Export Tool Palettes

[bamckenzie69]

I made a few custom tool palettes and need to share them with some other people in the office. ACA HELP lead me to use my MANAGE ribbon, CUSTOMIZE, then TOOL PALETTES. This brings up a dialog box showing all my PALETTES and PALETTE GROUPS. I am supposed to be able to right click on them to export them. When I right click, I do not get the export option. I only get "RENAME," "NEW PALETTE," and "DELETE." When I searched the internet it suggested the same steps. Any ideas? Using ACA R2013...

[bamckenzie69]

When I posted this, it showed similar posts from the past. A couple of them indicated that I need to use Content Browser to make a group and put my palettes there. I did that, so now how do I share a group? Another question; why does ACA HELP continue to show right clip options that apparently have not existed since at least ACA 2009? Surely there is a simple way to have an office set of tool palettes that everyone can access.

[dkoch]

When I posted this, it showed similar posts from the past. A couple of them indicated that I need to use Content Browser to make a group and put my palettes there. I did that, so now how do I share a group? Another question; why does ACA HELP continue to show right clip options that apparently have not existed since at least ACA 2009? Surely there is a simple way to have an office set of tool palettes that everyone can access.

The export method of sharing tool palettes is for vanilla AutoCAD. AutoCAD Architecture (and MEP) have specialized tools that are not supported by the vanilla AutoCAD export method, so Content Browser was added as the method for sharing in ACA and AMEP. If you create tools based on source files that are saved to a location that is accessible to others in your office (such as a network location) and then create a tool catalog that is likewise accessible and add your tools/categories/palettes there, others can open that tool catalog in Content Browser and i-Drop the content into their own workspaces. Or, if you have tool palettes in the catalog, the other users can add the folder of the network-based tool catalog to the Tool Palettes File Locations on the Files tab of the Options dialog to directly access the palettes in their workspaces.

The ACA Help is built on top of the AutoCAD Help. Unfortunately, that means that, where vanilla AutoCAD methods have been disabled or are superceded by ACA means and methods, you have to be aware that the the AutoCAD method does not apply.

[bamckenzie69]

OK, so since I am using ACA 2013, I need to use Content Browser to create a catalog located on the server. I did that. Then I need copy the Tool Palettes I already created into the new catalog. I cannot figure out how to do that. I read in another post that you drag and drop the Palette, but that is not working for me? If I try just dragging the palette, all it does it relocate the palette on my monitor. If I go to Manage>Customization>Tool Palettes, when I drag the palette over to Content Browser it does nothing. What am I doing wrong.

[dkoch]

Open Content Browser, and navigate to your tool catalog and, optionally, through any categories into which you want to place the palette. Switch to ACA, and have the tool palettes displayed and the palette you want to copy visible. Left click and hold on the tab of the palette to be copied. Drag to the Windows task bar and hover over the Content Browser icon, until it opens, then drag over to the Content Browser and "drop" the palette into the Content Browser.

Alternately, you can open Content Browser and right click on the title bar of the Content Browser window. Select the first item in the context menu, Always on Top, if it is not already checked. With this set, the Content Browser will remain "on top", and you can drag the tool palette by the tab right into the Content Browser. This is easier, but I generally do not like having Content Browser on top all of the time, and add palettes to catalogs so rarely that I am willing to put up with the drag-hover-drag rather than toggling the Always on Top. But everyone has her or his own preferences, so I offer both methods.

[bamckenzie69]

Thanks, I feel like a bonehead. I would swear that is what I tried (except I have two monitors), but it did not work last week. It worked today. Thanks again.

[bamckenzie69]

I still cannot get this to work. Here is what I have done. I created a DWG on the server where everyone can access it. I created a bunch of annotative and some dynamic blocks in the DWG. I created tool bars with those blocks. I then used Content Browser to create a new Catalog in the same folder as the DWG. I drug the tool bars to the new Catalog and when I did, it created a new sub-folder called "Palettes." I had someone go to Options>Files and add the original folder and the "Palettes" folder to their "Tool Palette File Locations." I had them go to their content browser and open the Catalog I created. When they opened it, there were no Tool Palettes. When I look at the same Catalog on my computer, the tool Palettes are there... Then I tried to delete the palettes from my computer and was able to insert one of them from the Catalog. When I tried bring the other one in, it did not work. When I right clicked on the one that did not work to look at the properties I got an error and both tool Palettes disappeared from the Catalog.

What am I doing wrong.

