What's the best way to share tool palettes?

[Pierre P]

ACA 2012
What's the best way to share tool palettes within an office?

I do it through profiles: I Created an 'office' profile (.arg) that I eventually share with every employee in the office. Whenever I add things to the tool palettes, I simply create a new profile for every user.
However, lately not every palette gets transferred. I've done a major reorganisation of the office tool palette and only a very small amount of palettes actually get transferred.

What am I doing wrong?

[dgorsman]

Watch out for palette groups. Those make mixed user-admin palettes difficult to keep up to date. Grouped palettes tend to get cached in the "catalog" ATC file which, if local to a user, won't get updated when the admin-controlled palettes are updated. Bloody annoying, which is why I go with NO palette groups and am now distributing most functions via Ribbon panels.

Wait... new profile, every time you add something? Sounds like more than a little overkill. Keep the sampe profile with a specific folder for admin-controlled palettes, and develop the new palettes offline. When they are ready to go, move the palette file (ATC) and related image contents to the network folder. If you *really* need to be constantly adding palette folders, consider doing a scripted REG push to update the registry entry with the palette search path.

[Pierre P]

So it's possible to have multiple .atc files?
I thought toolpalettes were somehow 'linked' to the profile. That's why I kept re-sharing our office profile.

But you're saying that as long as the files search paths are correct, it'll work, right?
Will they 'refresh' automatically? I would imagine not, because ours don't. Even if keep updating the .atc file that everyone already has in their files search path.

The thing is... I have 6 Palette groups and a total of 27 palettes

'consider doing a scripted REG push to update the registry entry with the palette search path'
...I'm sorry, what?!

[dgorsman]

Ignore the registry comment for now - that's only if you need to change where AutoCAD is looking for palette folders on each computer. File that tidbit away for later.

This is precisely why I mentioned you need to watch out when using palette groups. If groups are used, then there is some local caching of the palette contents in the same file where the groups data is stored (can't remember if its the profile AWS or the catalog ATC). Even if you change the network palette contents the local contents override it. Mixing palette groups with both network and local palettes is a recipe for all sorts of problems. I would recommend you either abandon palette groups, or use some automation to copy the network palette contents to a local folder on start-up.

[Paul Munford]

this article in AEC edge magazine outlines a good method for managing tool palettes:
http://www.augi.com/images/uploads/a...2009Fal-lr.pdf

[Pierre P]

OK, we don't have groups anymore, only palettes, 27 of them.
And you were right: everyone has access to all of them, so far.

However, I have renamed the palettes, to at least try to have them organized a little.
Some of our users can see the new names and some don't and only see the old names.
AND, if they do see them, they're not in the proper order
Is there something that I'm missing or not doing?

Also, I've 'reorganized' according to Sfuller's explanation here:
http://forums.autodesk.com/t5/Visual...t/true#M293391

If you have any documentation (CAD University maybe) about tool palettes or a link to a quality web page that explains clearly how tool palettes works, I would love to get my hands on that!

[dgorsman]

If you have any documentation (CAD University maybe) about tool palettes or a link to a quality web page that explains clearly how tool palettes works, I would love to get my hands on that!

So would I. Right now like a lot of CAD support work it's trial, error, and experience, since there is no one-size-fits-all solution set.

[Coloradomrg]

I keep seeing people talk about avoiding groups, but I use them quite a bit and we don't have any issues relating to them. All toolpalletes are on the server though, with nothing local. I am the only one with write access to the palletes, and when I have to re-organize items I simply export my current profile to the network and when the users open autocad the next time everything works. Of course we are a small firm and if something went haywire it would be pretty easy to sort out.

[Paul Munford]

Group definitions are saved in your profile, so this will work as long as all your users are using the same profile. If you allow your users to have their own profile - or you use profiles to manage the diffent verticals of AutoCAD, then the tool pallette groups won't be available.

[derek.96018]

Hi. are you using full version 2012 or AutoCAD LT ?

I have done a bunch of TP customization work. Through my research at the time I began the work (about 3 years ago with 2009), I found that groups are not the way to go (I am not saying not to do them or that they do not work). They ARE difficult to share.

Putting them on the server is way easier than any of the profile steps you outlined above.

Check out my thread on TPs and see if this setup will work for you. I will help as I can.

I am having a real hard time navigating the AUGI site today, not sure why, otherwise I would provide a link. Just search my user name:
derek.96018