User Profiles

User Profiles and Workspaces

IntelliCAD (and AutoCAD) allow CAD drafters to save and re-use their user interface settings - the combination of menus, palettes and toolbars that they like to work with, in what's called a user profile. In addition to the arrangement of toolbars and palettes, most SETVAR (system variable) options can also be saved in a user profile. These profiles can be restored at will.

To create a profile, you set up a drawing environment and adjust it to how you want it to look and behave. You might for example, configure a path to a special template file, set a path to a block library, add and subtract pull down menus, open the toolbars you want, set pickbox size, colours, or other options and generally set things up the way like to work. Once that is done, you save the settings in the user profile. Once you have done that, no matter what someone else has done to your precious CAD software and its configuration, you can quickly restore it to your favourite state.

  The profile settings are saved on your machine, in a location determined by your Windows profile.   We think that it is better to save the profile to a folder on your file server (perhaps called Profiles). Store your Windows profiles there as well. In this way, you can log on to any machine in your network and your Windows profile will set your Windows desk top in the manner you are most comfortable with and when you start your CAD program, load a profile and your CAD program will also work the way you want it to.

  It is a good idea to save a copy of the profile file in an external location. The profile dialog box in both IntelliCAD and AutoCAD has an export option and a simple text file with the extension .arg can be saved by click on that tab. We suggest that if you want to work on a different machine and need to have your pet CAD configuration, export the file to a convenient device such as a USB drive. In some versions of Windows you may need administrative rights to your computer to export user profiles.

 User profiles created in AutoCAD may not import into IntelliCAD. User profiles in IntelliCAD are not downwardly compatible.

IntelliCAD

Saving a profile

Set the menus, colours, pickbox sizes, toolbars etc. in their desired configuration. Once this has been done, select Tools>Options>Profiles. 

Then select Create New profile - use a meaningful name e.g AlansProfileForIntelliCAD6-4OnToshiba17. This makes it very clear what the profile is to be used for - in this case a drafter called Alan works with IntelliCAD on a 17" Toshiba notebook computer. Note that an entry is made in the registry of the computer that you are using. Export the file.

Note that all kinds of preferences can be saved in the file as shown in the figure below.

Using the profile

If someone else has been using your computer or a reload of IntelliCAD is required, simply go to Tools>Options>Profile and load your profile.

Export a profile

Select the export option and save it to a USB or similar backup device. Use the profile on the USB drive if you have to move to another computer.

AutoCAD

Profiles and Workspaces

Later versions of AutoCAD (post 2008?) allow the use of workspaces as well as profiles. It is important to recognise that there is a complex relationship between profiles and workspaces. 

- there are three in-built workspaces:

•  2D Drafting & Annotation
  
• 3D Modeling
  
• AutoCAD Classic

To create a profile in AutoCAD, we recommend first setting your desired workspace, then set a profile. For many users, this workspace might be AutoCAD Classic, although you might like to try to work in the 2D Production Drafting workspace if you have never experimented with it.

 If you cannot find the required button icon to set a workspace - the button and its location changes in very release of AutoCAD - type WORKSPACE at the command line, then choose the SE option and select the desired Workspace (see figure below).

New Profile 

To create a new profile, set desired workspace, adjust toolbars etc. When you are ready to save the profile, use Tools>Options>Profiles.  Select 'Add to List', note that this is a bit odd, there is no New button, but add to will create a new profile based on your setting. Use a meaningful name for the profile e.g. AlansProfileForAutoCAD2008onToshiba17. This makes it very clear who the profile is saved for and on which machine. Note that an entry is made in the registry of the computer that you are using when you create a profile. You might create a generic company Profile e.g. GJCStandardCADProfile.

Update Profile

To update a profile, make sure that the workspace and profile you wish to update is current, then make the changes to settings (toolbars etc.) and select set current. In our view, that is not inuitive, but it does work and update the profile. The difficulty is keeping your wits about you and what state the current setting are in. It is probaly not a bad idea to keep a backup profile before you begin playing around.

Reset option

The Reset option puts the profile back to the AutoCAD as delivered state (provided that has not been altered).

Exporting the profile

To export an AutoCAD profile, again choose Options and the Profiles tab, then choose Export. Loading that profile onto a new machine is the reverse of the exprt process.  AutoCAD profiles are (sort of) upwardly compatible - the do load!