One thing that’s regularly asked whenever a new AutoCAD release hits the streets is how to make it work like the last release. I think you should give any new features a fighting chance before turning them off or ignoring them, but that’s entirely your choice. Let’s assume you’ve made the decision to go back to the future; how do you do it?
- Menus and Ribbon. You can turn menus on with MENUBAR 1, close the Ribbon with RIBBONCLOSE, and so on. However, there’s an easier way; just switch workspaces. In the bottom right corner there is a little button that looks like a gearwheel. This is the Workspace control. Click on it and pick the item called AutoCAD Classic.
- Dashboard. The Dashboard is gone, but you can have a vertical Ribbon instead. If the Ribbon is not visible (it won’t be if you just selected the AutoCAD Classic workspace), enter RIBBON to bring it back. In the tab title row (the bar with the word Home in it), right-click and pick Undock. Now you can place and size your Dashboard-like thing as you see fit. As before, you can right-click on things to change the various settings. However, getting the contents exactly the way you want it usually involves using CUI, and that’s well outside the scope of this post.
- Background. Many of you will want a black background, of course. Right-click on the drawing area and pick Options…, then pick the Display tab. Don’t be tempted to choose Color Scheme and set it to Dark, because that just changes the appearance of various user interface elements. Instead, pick the Colors… button. On the left, choose a context you want to change (e.g. 2D model space), choose the appropriate background element (e.g. Uniform background) and choose the particular shade that takes your fancy. There is a Restore Classic Colors button, but that only takes you back to AutoCAD 2008. When you’re done, pick Apply & Close, then OK.
- Status bar. Right-click on a status bar button, turn off Use Icons and your text-based status bar buttons will return.
- Classic commands. If you prefer not to leave the various new palettes on screen all the time, old versions of various commands are still available: ClassicLayer, ClassicXref and ClassicImage. Going back further, there are command-line methods of doing the same thing: -Layer, -Xref, XAttach, -Image and ImageAttach.
If you’ve allowed AutoCAD to migrate your settings (I never do), some of the above will already be done for you, but by no means all of it.
One of the great things about AutoCAD is that we can still do this sort of thing. Microsoft has a lot to learn from Autodesk in this regard. If you’re using Word 2007, you are going to have a Ribbon and that’s the end of it, so be a good little user and learn to love it. Oh, and don’t even think about trying to modify it. Whatever you might think about Autodesk’s development priorities, design decisions and feature implementation, at least in most cases Autodesk leaves us with a choice.
Loading ...
9:28 am on March 28th, 2008 1
hi…
great post, but i want to go “more back” with the “restore” the old autocad interface, so is an option to quit the new dark/light color scheme (this with gradients like web 2.0 butons) and put like before?¿
greets
10:18 am on March 28th, 2008 2
No, there’s no option for doing that. I noticed Ralph Grabowski suggested that the Dark/Light thing might open the door for developers to provide AutoCAD “skins”. In any case, I suspect a crafty hacker could find and modify the resources involved. Right now there’s nothing to do what you are after, though.
1:14 am on April 3rd, 2008 3
great post Steve. i think it would be wonderful if Autodesk shipped a document that explained how to get the latest release looking/behaving like the last one for those who are truly focused on productivity and who don’t have the time (maybe later they will) to mess around with new features and interfaces. love your blog so far. -dave
8:41 am on April 3rd, 2008 4
ok thanks, and keep the good job with that blog!!
greets
12:52 am on April 10th, 2008 5
Thanks for that. Just upgraded from 2008 today and was about to put my boot through the screen. The Ribbon is a headwrecker
5:23 pm on April 10th, 2008 6
Wonderful stuff!Why is it deemed necessary to change the look of a programme with every new release? I would be happier if they sorted out the bugs in the current release before even thinking about a new one.
I bought a new laptop with Vista and Office with ribbons.
Hated it.
Had the OS changed to XP and went back to my old version of office. Perfect.
3:33 pm on April 19th, 2008 7
I’m wondering if there is any chance to change the interface with the old one. I’m more familiar with the old look (skin, icons). If you copy the Acad 2008 icons and rewrite the new 2009 ones maybe most of the toolbar comands will look same as ‘08. I’m not a specialist but I think this coud be possible…and now the questions: how to do that and where the comand icons can be found ? 10x
9:32 am on April 20th, 2008 8
I’ve never tried messing with AutoCAD’s built-in button definitions, which I understand are stored in acadbtn.xmx. Just copying over the 2008 file into 2009 will definitely not work.
