Create Image Tile Menus (Concept)-Autodesk AutoCAD 2008 Customization Guide-kxcad

AutoCAD 2008 Customization Guide > Customize the User Interface > Customize Legacy Interface Elements >

Create Image Tile Menus

Concept

Procedure

Quick Reference

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The purpose of an image tile menu is to provide an image that can be selected instead of text. You can create, edit, or add image tiles and image tile slides.

An image tile dialog box displays images in groups of 20, along with a scrolling list box on the left that displays the associated slide file names or related text. If an image tile dialog box contains more than 20 slides, the additional slides are added to a new page. Next and Previous buttons are activated so that you can browse the pages of images.

Following is an example of the 3D Objects image tile dialog box with the Dome image tile slide selected.

You define an image tile menu in the Customize User Interface editor. The following table shows the 3D Objects image tile menu properties as they appear in the Properties pane.

Properties for the 3D Object image tile menu
Properties pane item	Description	Example
Name	String that is used only in the CUI editor and is not displayed in the user interface.	3D Objects
Description	Text that describes the element and does not appear in the user interface.
Aliases	Specifies the aliases for the image tile menu. Click the ellipses button [...] to open the Aliases dialog box. Each alias in the CUI file should be unique and it is used to reference the image file menu programatically.	image, image_3DObjects

The following table shows the Dome command properties of the 3D Objects image tile menu as they appear in the Properties pane.

Properties for the Dome command on the 3D Objects image tile menu
Properties pane item	Description	Example
Name	String displayed in the list box on the left side of the image tile menu dialog box. The string must include alphanumeric characters with no punctuation other than a hyphen (-) or an underscore (_).	Dome
Description	Text that describes the element; does not appear in the user interface.	Creates the upper half of a spherical polygon mesh
Macro	The command macro. It follows the standard macro syntax.	^C^C_ai_dome
Element ID	Tag that uniquely identifies a command.	ID_Ai_dome
Slide library	A file that is made up of multiple slides and created using the file slidelib.exe.	acad
Slide label	Name of a slide contained in the slide library file or a slide image that is stored separately.	Dome

You can use any slide generated by AutoCAD as an image. Keep the following suggestions in mind as you prepare slides for an image tile menu.

Keep the image simple. When an image tile menu is displayed, you must wait for all images to be drawn before making a selection. If you show numerous complex symbols, use simple, recognizable images rather than full renditions.
Fill the box. When making a slide for an image, be sure to fill the screen with the image before starting MSLIDE. If the image is very wide and short, or long and thin, the image tile menu will look best if you use PAN to center the image on the screen before making the slide.
Images are displayed with an aspect ratio of 3:2 (3 units wide by 2 units high). If your drawing area has a different aspect ratio, it can be difficult to produce image slides that are centered in the image tile menu. If you work within a layout viewport that has an aspect ratio of 3:2, you can position the image and be assured that it will look the same when it is displayed in the image tile menu.
Remember the purpose of the images. Do not use images to encode abstract concepts into symbols. Image tiles are useful primarily for selecting a graphic symbol.