AutoCAD 2010…. A closer look at the Ribbon

The AutoCAD ribbon, introduced in AutoCAD 2009, was a dramatic change from the traditional user interface. It was a new concept to many people, especially those that weren’t yet using Office 2007. Well, a year later, the shock seems to be wearing off and many AutoCAD users are embracing the ribbon! In fact, a recent survey of AutoCAD 2010 beta participants indicates that the ribbon is one their FAVORITE tools. Granted, the ribbon in AutoCAD 2010 offers some significant improvements over the original AutoCAD 2009 version. In AutoCAD 2010, the ribbon provides greater flexibility, easier access to tools, and consistency across Autodesk applications.

You can drag a ribbon panel off the ribbon to display it as a sticky panel. Sticky panels display until you choose the option to Return Panels to Ribbon. They remain visible even if you select a different tab!

The vertical ribbon, which can be displayed by undocking the ribbon from its horizontal position, has been updated to show the tab names along the side. The panel titles are displayed by default and those with additional tools include slide-out panels. When resizing the vertical ribbon, buttons automatically flow to the next or previous row and other elements, such as slider bars, automatically shorten or lengthen.

In addition to these enhancements, the AutoCAD 2010 ribbon provides more customization options. Using the CUI (Customize User Interface) editor, you can import a customized dashboard and define contextual ribbon tab states.