Adding a cell to a tool box

An Axiom customer recently asked us to teach him how to add a frequently used cell to a button on a tool box, so that he could just click on an icon and place the cell, instead of having to find the cell in the cell library.

Before you start: First, you have to attach the cell library that contains the cell you want to place, or the cell has to be in a cell library located in the directory defined in the user configuration variable MS_CELLLIST. For this tip, the cell we will be using is in the attached cell library.

Here's how you add a cell to a tool box in MicroStation V8:
1. Locate the cell you would like to add to a button on a tool box. We will use "LT7".

2. Go to Workspace|Customize to open the Customize dialog box. Under the Tool Boxes tab, select "Create Tool Box" from the Edit Tool Box drop-down menu.

3. In the Create Tool Box dialog box, enter the name you wish to give your custom tool box. For the example we used "MyFavoriteCell". Press <OK> when done.

4. Now, click on <Insert>. This opens the Insert Tool dialog box.

5. This is the fun part! Create an icon for your new tool box command.

6. At the bottom of the Insert Tool dialog box, there are three text fields. In the Tool Tip field,

enter the message you want to come up when you hover your mouse over the button. In the Description field, enter a few words about what this button does. This is the text that shows up in MicroStation's status bar when you hover over the icon. The third field, the Key-in field, is the one that does the hard work. Add the following key-in: "ac=LT7;place cell" ["ac=LT7" makes the cell we want to place the active cell. The semicolon separates the commands. "Place cell" is the key-in that allows you to execute the place cell command.]

7. Click <OK> to accept the information. The information about your custom button is added to the tool list under the Edit Tool Box drop-down and a tool bar is created. Click on your newly created icon and see the fruits of your work! Feel free to add more cells if you'd like.

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