AutoCAD's Tool Palettes window is a tabbed control that hosts tools for automating drawing tasks. For instance, a tool palette may display a collection of mechanical parts that matches industry-standard configurations. By dragging a part's icon into the current AutoCAD drawing, users can create a fully configured instance of a part entity with a single mouse click. Tools not only can provide access to an application's custom entities, they also can be used to start commands, run scripts, or do other tasks.
The Tool Palette feature extends AutoCAD's MFC-based palette technology by adding support for tool trays, tool icons, and dragging. ObjectARX applications can extend the Tool Palette's default functionality by adding tool palettes and tools. This is done through the ObjectARX Tool Palette API. This chapter explains how you can leverage the Tool Palette API to enhance your application's usability.