Over the past year, I have had several questions come up on how to make the original size of the layer combo control bar a little longer. There is more to it than just making it longer on the Ribbon. Many people place this bar on the Quick Access Toolbar (QAT) as shown in Figure 1. If you do not know how to add this to the Quick Access Toolbar (QAT) simply perform a right-click on the layer combo control on the Home Tab – Layers Panel on the Ribbon and select add to Quick Access Toolbar. Once added you will see the bar as shown below.
Figure 1: Layer Combo Control on QAT
Now that we have the Layer Combo Control bar in the QAT we want change the default width to see those long layer names that are current.
Let’s go into the CUI and make a quick edit. Type CUI at the command prompt.
- Uncheck the Quick Access toolbar to pull down the menu
- Select Layer Combo Control.
- Change the value from the default value of 208 to 320 (I am using AutoCAD 2016).
- Hit apply and OK to get out and watch how your Layer Combo has changed.
Figure 2: Layer Combo Control in CUI
The final result should look something like Figure 3 as shown below. I made a long layer name as shown. Keep in mind since AutoCAD 2014 when you pull down the layer combo box the width will expand to your longest layer name. I do not recommend long layer names, keep consistent with industry standards and use 4 letters to abbreviate long strings. The type of monitor you have can affect this setting as well, change the number to best suit your setup and remember you can always put it back to default by entering 208 in the minimum width column.
Figure 3: The final version
How cool is that!
On a final note, I am proud to accept an invitation to become a member of the Expert Elite Program at Autodesk. All of the tips, tricks, and items posted are derived from personal experience through work, collaborating with my peers, and blogs I have followed over the years. I have always been very busy with my work and tried to find new ways to decrease my picks and clicks to become more efficient with AutoCAD. I share what I know and always have a great feeling when I help someone solve a problem with CAD. It helps me grow as a CAD designer and respected individual in the community.
Look me up at Autodesk University 2014 and on the knowledge network at Screencast as I will be providing updates on my proposals to teach again as well as some of my favorite tips and tricks I have collected over the years. I hope to meet new friends and see some old ones in December 2015 at Autodesk University.
Until next month…..Sam
Video tutorial added to this section for a visual description on how to make the combo control bar longer.