Acad Pull down slide menus program??.

[Al_The_Man]

For some years I have been using Caddalog to build different menus with pull down slide menus and unfortunately it does not work under WinXP, Bruce Sheldon did produce a later version but the site is closed now.
So has anyone used SlideMan or equivalent.
Slideman is only $50.00 and I have heard good things about it.
Anyone else using it?
Al.

[Al_The_Man]

I guess not many individualize their menu's will pull down slides?

Misumi are offering free CD of IGES, Solidworks, Inventor and DWG files of their catalogue components.
I got mine next day UPS!.
You can order it on the catalogue order page, if you are interested.
Al.

[ger21]

I just use a single toolbar with flyouts. All my editing commands are in a right click menu. I do everything I can to maximize drawing area. No scrollbars, no command line. I have a 2009 install with no menu, just a single toolbar.

[Al_The_Man]

Originally Posted by ger21 I just use a single toolbar with flyouts.

I just use a single top tool bar, it is just that I find it quicker to select and insert a block from one of maybe a 100 or more from a pull down slide menu.
I have a different menu setup for each discipline, Electrical, Electronic, Mechanical etc.
Al.

[Al_The_Man]

Well just to update an old post, I managed to set up the right directory and instead of trying to install the program under XP, I transferred the LSP and DCL files over and inserted the new pull down POP in menu.mns file.
For anyone that has a need for the pictorial display of blocks through the Image Tile Menu's, it is a boon, also you can catalogue all the blocks automatically in hard copy sheets.
I believe the later versions of CAD have a new function that help make the equivalent, but anyone still using R14 etc it is a blessing.
I am not sure what the legal connotations are on sharing as the agreement is between the end user and the business vendor whose web site simply says ,No Longer In Business.
---------------------------------------
ICON MENUS
You can also automatically create ICON menus of these same files. You select the menu (MNU file) you wish to incorporate the ICON menu. The program makes all the necessary provisions for displaying the ICON menu for visual insertion of your symbols or setting your FONT with the AutoCAD style command.
BLOCKS AND SYMBOLS
Anyone who uses AutoCAD knows how quickly your collection of blocks and symbols change. An AutoCAD users collections of blocks and symbols are constantly changing. It seems like daily, and even hourly at times, you have created new blocks, or deleted some unneeded ones. You may also have found that even if you have already cataloged your blocks, and have gone through the agonizing procedure of creating ICON menus of your blocks, a couple of days later the work you have done is "obsolete" because your directory of blocks has changed so much.

[Al_The_Man]

OK, I have 'upgraded' to 2006 and see that the menu file system has changed to a CUI menu file, anyone know of any book or tutorial that explains how to incorporate Icon Menu's into the new CUI file in 2006?
I tried the Palettes feature but that is too time consuming and the block images show way too small.
Al.

[ger21]

You want to make a toolbar?

[Al_The_Man]

Gerry, no I would like to reproduce the Icon menu shown in the left pic in post #5.
This is a pull down from the top menu bar, shown as ***POP16 it would be the next in line after Help.
They run in order across the top starting with FILE as ***POP1
excerpt from my old R14.

***POP16
[CADDALOG]
[->CADDALOG]
[--]
[HYD-2]^C^C(if (not C:SCD_INST)(load "SCD_INST"))(setq SCD_INBLOCK "143430.DAT")(princ);SCD_INST;
[HYDRAULIC]^C^C(if (not C:SCD_INST)(load "SCD_INST"))(setq SCD_INBLOCK "172401.DAT")(princ);SCD_INST;
[LADDER]^C^C(if (not C:SCD_INST)(load "SCD_INST"))(setq SCD_INBLOCK "143738.DAT")(princ);SCD_INST;
[PANELS]^C^C(if (not C:SCD_INST)(load "SCD_INST"))(setq SCD_INBLOCK "125114.DAT")(princ);SCD_INST;
[SCHEMATIC]^C^C(if (not C:SCD_INST)(load "SCD_INST"))(setq SCD_INBLOCK "145209.DAT")(princ);SCD_INST;
[<-TEMP]^C^C(if (not C:SCD_INST)(load "SCD_INST"))(setq SCD_INBLOCK "135237.DAT")(princ);SCD_INST;
etc etc.

Al.

[ger21]

Sorry, no idea how to do that.

[Al_The_Man]

Thanks, I will have to dig into the CUI menu file and experiment!
Al.

[neilw20]

IMHO Acad is just awful for drawing circuits, and it knows nothing about electricity, that I can discover, just like it knows nothing about PCB stuff.
Maybe if you want to draw 3D circuits.
For less money, there is software that understands electricity and the component functionality, and standard representations, without going through hoops, like a circus performer.
As for custom menus, move to a different computer and you almost can't use it, for at least a day, unless you have your menus on you memory stick and you can figure out the cryptic commands to make it work again. Then the customer can't find stuff on your menus.
Go laptops.

[Al_The_Man]

There are two primary rules in AutoCad is never use it straight out the box and never draw the same thing twice.
It's strengths are also the reason for its long learning curve.
Many people that use it do not bother to set up different environments for different disciplines, or customize it to the way they wish.
Using Templates, custom menu's, AutoLisp routines etc can turn it in to many formats.
For example when working on schematics, I have set up my menu and template drawings to ape a schematic capture such as Orcad et al.
I can do the same for mechanical or any other medium I want to draw in.
I agree, if you only want to draw in one type of environment then get a package you can use straight out of the box, but don't expect the flexibility of AutoCad.
As for changing menu's it only takes a couple of key strokes to either load your personal menu and the same to revert back to Autocad generic menu.
Al.