6:04 am on May 2nd, 2008 9
Hi I’m Trying to bring back AUTOCAD Classic workspace but when I click on the gear at the bottom right hand corner there is no option for the AutoCAD Classic only: Design, Document, Detail, and Visualization Any help would be great thanks!
8:55 am on May 2nd, 2008 10
It sounds like you may be using one of the vertical products such as AutoCAD Architecture, and that team hasn’t provided you with a Classic workspace. In that case, you’ll have to make your own. Start with MENUBAR 1 and RIBBONCLOSE, then right-click on the QAT (the little toolbar near the red A) to turn on the toolbars you want.
4:01 am on May 25th, 2008 11
You Have atoCAD Architecture. To get back to AutoCAD Classic type OP (options) on the command line. Click on Profiles and this will now give you the option of stan alone AutoCAD. Set current. However I have found it defaults back to Architecture on next opening. I don’t use the Arcitecture interface so I have deleted it in Profiles and now it only loads AutoCAD complete with the Classic Workspce option each time, so far with no problems. This also means it doesn’t load a lot of unwanted architecture bits at start up, although the open splash screen still says AC Architecture.
5:22 am on June 26th, 2008 12
OK…I’ve spent an hour RE-configuring my workspace to my productive “happy place”. How do I get the familiar icons back?
The new, redesigned icons, while possibly cool to rookies, are a pain to those of us who have the familiar buttons burned into our cortex already.
I’m also in the “put my boot through the screen” division.
3:53 am on July 9th, 2008 13
Thank you so much for the great article. I was going nuts with the ribbon menu. I tried to get used to it, used it for about 2 weeks but I just couldnt. I’m an icons person, so I like to have everything on plain sight. I almost changed back to 2008 just because I hated the ribbon so much. Now I can work normally. Thanks.
11:45 pm on August 19th, 2008 14
Did my training on 2007 and finding it very hard to warm to the 2009 version. Have tried the steps listed above to make it ‘classic’ but to no avail.. Help!!
11:32 am on August 20th, 2008 15
Kate, exactly what are you hoping to see that isn’t happening?
6:58 pm on August 25th, 2008 16
I have to say thank you not only to Steve, but to Hal re bringing back the AutoCAD classic workspace – I didn’t realise the Architecture interface didn’t offer it. I too, was in the boot through the screen camp.
2:57 am on August 31st, 2008 17
i found a way to make it clasic but not the black background let me try to remember
9:11 pm on September 23rd, 2008 18
Thanks a lot for the post
greet from Moldova!
8:01 pm on September 29th, 2008 19
If you modify the shortcut to load a certain profile instead of the autocad default profiles, this will solve the problem in AutoCAD Architectural and other verticals. Saves you loading the profile manually every time you open Architectural
5:38 am on October 16th, 2008 20
not going to lie… i grew up on 2000 and still use it daily in the office (we’re a little old school… atleast i got them off of r14)but school switched up to 2009 and i am all about the boot in screen camp. thanks for the help!
7:27 am on October 16th, 2008 21
Yay! Thanks so much for all the tips they really helped get the new CAD looking like the old CAD!
7:20 pm on October 22nd, 2008 22
another guy in the “put my boot through the screen” division right here…
1:25 am on November 7th, 2008 23
I hated ribbon’s at first, I went to classic and set up as normal, but went back to ribbons soon after. I went into customize and changed my home ribbon to have all my usual commands and even added the breakline and mtext convertor from the express tools. I have used AutoCAD since v14 and love the new ribbons. Just give them a go.
7:23 am on November 7th, 2008 24
thank you very much
11:47 am on November 7th, 2008 25
Thank you a lot, again!
1:51 am on February 12th, 2009 26
Thanks so much! They sure didn’t make it easy to get rid of that nauseating pus-colored background.
12:21 pm on March 4th, 2009 27
Thanks so much for such a great post!
10:12 pm on March 11th, 2009 28
I have auto Classic now, but no black background. How do I fix it? Currently using 2009.
11:09 pm on March 11th, 2009 29
See above, where it says Background.
8:02 am on March 12th, 2009 30
I scrolled the page up and down and I am not seeing any instruction on how to get my black background back up. I would appreciate any help.
8:15 am on March 12th, 2009 31
Ok I actually figured it out. Now where are all the different layers. All I have is white.
