The CONFIG command lets you setup the general system configuration via a GUI dialogue window operation. It provides a property-sheet like user interface and is divided into several pages of property-sheet. Each of them can be accessed directly by picking at the corresponding sheet title on the top of the dialog window. The following sections will describe them in details.

Paths

This page setups the following items:

• Default Search Paths     The default search paths are the paths that must be searched through for a missing file automatically. Whenever TwinCAD fails to open a given file for reading, it will search through these paths for it. Note that the Windows directory, the Windows system directory, the directory where TwinCAD resides and all its sub-directories are always default search paths, regardless of being explicitly specified or not.
  
  You may add new path to the list by pressing the [Add] button and choose the directory path from the pop-up file window. You may remove existing paths from the list by selecting them first (pick to select and to un-select) and then pressing the [Remove] button. A selected path will have a check mark before it. You may press the [Restore] button to restore the change of the path list.
  
  This item corresponds to the TCADPATH entry from the [General Setup] section in the system initial file.
• Swap Path     The Swap Path is the path where TwinCAD's virtual memory manager used to swap memory data. The default will be the root directory of the temporary drive returned by the Windows, which is usually the the first hard drive in the system.
  
  This item corresponds to the MainSwapPath entry from the [General Setup] section in the system initial file.
• User Path     The User Path is the path where TwinCAD may use to save and to retrieve specific user data files (such as these SET files of individual commands). If this path is not given, it defaults to the current directory, which may be changing and transparent to the user.
  
  This item corresponds to the UserWorkingPath entry from the [General Setup] section in the system initial file.

Files

This page setups the following items:

• Prototype File     This item specifies the default prototype drawing file that TwinCAD will load in automatically in creating a new empty drawing. The internal default is "TCAD.WRK", if it is not specified.
  
  This item corresponds to the PrototypeWrkFile entry from the [General Setup] section in the system initial file.
  
• Initial Script     This item specifies the script file to execute automatically after TwinCAD is started. There is no default for this item. It corresponds to the InitialScriptFile entry from the [General Setup] section in the system initial file.

• Command Alias     This item specifies the command alias file to load in after TwinCAD is started. The command alias file is used to defined alias commands. The default is "TCAD.CAD", if it is not specified.
  
  This item corresponds to the CommandAliasFile entry from the [General Setup] section in the system initial file.

• Hatch Patterns     This item specifies the hatch pattern definition file to load in after TwinCAD is started. The hatch pattern definition file is used to stored predefined hatch patterns. The default is "TCAD.PAT", if it is not specified.
  
  This item corresponds to the HatchPatternFile entry from the [General Setup] section in the system initial file.

• Linetype File     This item specifies the linetype definition file to load in after TwinCAD is started. The linetype definition file is used to stored predefined linetypes. The default is "TCAD.LIN", if it is not specified.
  
  This item corresponds to the ExtLinetypeFile entry from the [General Setup] section in the system initial file.

Graphics

This page setups graphic related configuration.

Logical Pen Colors

The logical pen colors group setups the 16 logical drawing pen's color from pen color 0 to pen color 15. There are two set of such drawing pen color assignment:

• PenColor     The native drawing pen color setup for TwinCAD. TwinCAD does not regulate the actual color used for each pen color number. However, a default assignment has been given since its DOS release. It is recommended now that this should be set to be compatible with the DWG file specification.
• DWGColor     This is the pen color set for DWG file compatibility. TwinCAD will automatically switch to use this pen color set whenever a DWG file is loaded.

You can choose to setup either one of the above two sets of logical pen color assignments by selecting on their corresponding radio buttons.

To change a specific logical pen color assignment, pick at the pen from the list box directly. A logical pen color assignment dialog window will pop up for you to choose for the new pen color. You can choose it from the 16 physical pen colors, of which the actual colors are setup separately.

Physical Palette Colors

There are three buttons in this group.

• Pen     Press this button to setup the physical pen colors used in the drawing. The physical pen color is the palette color used by TwinCAD to realize the drawing's logical pen. Currently, only 16 palette colors are supported. TwinCAD uses the physical palette color index 0 as the drawing's background in the screen. So, change palette color index 0, will change the drawing's background after drawing refresh or regeneration.
• Status     Press this button to setup the physical palette colors used in drawing status display, such as the object hight-light, various kind of cursors and status icons.
• GUI     Press this button to setup the physical palette colors used in the GUI elements created by TCL runtime functions as well as those created by the TwinCAD commands that are compatible with its DOS counterpart. A special window class called TCAMGUI is implemented in TwinCAD to simulate the TCAM GUI used in its DOS counterpart. The TCAMGUI assumes the display is a standard VGA using 16 color palettes.

A physical palette color setup dialog window will pop up when you press either one of the above two buttons.

GUI Dialog Style

There are three buttons in this groups:

• Standard Style     Press this button and all the dialog windows created by TwinCAD commands will be in gray background.
• Old Dos Style     Press this button and all the dialog windows created by TwinCAD commands will be in colorful background as those in its DOS counterpart.
• View Style     Press this button to see an example of the dialog window.

