Customizing the User Interface

The Customize command lets you customize user interface elements such as menus, toolbars, and working spaces.

You can also manage the customization files you use. Customization files store the elements that comprise the user interface.

To customize the user interface:

1. Click Tools > Customize Interface (or type Customize).
2. In the Customize dialog box, in Source, select:
• All Customization Files to become the base for adding or modifying interface elements
• A specific customization file (in form of an .xml file) on which to work.
3. Click Load customization file to load a customization file located outside the default folder for customization files.
4. Click Create customization file to create a new customization file. In the Create Customization File dialog box, for:
1. Name, type the name for the new customization file.
2. Path, accept the location for the new file or browse for a file.

Managing commands

To manage commands for use in user interface elements:

1. Click Tools > Customize Interface (or type Customize).
2. In the Customize dialog box, click Commands .
3. To add a command to the list of commands, click Add Command .
   
   An empty command entry is added to the commands list, labeled "Command" as placeholder for a new command.
   
   See below for a description to edit command entries.
4. To remove a command from the commands list, click Remove Command .
5. To expand the Icon Explorer, click Show icon explorer . In Filter, select whether to show All Icons, Small Icons, or Large Icons in the Icon Explorer.
6. Click OK.

To edit command entries:

1. In the Customize dialog box, in the commands list, select a command entry.
2. In the Name field, label the command entry.
3. For Command string, type a command, command sequence, or command option.
   
   Start the expression with ^C^C to ensure a running command is cancelled when invoking the command or command sequence.
4. To expand the Icon Explorer, click Show icon explorer .
5. From the Icon Explorer drag a small icon and a large icon to the corresponding Small and Large fields of the new command entry. These icons are used for menus and toolbars.
   
   The location and file name of the icons displays in Small icon location and Large icon location.
6. For Description, type a description to display in the status line when you move the pointer over the corresponding command in a menu or toolbar.

Managing the interface (menus and toolbars)

On the Interface page, you define the menus and toolbars. You can rearrange existing items, add new items, and modify entries and command sequences associated with them.

To manage the interface (menus and toolbars):

1. Click Tools > Customize Interface (or type Customize).
2. In the Customize dialog box, click Interface .
3. Expand Menus.
4. In Menu, select whether to display All Menus of the current customization source or a specific menu (such as File, Edit, or View).
5. Expand the menu you want to edit.
   
   The command entries of the menu and their icons or sub menus display.
6. Expand Toolbars.
7. In Toolbar, select whether to display All Toolbars of the current customization source or a specific toolbar (such as Standard, Layers, or Properties).
8. Expand the toolbar you want to edit.
   
   The command entries of the toolbar and their icons display.
9. To remove a selected command from a menu or toolbar, click Remove .
10. To expand the Command Explorer, click Show command explorer .
11. To insert a command or option in a menu or toolbar, select an entry in Command Explorer and drag it to a menu or toolbar.
12. Use the Find box to type a search string to reduce the entries in the Command Explorer.
    

Note: Use the Commands section of the Customize dialog box to add and edit commands. You cannot edit the command or command sequence behind a menu or toolbar entry in the Interface section.

To create a new menu or new toolbar:

1. In the Customize dialog box, expand Menus or Toolbars.
2. In the list of menus or toolbars, right-click and click New menu or New toolbar.
   
   A new menu or toolbar is added to the list.
3. Right-click the menu or toolbar and click Rename to edit the name.
4. Add command items to the menu or toolbar as described next.

To insert an entry into a menu or toolbar:

1. In the Customize dialog box, expand a menu or toolbar.
2. Navigate to the location in the menu or toolbar where you want to place the new item.
3. Click Show command explorer to expand the Command Explorer.
4. In Command Explorer, select a command entry and drag it to the menu or toolbar.
5. Right-click a menu or toolbar and click New separator to insert a separator.
6. Right-click a menu and click New sub menu to insert a sub menu.

To rename an entry in a menu or toolbar:

1. In the Customize dialog box, expand a menu or toolbar.
2. Right-click the entry to rename and click Rename.
3. Type new text for the menu or toolbar item.
   
   Note: The command sequence behind the item does not change.

To delete an entry in a menu or toolbar:

1. In the Customize dialog box, expand a menu or toolbar.
2. Right-click the entry to delete and click Delete.

Setting mouse actions

In Mouse Actions section, you define what happens when you right-click or double-click with the mouse device. In addition you can define common and contextual shortcut menus.

To define actions for right-clicks:

1. Click Tools > Customize Interface (or type Customize).
2. In the Customize dialog box, click Mouse Actions .
3. Expand Right Clicks.
4. For Right Click, Shift+Right Click, Ctrl+Right Click, and Ctrl+Shift+Right Click select a menu, command, command sequence, or option to issue.

To define actions for double-clicks:

1. In the Customize dialog box, expand Double Clicks.
2. In Entity, select an entity type.
3. In Command Name, select a command to execute when you double-click the specified entity.
4. To add an entity type to the list, click Add .
5. To expand the Command Explorer to drag a command name to an entity type in the list, click Show command explorer .
6. To remove an entity type from the list, click Remove .

To manage shortcut menus:

1. Click Tools > Customize Interface (or type Customize).
2. In the Customize dialog box, click Mouse Actions .
3. Expand Shortcut Menus > Common or Contextual.
4. In Menu, or in the list of shortcut menus, select a shortcut menu. You can edit common shortcut menus:
• The Default Menu displays if you right-click when no command is active.
• The Edit Menu displays if you right-click when drawing entities are selected.
• The Command Menu displays if you right-click when a command is active and no shortcut menu is defined for that command.
• The contextual menus display if you right-click when a specific command is active.
5. To insert a command or option in a shortcut menu:
1. Click Show command explorer .
2. Under Command Explorer, select an item and drag it to a menu or toolbar.
6. To replace a command or option, select an item in a shortcut menu, then select another command or option in Command.
7. To remove a command from a shortcut menu, select an item in a shortcut menu and click Remove (the option is available for contextual shortcut menus only).

To manage keyboard shortcuts:

1. Click Tools > Customize Interface (or type Customize).
2. In the Customize dialog box, click Keyboard .
3. Expand Keyboard Shortcuts > Shortcut Keys and Keyboard Shortcuts > Override Keys.
4. To add new shortcuts to the lists, click Add , and in the Key column of the new row that appears in the list, hold a special key like Ctrl, Alt, or Shift and press another key on the keyboard for the shortcut.
5. To associate an existing command sequence to a shortcut, click Show command explorer to expand the Command Explorer, then drag the command sequences to a new or existing keyboard shortcut in the list.
6. For override keys, type a Function description and create a Macro.
6. To remove a keyboard shortcut from the list, click Remove .

  See the Keyboard Shortcuts appendix for a summary of built-in function keys, keyboard shortcuts, and temporary overrides.

Managing user interface profiles

You can create and manage individual user interface profiles.

To manage user interface profiles:

• See the UIProfile command which opens the UI Profiles section of the Customize dialog box.

Access

Command: Customize

Menu: Tools > Customize Interface