Are lisps for me?
[Buttons][Scripts][Aliases] [Menus][Lisps][Other] [Ideas]

Buttons:
With buttons, you can make simple macros that are easy to understand. Basically, whatever you can type on the command line can be typed into a button. The ^C (cancel) is the only simple exception. For example:
^C^C(ssget "X" (LIST (CONS 62 1))) move previous <-(The trailing space - as with every space - is important)
or
^C^CCircle @ 4 copy last multiple @
To make one in 2002, type toolbar, right click a blank button and click properties.
To make one in 2000 & R14, type toolbar, and right click a blank button
If a more complex program is needed, buttons can often do it. They can take user input, etc. The trouble is, this is not an AutoCadButton page. See menus for more information.

Scripts:
Scripts are almost exactly like buttons, but scripts can be loaded with AutoCAD by a "/b scriptpath" where scriptpath is the location of the script. It can also be loaded with the script command. You may alternately load the script by modifying my generic lisp on my samples page. To make a script, simply make a text file with the extension ".scr" and inside, list the commands desired. For example:
limits 0,0 10,10

Aliases:
If you just don't like typing 4 letters, visit the "acad.pgp" file and figure out aliases.

Menus:
Mouse menus, hotkeys (F1, Ctrl+G, etc.), and drop down menus (File, Edit, View, ...) can be created and then loaded with the menuload command. Open acad.mnu and look at the samples written by AutoDesk. Other samples can be found here. These are powerful, but they take a long time to load. When I am working quickly, I don't like to be bothered to wait for a menu to come down.
If you use AutoCAD LT, menus are the most useful and powerful you can get, because lisps won't run. If you want me to write you a simple menu, I can do that. I am deep in study now to figure out how I can use menus for more complex programs.

Caution: If you want to write commands into acad.mnu, loading it with the menu command will remove all prior toolbars, menus, and several other settings back to what originally came with AutoCAD. I recommend that you back up a profile (type pr on the command line) before you work with menus directly.

Lisps:
Lisps allow for user input, mathematical computations, gathering system information, accessing objects directly, repetition, etc. It's very complex and powerful stuff. I have yet to find something that I can't do with a lisp (time permitting).
Examples

Other:
I've seen stuff for VB and C++ (.arx files), but I don't know enough about it.

Give me ideas:
Every drawing needs a border. A lisp can be written to copy a standard border to the directory and insert it into all the drawings. A custom border could be created with several options where the company name stays constant and the date is generated, but the size has 6 options, or the sheet number can be generated.
Plotting lisps can be created so that with the press of a button, you can send a file to be scaled any way you want it to any printer you want.
Layers are a time consuming process. Lisps can be created to generate all the layer names that are usually used for a drawing.
Replace blocks by having the computer generate custom objects. Blocks are a burden when they have to be exploded and stretched.
Sort text. Line up text. Space text.

Think of anything you do that takes a dialog box or anything you can have the computer figure it out for you. Efficiency will increase. Anything you do more than once a day can be turned into a three character shortcut. Heck, if you don't know how to use AutoCAD, I can write a lisp for every issue.