You can change the properties of any tool
on a tool palette.
Once
a tool is on a tool palette, you can change its properties. For
example, you can change the insertion scale of a block or the angle
of a hatch pattern.
To change tool properties,
right-click on a tool, and then click Properties on the shortcut
menu to display the Tool Properties dialog box. The Tool Properties
dialog box has the following two categories of properties:
- Insert or Pattern properties. Control
object-specific properties such as scale, rotation, and angle.
- General properties. Override
the current drawing property settings such as layer, color, and
linetype.
You can expand and collapse
the property categories by clicking the arrow buttons.
Specify a Different Icon
for a Tool
You can replace the icon
for a tool with an image that you specify. This is useful when the
automatically generated icon is too cluttered to be easily recognizable.
To replace the image,
right-click the tool in the tool palette and click Specify Image
on the shortcut menu.
To restore the default
image for a tool, right-click the tool and click Remove Specified
Image.
Update the Icon for a Tool
The
icon for a block, xref, or raster image in a tool palette is not
automatically updated if its definition changes. If you change the
definition for a block, xref, or raster image, you can update the
icon by right-clicking the tool in the palette and clicking Update
Tool Image. You must save the drawing before you can update the
tool image.
Alternatively, you can
delete the tool, and then replace it using DesignCenter™.
Specify Overrides for Tool
Properties
In some
cases, you may want to assign specific property overrides to a tool. For
example, you may want a hatch to be placed automatically on a pre-specified
layer, regardless of the current layer setting. This feature can
save you time and reduce errors by setting properties automatically
when creating certain objects.
The Tool Properties dialog
box provides areas for each possible property override.
Layer
property overrides affect color, linetype, lineweight, plot style,
and plot. Layer property overrides are resolved as follows:
- If a layer is missing from the drawing,
that layer is created automatically.
- If a layer to which you are adding content
is currently turned off or frozen, the layer is temporarily turned
on or thawed.
To display the properties
of a tool on a tool palette
- On a tool palette, right-click a tool.
Click Properties.
- In the Tool Properties dialog box, use
the scroll bar to view all tool properties.
You can resize the Tool
Properties dialog box by dragging an edge, or you can expand and
collapse the property categories by clicking the double arrow buttons.
- Click OK.
To change the property
of a tool on a tool palette
- On a tool palette, right-click a tool.
Click Properties.
- In the Tool Properties dialog box, click
any property in the list of properties and specify the new value
or setting.
- Properties listed under the Insert or
Pattern category control object-specific properties such as scale,
rotation, and angle.
- Properties listed under the General category
override the current drawing property settings such as layer, color,
and linetype.
- Auxiliary scale for a block or a hatch
tool overrides the regular scale setting when the tool is used.
(An auxiliary scale multiplies your current scale setting by the
plot scale or the dimension scale.)
You can resize the Tool
Properties dialog box by dragging an edge, or you can expand and
collapse the property categories by clicking the arrow buttons.
- Click OK.
NoteIf you specify an
image, name, or description for a tool that has a flyout, that image,
name, and description are displayed on the tool palette for each
tool on the flyout. To return the flyout tool's image, name, and
description to their default settings, leave the corresponding boxes
blank in the Tool Properties dialog box.
To refresh the image of
a block tool on a tool palette
- On a tool palette, right-click a tool.
- Click Update Tool Image.
NoteYou must save the
drawing before you can update the tool image.
To change the image of
a tool on a tool palette
- On a tool palette, right-click a tool.
- On the shortcut menu, click Specify Image.
- In the Select Image File dialog box,
locate the image file you want to use.
- Click Open to insert the new image.
To change the image, name,
and description of a flyout tool to the default settings
- On a tool palette, right-click a tool.
Click Properties.
- In the Tool Properties dialog box, right-click
in the image area. Click Delete Image.
- Click in the Name box and delete the
text.
- Click in the Description box and delete
the text.
- Click OK.
NoteLeaving the Image,
Name, and Description boxes blank in the Tool Properties dialog
box will return the flyout tool's image, name, and description to
their default settings.
Commands
System VariablesPALETTEOPAQUE
Controls whether palettes
can be made transparent.
TPSTATE
Indicates whether the
Tool Palettes window is open or closed.
