You can add tools to
a tool palette with several methods.
You can create new tool palettes using the
Properties button on the title bar of the Tool Palettes window.
Add tools to a tool palette with the following methods:
- Drag any of the following
onto your tool palette: geometric objects such as lines, circles,
and polylines; dimensions; hatches; gradient fills; blocks; xrefs;
raster images.
- Drag drawings, blocks, and hatches from
DesignCenter to the tool palette. Drawings that are added to a tool
palette are inserted as blocks when dragged into the drawing.
- Use the Customize dialog box to drag
commands to a tool palette just as you might add them to a toolbar.
- Use the Customize User Interface (CUI)
Editor to drag commands to a tool palette from the Command List
pane.
- Use Cut, Copy, and Paste to move or copy
tools from one tool palette to another.
- Manage tool palettes by creating new
palettes from scratch, renaming, deleting or moving palettes with
the shortcut menu.
NoteIt is not recommended
to create or rename tool palettes when the Customize User Interface
(CUI) Editor is displayed.
- Create a tool palette tab with predetermined
content by right-clicking a folder, a drawing file, or a block in
the DesignCenter tree view, and then clicking Create Tool Palette
on the shortcut menu.
- You can associate a customizable tool
palette group with each panel on the ribbon. Right-click the ribbon
panel to display a list of available tool palette groups.
NoteIf
the source drawing file for a block, xref, or raster image tool
is moved to a different folder, you must modify the tool that references
it by right-clicking the tool and, in the Tool Properties dialog
box, specifying the new source file folder.
Rearranging Tools and Tool
Palettes
Once tools are placed
on a tool palette, you can rearrange them by dragging them around
or by sorting them. You can also add text and separator lines to tool
palettes.
You
can move a tool palette tab up and down the list of tabs by using
the tool palette shortcut menu or the Tool Palettes tab of the Customize
dialog box. Similarly, you can delete tool palettes that you no
longer need. Tool palettes that are deleted are lost unless they
are first saved by exporting them to a file. You can control the
path to your tool palettes on the Files tab in the Options dialog
box. This path can be to a shared network location.
Read-Only Tool Palettes
If a tool palette file is set with a
read-only attribute, a lock icon is displayed in a lower corner
of the tool palette. This indicates that you cannot modify the tool
palette beyond changing its display settings and rearranging the icons.
To apply a read-only
attribute to a tool palette, right-click the tool palette (ATC)
file in the following location: C:\documents and settings\<user name>\application
data\autodesk\AutoCAD 2011\r17.2\enu\support\ToolPalette\Palettes.
On the shortcut menu, click Properties. On the General tab, select
Read-only, and click OK.
To create a tool palette
- Click View tab
Palettes
panel Tool
Palettes. 
- In the Tool Palettes window, at the top
of the title bar, click the Properties button. Click New Palette.
- In the text box, enter a name for the
new palette.
- If necessary, right-click over the tab
and select Move Up or Move Down to change the order in which the
tab appears in.
To associate a tool palette
group with a ribbon panel
- Click View tab Palettes
panel Tool
Palettes.
- On the ribbon, right-click a ribbon panel
and click Tool Palette Group.
- Click an available tool palette group
from the list.
- Click Tools menu Workspaces Save Current As.
- In the Save Workspace dialog box, enter
a name for the new workspace or select a name from the drop-down
list. Click Save.
To display the tool palette
group associated with a ribbon panel
- Right-click a ribbon panel and click
Show Related Tool Palette Group.
To add text to a tool palette
- Right-click a blank area inside the Tool
Palettes window. Click Add Text.
- In the text box, add the text you want
to display in the window.
- If necessary, drag the text to the appropriate
location in the window.
To add a separator line
to a tool palette
- Right-click a blank area inside the Tool
Palettes window. Click Add Separator.
- If necessary, drag the separator to the
appropriate location in the window.
Commands
System VariablesPALETTEOPAQUE
Controls whether palettes
can be made transparent.
TPSTATE
Indicates whether the
Tool Palettes window is open or closed.
