CAD has many useful features that not only help users simplify the workflow but also reduce the time spent doing certain tasks. One of those useful features is the Tool Palettes.

What are Tool Palettes in CAD?

The tool palettes feature provdes users an efficient way to manage their working environment and organize commonly used tools or commands. Tool palettes are tabbed areas within the Tool Palettes window. The items you add to a tool palette are called tools. You can create a tool by dragging an object onto the tool palette. In GstarCAD, blocks and Xrefs can be dragged onto the tool palette. Also you can close, create, customize the palettes by right-clicking on it.

How to create or enable the Tool Palettes in CAD?

There are several ways to create or enable the Tool Palettes.

1.Command Line

Enter TOOLPALETTES and press Enter key, then the Tool Palettes will appear, shown as below,

2. Shortcut Key

The Shortcut key is the easiest way to open/close the tool palettes. Press CTRL+3 to switch on/off the tool palettes,

3. View Ribbon

When using 2D Drafting workspace, find View > Palettes > Tool Palettes, shown as below,

How to Import AutoCAD Tool Palettes

Users can import AutoCAD customized Tool palettes in the Windows Start menu easily. If you installed AutoCAD in your PC, you can just import the file from the path in AutoCAD options. If you need to import AutoCAD customized Tool Palettes from another equipment, the path can be anywhere, but the folder must include AcTpCatalog.atc file.

Before importing AutoCAD tool palettes, please read carefully the following notes:

1. The default blocks of AutoCAD cannot be directly imported into GstarCAD. If you want to import default blocks of AutoCAD to GstarCAD, you need to drag them to the drawing from the Tool Palettes, and add them back to Tool Palettes in AutoCAD, then save the drawing and import.
2. The imported file is only block and command, hatch pattern, light source, constraint, table and other objects haven’t been supported yet.
3. If there is a lack of grip point in the imported dynamic block, probably it’s the result of the imperfect action of the dynamic Chapter 2_Starting up GstarCAD 2025 32 block.
4. All eligible GstarCAD paths will be detected first when you import the file into GstarCAD directly, the entire Tool Palettes in GstarCAD will be overwritten.
5. The order of the tools list in Tool Palettes after import may be different from that of AutoCAD. The reason is that AutoCAD supports a file recording the order of the tools in Tool Palettes, but GstarCAD does not.
6. If the source DWG drawing location is changed before you import custom AutoCAD Tool Palettes and its tools, the block(s) imported into the palettes in GstarCAD will be unable to be used without that corresponding DWG drawing original saved path.