System Variables
This article reviews a few system variables which you may need to access directly.
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You control most system variables indirectly through the various AutoCAD
commands, and in most cases, you will never need to worry with the variable
itself. There are a few, however, that may be useful to know for various
situations. Here, we'll simply list some out and give you an idea of why they
may be useful. As needed, we will add additional system variables to the list.
| Variable Name | Description | Settings |
| AcadLspAsDoc | Specifies how 'Acad.lsp' is loaded. | '0' = Loaded into the first drawing in the session, '1' = Loaded into every drawing in the session. |
| AttDia | Specifies display of block 'INSERT' dialog box. | '0' = Dialog not shown. Prompts are issued at the command
line, '1' = Normal dialog is displayed. |
| BackGroundPlot | Configures background plotting and publishing. | '0' = [Default] Plot / publish in foreground, '1' = Plot in backgound / publish in foreground, '2' = Plot in foreground / publish in background, '3' = Plot / publish in background. |
| CmdActive | For programmers. Specifies the current command type. | '1' = Normal command, '2' = Normal and transparent command, '4' = Script is in progress, '8' = Dialog box is active, '16' = Autolisp is active(visible to ARX only). |
| CmdDia | Controls display of command dialogs. | '0' = Dialogs are not displayed, '1' = Dialogs are displayed. |
| CmdInputHistory | Controls number of previous commands held in memory and available for scrolling via the up/down arrow keys. | '20' = Initial value. |
| CrossingAreaColor | Specifies the color for the area defined by a crossing selection. | Set to 1-255 corresponding to desired color. |
| CursorSize | Specifies size of crosshairs as a percentage of the screen size. | Set to percentage you desire. |
| DiaStat | For programmers. Specifies the exit method from the most recent dialog. | '0' = User clicked 'Cancel, '1' = User clicked 'OK' |
| DragMode | Controls how dragged objects are displayed. | '0' = Object outline is not displayed, '1' = Displays object outline only when you enter 'DRAG' at the command line after selecting the object, '2' = Object outline is displayed (Auto). |
| DynMode | Controls display of dynamic feedback information. Toggle on/off with the status bar button | '0' = All feedback off, '1' = Displays pointer input, '2' = Displays only dimensional feedbackt, '3' = Displays all feedback. |
| EdgeMode | Controls determination of cutting edges for 'TRIM' and 'EXTEND'. | '0' = Edge is the selected object, '1' = Edge is an imaginary extension of the selected object. |
| Expert | Controls the display of various system prompts. | '0' = Normal prompts, '1' = Suppresses 'About to regen, proceed?' and 'Really want to turn off current layer?' prompts, '2' = Suppresses as for '1' and 'Block already defined. Redefine it?' and 'A drawing with this name already exists. Overwrite it?' prompts, '3' = Suppresses as for '1' and '2' and the linetype prompts when loading a linetype into a file where it already exists and when loading a linetype that is already loaded, '4' = Suppresses as for '1', '2', and '3' and the prompts for assigning pre-existing names for UCS's and VPORTS, '5' = Suppresses the DIMSTYLE prompt 'That name is already in use, redefine it?'. |
| ExplMode | Controls how 'EXPLODE' handles non-uniformly scaled blocks. | '0' = Will not explode, '1' = Will explode. |
| FileDia | Controls display of File related dialogs | '0' = Do not display, '1' = Display Note:'0' setting may be overridden by inserting a tilde('~') before the dialog name. |
| Grips | Controls whether grip editing is in effect. | '0' = Grips are off, '1' = Grips are on. |
| Highlight | Controls whether selected objects are highlighted. | '0' = Highlight is off, '1' = Highlight is on. |
| MaxActVP | Sets the maximum number of viewports visible at one time. | As needed. Default is 64. |
| MButtonPan | Controls the behavior of the mouse wheel or third button. | '0' = Uses definition in 'Acad.mns', '1' = Supports panning. |
| MirrText | Controls text behavior in 'MIRROR' command. | '0' = Text is not mirrored, '1' = Text is mirrored. |
| NoMutt | Controls command message display (muttering). | '0' = Messages are displayed, '1' = Messages are suppressed. |
| PickFirst | Controls whether you may pick objects BEFORE specifying a command(noun-verb). | '0' = Specifies command selection first(verb-noun), '1' = Specifies object selection first. |
| SDI | Controls whether AutoCAD is in Single- or Multiple-Document mode. | '0' = Multiple-document mode, '1' = Single-document mode, '2' = Temporary single-document mode (read only value), '3' = Temporary single-document mode (read only value), |
| ShortcutMenu | Controls certain shortcut menu display in Command, Edit, and Default modes. | '0' = All disabled, '1' = Default mode shortcuts enabled, '2' = Edit mode shortcuts enabled, '3' = Command mode shortcuts enabled, '8' = Command mode shortcuts enabled only when command line options are available. |
| UserI1-5 | User-defined integer variables. | |
| UserR1-5 | User-defined real number variables. | |
| UserS1-5 | User-defined text string variables. | |
| VisRetain | Controls various xref properties. | See the help file for a complete description.. |