folder, doesn't matter where. Hit CTRL+2 to pull up DESIGNCENTER. Find your folder on the left, then double-click a file to see icons like blocks, dimstyles, and layers pop up on the right. Double-click blocks to see your stuff, then just drag them onto the drawing. Or use copy/paste, or right-click the block and hit "insert block" if you want to scale it before dropping it in. I'm talking about AutoCAD 2006 here, though. No clue how other versions handle it.

Tried that and finally got it. Thanks! 👍 I'm running 2008.

Didn't know that. Now I'm hoping someone can show me how to organize my symbols in the command space around the drawing window.

nimbleotter18 said:I tried it myself and finally figured out the idea—thanks! 👍 I've been at this since 2008.

I actually didn't know about this part, but now I'm hoping someone can help me figure out how to arrange my symbols in the command space around the drawing area.

Honestly, I have no clue on that one, though you’re going to need a massive monitor to pull it off.😁
P.S. I put up a post earlier but nobody's biting. Maybe you'll know—how do I print drawings that are set at an angle without rotating them back to horizontal or vertical?
Best,

Jesse Morgan36 said:I have no clue, but you're gonna need a massive monitor for that.😁
p.s. I posted this earlier and got zero replies. Maybe you know. How do I print drawings at an angle without rotating them horizontally or vertically?
later

The Page Setup Manager doesn't really let you rotate things to fit the drawing, so I'm not sure if there's even a workaround. Just leave it alone or rotate the whole thing. It's not exactly rocket science.

nimbleotter18 said:Look, you can't really mess with the rotation settings in the Page Setup Manager to align things with the drawing—it just won't let you do it—so I'm not sure if there's any workaround there. Either leave it be or just rotate the entire drawing itself; honestly, that shouldn't be much of a headache.

Yeah, I figured, but I was still wondering...
thanks 👍

Everyone’s obsessed with Java and C++, but nobody seems to know a thing about actual engineering tools like AutoCAD.

😠

nimbleotter18 said:Everyone seems to be losing their collective minds over Java and C++, yet it appears absolutely nobody possesses even a shred of knowledge regarding actual "engineering tools" like AutoCAD.

😠

Since we have decided to pivot toward discussing what constitutes a "real" engineering tool, I feel compelled to point out that AutoCAD is actually quite a mediocre instrument... 😉

whereas someone who can actually navigate Pro/ENGINEER, CATIA, or even Inventor... well, those are the people who actually know what they're doing.🙏 🙏

placidwalker53 said:— since we’re already tearing into "real" engineering tools—AutoCAD is pretty weak... 😉

I mean, if you actually know your way around Pro/ENGINEER, CATIA, or even Inventor... now *that* shows some actual skill. 🙏 🙏

But honestly? The real pros are the ones who actually understand the trade.
From my own experience, no software on the planet can replace that. Sure, being fast in a program speeds things up, but if you don't actually grasp how the end product works, you might as well throw it all in the trash—forgetting everything about German precision or high-end CAD.

nimbleotter18 said:I work as a designer.
It gets exhausting having to manually copy my custom blocks—the ones I’ve built myself—
into every single project file just so I can grab them from there later.

I really wish they were just floating there—like a dedicated palette right next to my drawing area—similar to how we access our standard drafting tools.
Basically, I want them as icons that stay visible on my screen every time I launch AutoCAD.

I know it's possible, but I'm just not sure of the steps.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!🙏

Right-click any toolbar and select Customize.

Go ahead and create a brand new toolbar specifically for your blocks.

Find the "Insert Block" command and drag it onto your new toolbar—there's your new "button."

Close out all those windows.

Now, right-click your new toolbar.

While the customization window is still open, right-click that specific "new button" you just made.

In the macro field, type this in:

^C^C-INSERT C:/BLOCKS/KOTA.DWG;\(GETVAR "DIMSCALE");;0;

Now, every time you click that button, it will automatically pull the kota.dwg block into your current drawing.

If you don't want them tucked away in their own separate toolbar, you can just drag them wherever you like.

Jesse Morgan36 said:And frankly, the biggest headaches come from those who lack any actual grasp of the profession itself.
From my own rather humbling experiences, I can attest that no amount of software proficiency can ever compensate for a fundamental lack of understanding; sure, being fast with a program speeds things up, but if you don't actually comprehend the final product, you're just making a mess of everything for everyone involved.

Well, that goes without saying, really; all the technical wizardry in the world won't save you if you're completely clueless about the work at hand—or even worse, if you have absolutely no vision for what needs to be done.

In that scenario, you aren't really an engineer; you're just a glorified robot, dutifully inputting someone else's ideas into a computer.👎

placidwalker53 said:Well, that goes without saying—all the software expertise in the world won't save you if you don't actually know what you're doing... or worse, if you have no vision at all.

In that scenario, you just end up being a robot—essentially just inputting someone else's ideas.👎

Forget all that nonsense.👎

Drafting boards, T-squares, blueprint copies, technical pens, and ink—now *that* is what makes an engineer.😉

redheron12 said:Good grief, give me a break 👎

Drafting tables, T-squares, mimeograph machines, technical pens, and India ink—now *that* is what I call an engineer. 😉

No,
no,
that was what being an engineer meant forty years ago. 😉

placidwalker53 said:no
that’s how an engineer used to be back forty years ago 😉

But honestly—as flashy as today's engineers might look with their high-end laptops and tablets—they really need to grasp the fundamentals if they ever want to truly appreciate the tools they're using😉

redheron12 said:Well, regardless of how much we worship at the altar of modern engineers wielding high-end laptops and tablets today, they really ought to grasp certain fundamentals if they ever hope to truly appreciate the tools they currently command.😉

Sure, they need the basics, but there’s no reason they should be stuck playing with outdated tech or struggling to navigate a drawing tablet; honestly, the days of being tethered to paper are largely behind us...

Fundamentals are one thing, but achieving true perfection is an entirely different beast altogether.

Then again, I suppose a real engineer remains ingenious, regardless of the era or the equipment at hand.🙏 🙏 🙏 🙏

redheron12 said:right-click the toolbar and hit customize

create a new toolbar specifically for blocks.

find the insert block command and drag it onto the toolbar—there's your new "button."

close everything out.

right-click the new toolbar.

while the customize window is still open, right-click that new "button" you just made.

type this into the macro field:

^C^C-INSERT C:/BLOCKS/KOTA.DWG;\(GETVAR "DIMSCALE");;0;

now, every time you click that button, it drops the kota.dwg block right into your drawing.

if you don't want them in their own separate toolbar, just drag them wherever.

I'll give this a shot. Thanks, better late than never.