The size, location and color attributes of each dialog window created by TwinCAD command is stored in the system initial file. The above function actually modifies these setups. Note that once the style is changed, it can not be restored by pressing the main [Cancel] button.

Language

Although its DOS version counterpart of TwinCAD supports multi-lingual operating environments, TwinCAD is basically a bilingual CAD system for Windows in that it supports a SWITCH command that can be issued at anytime to switch the operating environment between the two different language modes.

The two language modes supported in TwinCAD are

• Standard Mode     English language.
• Alternative Mode     Local language supported by Windows.

There are several language dependent files need to be specified in both modes:

• Text Generation File     System message text generation file.
• Menu File     The current default menu file. This setting will be modified automatically by MENU command.
• On-line Help     The help file invoked by HELP command.
• Var Information     Variable information file. A simple text file containing short description to system variable, used in SYSVAR, DIMVAR and STYLE commands.

For each of the above entry, TwinCAD will have a default setting internally according to the Windows language version:

• Standard Mode, English     "TWINCAD.TGF", "TWINCAD.MNU", "TWINCAD.HLP", "TWINCAD.VAR".
• Traditional Chinese     "CTWINCAD.TGF", "CTWINCAD.MNU", "CTWINCAD.HLP", "CTWINCAD.VAR".
• Simplified Chinese     "BTWINCAD.TGF", "BTWINCAD.MNU", "BTWINCAD.HLP", "BTWINCAD.VAR".
• Japanese     "JTWINCAD.TGF", "JTWINCAD.MNU", "JTWINCAD.HLP", "JTWINCAD.VAR".
• Korean     "KTWINCAD.TGF", "KTWINCAD.MNU", "KTWINCAD.HLP", "KTWINCAD.VAR".
• Thai     "TTWINCAD.TGF", "TTWINCAD.MNU", "TTWINCAD.HLP", "TTWINCAD.VAR".
• Others     "TWINCAD.TGF", "TWINCAD.MNU", "TWINCAD.HLP", "TWINCAD.VAR".

TIH (Text Input Handler)

This page setups the text input handler associated with each <Ctrl/Fn> key. Currently available text input handler in TCL program is the "TOLERSTR.TCL" for tolerance expression input. You may assign it to <Ctrl/F4> for DOS version compatibility. See TEXT command for further details.

Misc. (Miscellaneous)

Maximum Recent Files

TwinCAD currently supports two MRU (Most Recently Used) lists in the menu. You may specify the maximum number of entries allowed for each list from the Maximum Recent Files group:

• Open     This value entry specifies the maximum entries in $OPEN list, which saves the most recent open drawing files.
• Run     This value entry specifies the maximum entries in $RUN list, which saves the most recent executed TCL program files.

Bubble Size

This is a value entry specifying the logical font size used for the bubble text (helping text in a pop-up tiny window with yellow background). If it is 0, then the current Windows system default font and size will be used. Otherwise, the font name will always be "MS Sans Serif".

If the font size is positive, TwinCAD will check the Windows language version and specify the local language character set to use for the font. If the font size is negative, it specifies ANSI set. The actual font used will be determined by the Windows Font Mapper.

This item corresponds to the BubbleFontSize entry from the [General Setup] section in the system initial file.

Enable Undo/Zoom Control

This is an option check box control. If this option is enabled, the change of the screen drawing view (via ZOOM/PAN commands) will be included in the UNDO/

REDO mechanism. Note that the change of drawing view has its own undo/redo mechanism (via ZP/ZN commands).

Use Built-in OEM Font

This is an option check box control. If this option is enabled, TwinCAD will use its internal built-in bitmap font to display IBM-extended Ascii characters. It this option is not enabled, TwinCAD will use Windows OEM font for the message text display. Note that TwinCAD will always use built-in bitmap font under NT machine, despite of this setting.

If you have problem with the message text display using the IBM-extended ascii character set in TwinCAD, you should make a check on this option. Some language version of Windows does not support the IBM-extended ascii character set in its system OEM font.

Enable Alt-key Menu Definition

This is an option check box control. If this option is enabled, the Alt-Key definition from the menu file will be valid and override the short-cut key in the pop-up menu invocation. Otherwise, the Alt-key definition from the current loaded menu file will be ineffective.

Miscellaneous Option Setup Buttons

There are several option setup buttons in this page that invoke other independent option setup dialog.

• Save Option     This button invokes the SAVEOPT command to setup the drawing saving related options. See SAVEOPT command for details.
• Load Option     This button invokes the LOADOPT command to setup the drawing loading related options. See LOADOPT command for details.
• Plot Option     This button invokes the PLOTOPT command to setup the printing/ploting related options. See PLOTOPT command for details.
• View Option     This button invokes the VIEWOPT command to setup the screen drawing view related options. See VIEWOPT command for details.

Note that the setup operation from these above option button can not be canceled by the main [Cancel] button.

Other Buttons

Except noted otherwise, after completing all the setup operation, you will have to press the [OK] button to confirm the change and terminate CONFIG to make them become effective. Or, you may press the [Cancel] to quit CONFIG operation. You may also press <ESC> key or the right mouse button to quit the operation.

Special Notes: