What Is It, and Why Would I Want It?

Many settings for the Windows version of DataCAD can only be changed by opening the DCADWin.INI file (in your Windows or WinNT directory) with Notepad or some other text editor.  You must then laboriously change settings manually, then save the file.  This is especially difficult when it comes to changing the colors of your menu interface. This program will allow you to change nearly every setting in the .INI file without ever having to open it and to make changes by trial and error, and it will allow you to do it in a Windows point and click fashion.

Here are some highlights of what you can do:

1. To change path settings in DataCAD you have to look for the path names in Windows Explorer, write them down, then type them in.  If you get the path wrong, by even one character, DCAD will not function properly or at all.  There is no standard Windows "Browse" feature to select paths in a point an click fashion.  The .INI-OUTI Editor will allow you to pick all your paths with a standard "Browse" button, including paths on your network (see the third image, above).

2. The "Browse" button feature (again, not available in DataCAD) of the .INI-OUTI Editor allows you to select default files, as well.  You can now select your default Icon Bar File, RGB File, Default Drawing, and Default Font by browsing through all the available files on your computer (see the second image, above).

3. To change the colors of the DataCAD interface you have to know the exact "RGB triplet" numbers which correspond to the colors you want to use, then change them in the .INI file.  This is a maddeningly difficult process with no room for subtlety, and no real way of knowing what colors you are creating.   The .INI-OUTI Editor will allow you to pick all your color choices via the standard Windows color selection dialog (see last image, above).  You can pick standard colors or custom colors.  All 16 million colors are available.

4. See the information below for some of the other things it will do for you, all in a simple point and click manner.  Note that some of thes functions can not be selected or changed in DataCAD.  They can only be accessed and changed in the DCADWin.INI file.  This program will let you make those changes quickly and easily.
 

This is from the README.TXT file for the program:

Using the Program:
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1. An .INI file, such as the DCADWin.ini file, is and "initialization" file. This means that it is only read at the initial startup of a program. DataCAD does not read this file again until the program is restarted. However, DataCAD does write information to this file while it is running.  For this reason, when you start the INI-Outi program it checks to see if DataCAD is currently running. If it is, you will get a warning message and the INI-Outi program will close.

2. Upon first running this program it will save 2 files:
     a. DCADWin.001
     b. DCADWin.bak
The DCADWin.001 file is a copy of your original DCADWin.ini file. The DCADWin.bak file is a copy of DCADWin.ini as well. The difference is that the DCADWin.bak file will be overwritten every time you click on the "Click to Start or Reset" button on the "Save" tab, so you could end up with a bad DCADWin.bak file as well as a bad DCADWin.ini file. The DCADWin.001 file is your life preserver if you really mess things up. To get DCAD working again simply delete the current DCADWin.ini and DCADWin.bak files, then rename the DCADWin.001 file to DCADWin.ini. (Note: the DCADWin.001 file is a Read Only file to try to get the point across that this is an important file.)

3. There are "Tool Tips" for nearly every feature of the INI-Outi program. Just hold your mouse cursor over the item you want information about.
 

What Do Some of the Options Do?:
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"Menu Position"
  This determines whether the menu buttons are located on the right or
  left of your screen. This option is also available within DataCAD.

"Text Scale"
  When this option is turned ON, PgUp and PgDn change the current plotting
  scale in the Text and Dmension/TxtStyle menus. When set to OFF the Drawing
  Window will zoom in and out when PgUp or PgDn are pressed.

"Cavity Walls"
  When this option is turned ON, insertion of doors and windows into cavity
  (4-line) walls trims the outer jamb lines to the cavity lines.

"Check Symbols"
  This addresses a bug in the Symbol Purge function of previous
  versions.  If true, it tells DataCAD to scan all symbol instances (on
  drawing load) to check if there are valid symbol definitions in the
  drawing file headers.  This will 'clean' files previously corrupted by
  PurgeSym.  The downside is that it slows drawing file loading somewhat.

"DCADWIN.EXE Program Location"
  This is the location of your DataCAD program (NOT this INI/Outi program). It is
  the directory which the main DCADWIN.EXE program resides in.  There is generally
  no reason to change this unless you rename or relocate your DataCAD directory.

"Template Report Forms"
  This is the location of the actual FORMS for template reports. Generally this is
  in your DataCAD \FRM directory, but you can locate them elsewhere, like to a
  file server.

"Plots, Text Files and TPL Reports"
  This is where DataCAD will OUTPUT your plot and print files when you save them
  to file. This is also where your template REPORTS are saved to when you direct
  the output ToFile.

"Menu Button Spacing"
  This is the distance between each menu button. Spacing is measured in pixels
  and the default is 0.

"Menu Button Width"
  A "Menu Button Width" option has been added to the "Menus" tab of this
  program. This is a feature that allows you to add pixels to the right
  side of all your menu buttons. This should take care of the problem
  where some long text was not shown at the right side of some buttons.
  The default is 0. The appropriate BTN_WIDTH line will be added to your
  DCADWin.ini file the first time you run this program and do a save.

"Template Width"
  DataCAD defaults to displaying the template window WIDTH at 200 pixels. You can
  increase or decrease that number by typing in a new number. If the text box is
  left blank the default of 200 is used.

GET A COPY FOR YOURSELF:

If you are interested in getting your own copy of this program, you can order it from the Cheap Tricks Ware listing at a cost of just $15.00. Simply click below and look for disk number B111.

Updated 10/08/01