AutoCAD is a powerful software tool used by professionals in various industries for creating 2D and 3D designs. One of the advantages of using AutoCAD is the ability to customize shortcuts, which can significantly improve your productivity and workflow. In this tutorial, we will learn how to change shortcuts in AutoCAD.
Step 1: Accessing the Customize User Interface (CUI) Editor
To change shortcuts in AutoCAD, we need to access the Customize User Interface (CUI) Editor. You can do this by either clicking on the “Customize” menu in the top toolbar and selecting “Customize User Interface,” or by typing “CUI” in the command line and pressing Enter.
Step 2: Navigating the CUI Editor
Once you have opened the CUI Editor, you will see a tree-like structure on the left side, with different categories and commands listed. The main categories include “Partial Customization Files,” “Customizations In All Files,” and “Enterprise Customization Files.” Expand these categories to access different customization options.
Step 3: Creating a New Shortcut
To create a new shortcut, navigate to the desired category under “Customizations In All Files.” For example, if you want to create a shortcut for a specific command in the “Draw” category, expand it.
- Select the command for which you want to create a shortcut.
- In the Properties pane on the right side of the CUI Editor, scroll down until you find “Access Keys.”
- Click on the empty field next to “Access Keys” and enter your desired shortcut key combination.
- For example, if you want to assign Ctrl + Shift + D as your shortcut for drawing a line, type “Ctrl+Shift+D” in the field.
Step 4: Modifying Existing Shortcuts
If you want to modify an existing shortcut, follow the same steps as above but instead of selecting a command to create a new shortcut, select the command whose shortcut you want to modify.
Step 5: Saving and Loading Customizations
After making changes to shortcuts in the CUI Editor, it’s important to save your customizations. Click on the floppy disk icon in the top toolbar or use the “Save” command to save your changes.
To load your customizations in future AutoCAD sessions or on different machines, go to the “Customize” menu and select “Load Customization.” Browse for your customization file and click “Open.”
Conclusion
In this tutorial, we have learned how to change shortcuts in AutoCAD using the Customize User Interface (CUI) Editor. By customizing shortcuts according to your preferences and workflow, you can significantly enhance your productivity while working with AutoCAD.
Remember to save your customizations and load them when necessary. Now it’s time for you to explore the world of customized shortcuts and make AutoCAD work even better for you!