Overview

In this lesson you learn to use the Menu Browser to perform common tasks in
AutoCAD such as opening and closing drawings, accessing commands, setting options,
and exiting AutoCAD
!he menu "rowser is an important interface element which allows for #uick
access to commands through a search feature as well as through familiar menu titles $ou
can use the search feature to #uickly discover and launch any command you need help
finding !his is a faster alternative to using the menu "ar if you are not familiar with the
location of the desired command
O"%ectives
After completing this lesson, you will "e a"le to&
'se the Menu Browser to open files and access tools and commands
'se the Menu Browser to search for tools and commands
(iew recently opened documents, search for, and run a particular command
)rere#uisites
Before taking this lesson, you should "e a"le to&
*aunch the AutoCAD+ software
Apply "asic AutoCAD+ skills
Introduction to Using the Menu Browser
!he menu "rowser provides easy access to a variety of content, including
commands and documents, from a single "utton in the upper left corner of the AutoCAD
*! display
Command Access
Menu Browser
,ey"oard -hortcut& Alt-F
AutoCAD .indow& Menu Browser button

Menu Browser
!he menu "rowser has the same menus as the traditional menu "ar !hey are
instead displayed vertically !he menu "rowser is displayed on demand, eliminating the
need to always have menus displayed across the top -electing a menu from the menu
"rowser expands the menu list and ena"les you to launch a command
Menu Browser Options
.hen the Menu Browser is displayed, the following options are availa"le&
Click each callout area for its definition
Menus& /ach menu contains a list of commands and controls that corresponds to the
menu that has "een selected Menus in the Menu Browser can "e customi0ed in the
Customi0e 'ser Interface 1C'I2 dialog "ox !he Menus displayed in the Menu Browser
are identical to the menus displayed on the Menu Bar
Commands& Displays the commands and controls for a selected menu Menu command
lists can "e customi0ed in the Customi0e 'ser Interface 1C'I2 dialog "ox
-earch& A tool for searching the Customi0e 'ser Interface 1C'I2 file for commands and
tools !he tools found resulting from the search are displayed in the Menu Browser where
you can then use them
3ecent Documents& Displays a list of recently opened and viewed documents
Open Documents& Displays a list of documents that are currently open
3ecent Actions& Displays a list of recently used commands
Options& Accesses the Options Dialog Box
/xit AutoCAD& /xits AutoCAD
3ecent and Open Documents Options 4 Mouseover
.hen viewing recent or open documents in the Menu Browser, the following options are
availa"le&
Click each callout area for its definition
Drawing list& Displays the list of recently viewed documents !he num"er of drawing
listed can "e edited in the Options Dialog "ox, Open and -ave ta"
*ist Display -ettings& Controls the order in which the list appears !he options are
Ordered *ist, 5roup "y Date, and 5roup "y !ype
Icon Display -ettings& Controls the appearance of the Icons !he options are Icons, -mall
Images, Medium Images, and *arge Images
)in& Allows the document to "e pinned so that it won6t fall off the list as more documents
are viewed
7ote& !he num"er of recent documents and recent actions displayed in the Menu
Browser 1from 8 to 982 are controlled on the Open and -ave ta" of the Options dialog
"ox
)rocedure& 'sing the Menu Browser to 7avigate to a Command
!he following steps give an overview of using the menu "rowser to navigate to a
command&
1. Activate the menu "rowser
2. -elect the desired menu
. -elect the desired command
!. :ollow the prompts on the command line to complete the command
)rocess& 'sing the Menu Browser to 7avigate Documents
!he following steps give an overview of using the menu mrowser to navigate to
recent and open documents&
1. Activate them Menu "rowser
2. !o view the documents that have "een used recently, click 3ecent Documents
. -witch "etween open documents
!. -earch for and run the desired commands
". !o view the most recently used commands, click 3ecent Actions Click to use them if
desired
Introduction to Using the #earch $ool
!he -earch tool in the menu "rowser provides a #uick and easy way to locate and
launch commands that you may not fre#uently use and need help finding !his tool is a
real4time search that "egins the moment you start typing in the search field
Menu Browser #earch Options
.hen the menu "rowser is displayed, the following search options are availa"le&
7ote& !he search lists in the menu "rowser will display any commands defined in
the currently loaded menu file, including those that are not assigned to any particular
menu
)rocess& 'sing the Menu Browser to *ocate a Command
!he following steps give an overview of using the menu "rowser to locate a
command&
1. Activate the menu "rowser
2. /nter the desired command in the search field !he search field displays a list of
commands that match the search
. !o execute the desired command, select it from the search list If the desired command
is first on the list, you can simply press /7!/3 to execute the command
!. !o clear the search field, click the Delete "utton
". !o start a new search, enter the desired command in the search field
5uidelines
!he following rules need to "e taken into consideration when using the search
tool&
#earch Field% /nter the character string you want to search for
#earch &ist% Displays a list of commands that contain the characters from the
search field in the command name !he commands that match the character string
exactly are listed under Best Matches All other commands are grouped together
under the root menu name
Menu 'ath% Displays the menu path for the corresponding command in the
search list
(elete Button% Clears the search list and displays the original menus $ou can
also right4click in the search field and click Clear -earch to return to the default
menu
Command $ooltip% Displays a tooltip as you move your cursor over the
command in the search list
)elated )esults% Displays the list of commands that contain characters from
the search field in the macro, tooltip or menu tag
$e*t #trings Icon% Displays next to a command in the related results list if the
characters from the search field are found in the command prompt text string
$ooltip Icon% Displays next to a command in the related results list if the
characters from the search field are found in the command tooltip
$ag Icon% Displays next to a command in the related results list if the
characters from the search field are found in the command menu tag
Any text character, sym"ol, or num"er can "e used in the search field
!he search is not case sensitive
If you press /7!/3 while your cursor is in the search field, the first search result
in the list is automatically selected and the command is executed
Disa"led commands are included in search results; however, they are dimmed and
cannot "e executed
If a su"4menu matches the search field it is underlined and displayed as a link
$ou can click the link to activate the selected su"4menu in the menu "rowser
$ou can input multiple keywords that are separated with a space and the search
field will search for commands that contain all of the keywords within its name,
tooltip, su"menu, or tag
<aving completed this lesson, you can&
'se the Menu Browser to open files and access tools and commands
'se the Menu Browser to search for tools and commands
(iew recently opened documents, search for, and run a particular command