9:01 am on March 12th, 2009 32
The layers are stored in each drawing and are not affected by a new release of AutoCAD. Maybe you had a template drawing set up in your previous release, with all the layers set up? If so, you need to find it, copy it across and use the Options command’s File tab to point AutoCAD at it.
9:45 am on March 12th, 2009 33
you have been a great deal of help, thank you.
3:55 am on March 15th, 2009 34
Thanks so much that was great and extremely helpful!
3:46 am on March 18th, 2009 35
I can switch between the new ribbons and the classic AutoCad. However I have gotten used to the new ribbons. I generall like them except for object snaps. The only problem I have with osnaps is that it requires lots of key strokes especially if I am using tangent or paralell. Is there a way I can have th old object snap tool bar vertical on the right side of the screen? This way I can pick the particulat snap I want with one click without going to that menu on the bottom
2:15 pm on March 18th, 2009 36
There are many ways of getting at osnaps and they all have 3-letter abbreviations (including TAN and PAR), but if the osnap toolbar combined with the Ribbon works best for you, you can certainly have it.
Let’s assuming you have just chosen the 2D Drafting and Annotation workspace and want to add the Osnap toolbar. Right-click on a button in the QAT (the fixed-location toolbar next to the red A), then pick Toolbars > AutoCAD > Object Snap. The toolbar should appear, and you just drag and drop it to your desired location.
1:42 am on March 20th, 2009 37
i seem to have lost the toolbars on classic view on autocad 2009, how do i get the basic toolbars back? iv searched everywhere on it but no luck!?!?!?
could you help please?
1:18 pm on March 23rd, 2009 38
Can you turn them on using the menu you get by right-clicking the QAT as mentioned above?
7:38 pm on March 27th, 2009 39
hi,,i have lost all the basic toolbars..n wen i click on the wheel i dnt hve the option autocad classic..kud u plzzzzzzzz help…thxxxx
10:32 pm on March 27th, 2009 40
Joy, it sounds as if you possibly don’t have the default acad.cui as your main menu. That’s a perfectly valid way to work, but only if you set things up like that on purpose! Enter the CUI command and see if you can see ACAD at the top level of the tree. If it is, then you can right-click on it and perform a restore or reset.
All this advice is provided as-is, for you to assess and use at your own risk, based on guesswork from very limited information. This is really the sort of thing you should have a local support person doing, such as a CAD Manager or support staff from your reseller.
12:43 am on April 1st, 2009 41
I cannot zoom or pan with the mouse scroll, is there a setting I have to set before using this elementary tool??
Thanks!
1:05 am on April 1st, 2009 42
MBUTTONPAN = 1, perhaps? If not, try changing your middle button assignment in Control Panel.
1:30 am on April 1st, 2009 43
Thanks!!
the problem awas linked to the configuration of the mouse in Control Panel…
6:17 pm on April 17th, 2009 44
Hi,
I have autocad architecture, successfully close all the ribbons as you suggested. But now having trouble to get the normal icon toolbars back (layer, draw, etc…) I clicked the QAT and found this long list of commands to choose, but then how to get those to the toolbars on the screen?
8:54 pm on April 17th, 2009 45
In AutoCAD, clicking the QAT should give you a Toolbars option, under which is list of CUI files, under each of which should be a list of toolbars. You should be able to just click on each one you need turned on. But I’ve never even seen AutoCAD Architecture, so maybe things are different there.
2:33 pm on May 22nd, 2009 46
I’ve been using acad2009 for a year now using “autocad classic”, and I would like to give the new ribbons a try. However, I might have accidentaly deleted the ribbons a while back during the time when I’m trying to figure out how to switch it to classic view. A note saying “The Ribbon does not have any tabs or panels currently loaded” everytime i switch the workspace to 2D Drafting & Annotation and 3D Modeling. How can I turn the ribbons up again? Appreciate the help. Thanks!
4:39 pm on May 22nd, 2009 47
Before you do anything, use the Options command’s Files tab to find out what your main CUI file is. I’ll assume here that you’re using acad.cui as your main. Make a safe copy of that acad.cui file. Now, in the CUI command, right-click on where it says Restore ACAD.CUI. Pick OK and see if that worked. You may need to restart AutoCAD and/or pick the workspace again. If that didn’t work, repeat the above but with Reset ACAD.CUI. Once you have a functional Ribbon, you may need to use the CUI Transfer tab to bring in any custom stuff from your safe copy of the old acad.cui to the restored acad.cui.
Or you could just use AutoCAD 2010, which has a better Ribbon.