Plugins to switch between AutoCAD drawings quickly

Earlier this week, I posted how we can quickly switch between opened drawings. There are many great feedbacks and we have some plugin/add on applications recommendation to do it even better.

There are two plugins you can use to switch between drawings. These applications already have been there for years. I’ve tested them in AutoCAD 2012 and they works great.

MDI Tabs

MDI tabs looks very nice. You will see the opened drawings under ribbon (if you use ribbon) or toolbar. You can switch between drawings quickly by clicking on file name.

The interesting thing is it has contextual menu to allow us quickly save a file, save all, close or close all opened drawings. It also will show * symbol after file name if you made modification but haven’t save it.

You can download MDI tabs from Shaan Hurleys blog here. You need to load it first before you can use it. Thank you to Mark for the recommendation.

Drawing Tabs

Drawing tabs appears above command line. If you only want to use simple tab to move between files, this tool is great. There is no context menu or other functionalities like MDI tabs.

You can download Drawing Tabs from CAE-Link website here. After you download it, you just need to install it. Then restart AutoCAD.

Thank you to Simon Weel and R.K. McSwain for the recommendation.

Which on is your choice?

Both applications provides the ability to switch between drawings quickly. I’m not sure if there are some consideration which one to choose. The tabs position? Maybe. The contextual menu? Maybe, but I personally don’t think I will use it that much.

So which one you prefer? And why?

About Edwin Prakoso

I work as a Sr. Consultant in PT Cipta Satria Informatika. I've been using AutoCAD since R14 and Revit since Revit Building 9. I occasionally write for AUGIWorld magazine and I am also active in Autodesk discussion forum. I'm a member of Autodesk Expert Elite, an appreciation for individuals who give contributions to the Autodesk community.
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