[dkoch]

I still cannot get this to work. Here is what I have done. I created a DWG on the server where everyone can access it. I created a bunch of annotative and some dynamic blocks in the DWG. I created tool bars with those blocks. I then used Content Browser to create a new Catalog in the same folder as the DWG. I drug the tool bars to the new Catalog and when I did, it created a new sub-folder called "Palettes."

When you say "tool bars", I assume you mean "tool palettes". "Tool bars" are defined in a CUIX file, and cannot be dragged into Content Browser, so far as I know (I have never tried).

I had someone go to Options>Files and add the original folder and the "Palettes" folder to their "Tool Palette File Locations."

They should just be adding the folder with the catalog file. ACA should find the palettes defined therein. Does the user have Palette Groups defined? It could be that the palettes have been added to the Workspace, but do not show since they are not part of the current Palette Group. Try changing the current group to All Palettes to see if they show up there.

I had them go to their content browser and open the Catalog I created. When they opened it, there were no Tool Palettes. When I look at the same Catalog on my computer, the tool Palettes are there... Then I tried to delete the palettes from my computer and was able to insert one of them from the Catalog. When I tried bring the other one in, it did not work. When I right clicked on the one that did not work to look at the properties I got an error and both tool Palettes disappeared from the Catalog.

What am I doing wrong.

Not sure about this one. When you initially create a tool palette, ACA will make it in the top location on the Tool Palettes File Locations list (Options > Files). When you drag and drop that into a Tool Catalog in Content Browser, a copy of the palette and its tools gets made in the Palettes subfolder below the catalog's folder (and an Images folder below that for the tool images) and the catalog gets a reference to the palette ATC file.

When a palette is i-Dropped into a Workspace from a catalog in the Content Browser, a copy of that palette and its tools is added to the local Workspace (and saved to the top location in the Tool Palettes File Locations list). If you set the palette to be refreshable when you do the i-Drop, then the local copy will not be editable but will retain a link back to the catalog version. Even so, deleting the local i-Dropped version should not affect the catalog.

ACA can usually handle two or more palettes with the same displayed name, as it adds a GUID to the name and tracks that. I am not sure why deleting a local copy (either the original palette or the i-Dropped one) would affect the catalog copy, unless you had directly linked to the network location in your Tool Palettes File Locations and the version you deleted was the directly linked version. If you go with having office-standard palettes accessed directly through the Tool Palettes File Location, you would want that network folder read-only to most users, to avoid accidental revisions or deletions. (Unless your office is very small, all users are "power users" and you make provisions to back up the files, since even power users are not perfect.)

[bamckenzie69]

When you say "tool bars", I assume you mean "tool palettes". "Tool bars" are defined in a CUIX file, and cannot be dragged into Content Browser, so far as I know (I have never tried).

Yes I meant tool palettes. My old AutoCAD vernacular snuck in.

They should just be adding the folder with the catalog file. ACA should find the palettes defined therein. Does the user have Palette Groups defined? It could be that the palettes have been added to the Workspace, but do not show since they are not part of the current Palette Group. Try changing the current group to All Palettes to see if they show up there.

This did the trick. One I had them set the path, the tool bars were there I just did not see them before. I then went to Manage>Customization>Tool Palettes, created a new Group, and put the Palettes in that group.

Not sure about this one. When you initially create a tool palette, ACA will make it in the top location on the Tool Palettes File Locations list (Options > Files). When you drag and drop that into a Tool Catalog in Content Browser, a copy of the palette and its tools gets made in the Palettes subfolder below the catalog's folder (and an Images folder below that for the tool images) and the catalog gets a reference to the palette ATC file.

When a palette is i-Dropped into a Workspace from a catalog in the Content Browser, a copy of that palette and its tools is added to the local Workspace (and saved to the top location in the Tool Palettes File Locations list). If you set the palette to be refreshable when you do the i-Drop, then the local copy will not be editable but will retain a link back to the catalog version. Even so, deleting the local i-Dropped version should not affect the catalog.

ACA can usually handle two or more palettes with the same displayed name, as it adds a GUID to the name and tracks that. I am not sure why deleting a local copy (either the original palette or the i-Dropped one) would affect the catalog copy, unless you had directly linked to the network location in your Tool Palettes File Locations and the version you deleted was the directly linked version. If you go with having office-standard palettes accessed directly through the Tool Palettes File Location, you would want that network folder read-only to most users, to avoid accidental revisions or deletions. (Unless your office is very small, all users are "power users" and you make provisions to back up the files, since even power users are not perfect.)

I was never able to get the Content Browser Catalog to work. They can access the catalog, but the tools are not there. They show up on my computer though. Regardless, I think we have figured out how to share the Palettes. Thanks for all the help!