Customizing the workspace

The workspace is a predefined user interface configuration that organizes tools, menus, ribbons and panels for specific workflows, defining the arrangement and behavior of the BricsCAD user interface.

The default workspaces are:

Workspace License Level
2D Drafting Lite or higher
2D Drafting (Modern) Lite or higher
Modeling Pro or higher
BIM BIM or Ultimate
Mechanical Mechanical or Ultimate
Civil Survey Pro or higher
Ultimate Ultimate
Toolbars (Classic) Lite or higher

See the Workspaces article for more information on setting the current workspace and elements of the workspace.

Workspaces can be further customized in the Customize dialog box.

Open the Customize dialog box and navigate to the Workspaces tab or run the WSSETTINGS command to open the Customize dialog box directly on the Workspaces tab.

Creating a workspace

To create a workspace, open the Customize dialog box and click the Workspaces tab.

  1. Use one of the following methods:
    • Select Workspaces, then right-click and choose Append workspace in the context menu.
      Note: Using this method adds the new workspace below the last existing workspace.
    • Select an existing workspace, then right-click and choose Insert workspace in the context menu.
      Note: Using this method adds the new workspace above the selected workspace.
  2. Type the name of the new workspace in the Add workspace dialog box and click OK to finish creating it.
Note:
  • A newly created workspace contains the following items:
    • A standard menu set.
    • A standard toolbar set.
    • All panels set to Don't change.
    • An empty ribbon.
    • A default set of Quad tabs.
    • An empty On Switch sequence.
  • The newly created workspace has default properties. These properties are also available in the Settings dialog box, under Program Options > Workspace.
Note: The WSSAVE command saves the current workspace under a different name, thus creating a new workspace.

Editing a workspace

To edit a workspace, open the Customize dialog box and click the Workspaces tab, then click the workspace to expand it.

  1. Edit the menu set:
    • Change the order by dragging a menu.
    • Delete a menu by selecting the menu and choosing Remove in the right-click context menu.
    • Insert a menu by:
      • Right-clicking a menu in the list and choosing Insert menu in the context menu.

        The File menu is inserted by default.

      • Selecting in the Workspace Menu grid the ID field, then selecting the desired menu in the list.
  2. Edit the toolbar set:
    • Change the order by dragging a toolbar.
    • Delete a toolbar by selecting the toolbar and choosing Remove in the right-click context menu.
    • Insert a toolbar by:
      • Right-clicking a toolbar in the list and choosing Insert toolbar in the context menu.

        The Standard toolbar is inserted by default.

      • Selecting in the Workspace Toolbar grid the ID field, then selecting the desired toolbar in the list.
  3. Edit the properties of the panels:
    • Set the desired 'on switch' behavior by selecting Show, Hide or Don't change.
    • Select a panel, then edit its properties in the property grid.
  4. Edit the composition of the ribbon:
    • To add a tab, right-click an existing tab and choose Insert tab in the context menu, then select the tab in the Select Ribbon Tab dialog box.
    • To remove a tab, right-click the tab and choose Remove in the context menu.
    • To change the position of a tab, drag the tab.
  5. Edit the Quad settings:
    • To change the order of the Quad command groups, press and hold the left mouse button, then drag a command group to its new position.
    • Right-click a Quad command group, then choose Delete in the context menu to remove the command group from the Quad cursor menu.
    • Right-click a Quad command group, then choose Insert and select from the list one of the tabs which you want to add to the Quad cursor menu.
  6. Edit the On Switch procedure:

    To add a command to the On Switch sequence, select the command in the available commands pane and drag it to the On Switch node.

Deleting a workspace

To delete a workspace, open the Customize dialog box and click the Workspaces tab, then right-click the workspace and choose Delete in the context menu. Click Yes in the Confirm dialog box to proceed.

Important: You should not delete the default workspace. If the default workspace is deleted, use the Importing a Workspace procedure below to restore the missing workspace from default.cui file in the ..\UserDataCache\Support\en_US subfolder of the BricsCAD installation folder.

Importing a workspace

The option in the File menu on the Customize dialog box can import workspaces from another CUI file into the current main CUI.

To import a workspace, use the following steps:

  1. In the Customize dialog box, click File and choose Import workspace(s)... in the context menu to open the Choose a Customization File dialog box.
  2. Browse to the CUI file you want to import the workspace from and click Open to open the Select workspace(s) to be imported dialog box.
    Note: By default, BricsCAD saves CUI files in the Support folder of the Roamable Root folder. See the BricsCAD User Files article for more information.
  3. Select the workspaces to import and click OK.
    Tip: Press and hold the Ctrl key to select multiple workspaces.