Customization Blog Series - Screen Menus - Blog 3 of 3

In the previous blog, we added icons to elements and associated key-ins to them. In this blog, let us create saved views, assign keyboard shortcuts to the screen menus, and learn to use the screen menus.

Creating Saved Views

1. Resize the view window to 330 x 330 using the View Size tool (Drawing > View > Window > View Size).
2. Zoom in/out to make sure all elements display properly in the view window.
3. From the Level display dialog, turn off the Extended level.
   You will observe that the outer circles and their icons disappear.
4. Start the Create Saved View tool (Drawing > View > Saved Views > Create Saved View).
5. In the Create Saved View tool settings window, enter the name as Menu-1.
6. Enter a data point in the view window.
7. Now turn on the Extended level.
8. Start the Create Saved View tool again.
9. Name the new saved view as Menu-2 and enter a data point in the view window.
10. Now select Associate Key-in and then select the circle to which you assigned the Shortcut Key <+>.
11. In the Edit Associated Command dialog, select Menu-2 from the Saved View drop-down and click OK.

Tip: In case you make any changes to the screen menu, do remember to update the saved view.

Assigning Keyboard Shortcuts

Now let us assign a keyboard shortcut to the screen menu.

1. Open the Keyboard Shortcuts dialog (File > Settings > User > Keyboard Shortcuts).
2. Click Add.
   A new blank entry is added to the list.
3. In the Key list box, enter the character </>
4. In the Label field, enter “DraftingScreenMenu” 
5. In the Key-in field, enter SCREENMENU OPENPOPUP SampleSM.dgnlib,Menu-1,Menu-1.
   The syntax is:
   SCREENMENU OPENPOPUP <dgnlib_filename>,<model_name>,<saved_view_name>
6. Click Apply and save the file.

The above syntax in the keyboard shortcut will open the screen menu as a pop-up.

Let us add another keyboard shortcut, but with a different syntax:

1. In the Keyboard Shortcuts dialog, click Add.
   A new blank entry is added to the list.
2. In the Key list box, enter the character <]>
3. In the Label field, enter “DraftingScreenMenu-2” 
4. In the Key-in field, enter ATTACH MENU SampleSM.dgnlib,Menu-1,Menu-1,S1.
   The syntax is:
   ATTACH MENU <dgnlib_filename>,<model_name>,<saved_view_name>,S<n>
5. Click Apply and save the file.

The above keyboard shortcut should keep the screen menu open in a separate window.

Using the Screen Menus

Now that you have the screen menu created, let us see how to open and use it. There are different ways in which you can open a screen menu:

1. As a pop-up – We have assigned keyboard shortcut </> to open the screen menu as a pop-up. Pressing this keyboard shortcut should open the screen menu as a pop-up.
2. In a separate window – If you want the screen menu always open, you can display it as a window. We have assigned keyboard shortcut <]> to open the screen menu as a separate window.

To open the screen menu as a pop-up:

1. Open a DGN file.
2. Press </>.
   Observe that the screen menu pop-ups at the cursor.
3. Click the circle with Place SmartLine icon in it.
4. Observe that the Place SmartLine tool activates and the screen menu disappears. It will reappear when you press </>.

Once the screen menu is opened, you may also use shortcut key to activate a tool. For example, press <L> to start the Place SmartLine tool.

To open the screen menu in a separate window, press <]>.  The screen menu is displayed in a separate window.