ACA/AMEP 2017: Styles Browser Enhancements

Several enhancements have been made to the Styles Browser, first introduced in the 2016 release of AutoCAD^® Architecture and AutoCAD^® MEP.

Add Directory to Content Library
For reference, the image below shows the Content Drawings Library dialog, as it appears in the 2016 release.

When adding files to the Styles Browser Content Drawings Library, instead of specifying individual files, you can specify a folder, and all of the files within that folder will be included in the library.

As always, you can click on an image to see it full size.

Once a folder is added, you can choose whether or not to include all of the files within any subfolders of that folder as well.

The big advantage here is not in saving a few clicks when setting up the Styles Browser Library (you can add multple source files in one operation), but that once a folder is selected, you can add a file to it at a later date and that file will be included in the Styles Browser Content Library automatically. That will save a lot of effort in a firm with more that a handful of users. One note of caution, including a large number of files in the Content Browser Content Library can result in slow performance as the Styles Browser generates preview images. That applies whether or not you are adding folders, but, particularly with the subfolders option checked, it is easier to add a lot of files, perhaps without even realizing it.

Object Type List Auto Scroll
In 2016, when working in the Object Type drop-down list, expanding a category at the bottom of the list did so, but you would then often need to scroll the list to see some or, in some cases, any of the items under the expanded category.

In 2017, when expanding a category at the bottom of the list, the list will automatically scroll to show the items in the expanded category.

A small, but welcome improvement for those making frequent use of the Styles Browser, particularly for MEP users, as they have more categories and the number of items in those categories is greater than the Multi-Purpose Objects category.

MEP Enhancements

• Additional Objects: Panels, Devices, Schematic Symbols and Plumbing Fittings, which previously used the "old" Select Style dialog, are now integrated into the Styles Browser.
• Additional Categories: The addition of the previously noted objects has prompted the replacement of the 2016 all-in-one MEP Objects category with five separate categories: Electrical Objects, HVAC Objects, Piping Objects, Plumbing Objects and Schematic Objects. These five categories remain grouped together, after Multi-Purpose Objects, rather than arranging all categories alphabetically, which would place Multi-Purpose Objects between HVAC Objects and Piping Objects.
• All System Definitions are now selected in the Styles Browser, rather than the two methods used in 2015 (some objects in Styles Browser, some in the Select System dialog).
• Routing Preferences for Conduit, Duct and Pipe have been added to the Styles Browser, and a single Routing Preferences content drawing has been provided with the out-of-the-box content as the source file. This will allow these routing preferences to be omitted from template files, and imported only as needed from the source file.

Closing Styles Browser
A new command, STYLESBROWSERCLOSE has been added to allow closing the Styles Browser from the command line. The Styles Browser ribbon tool (Home ribbon tab, Build panel, Tools split button drop-down list, Styles Browser tool) now toggles the display of the Styles Browser. If closed, the tool opens it; if open, the tool closes it. In 2016, the tool only opened the Styles Browser (and, if docked or auto-hidden, deployed it).

This Screencast demonstrates some of these new features, in AutoCAD Architecture.