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Launch any .ma or .exe from the Axiom menu.
by Rick Sewell, Customer Support
The Axiom Support Department receives a lot of mail asking about modifying the Axiom pull-down menu. One typical request is from CAD managers who want to remove or rearrange products on the Axiom pull-down menu so it looks just right for their particular users.
In addition to being able to modify the existing contents of the Axiom pull-down menu, you can load other applications from it, including MicroStation applications and Windows executables.
Axiom pull-down menu basics
What displays on your Axiom pull-down menu is determined by the contents of a simple text file. This text file is called "aximenu.cfg". This file can be modified in various ways to customize the Axiom pull-down menu.
The "aximenu.cfg" file is located in the "aximenu" folder that is directly below your Axiom base directory (the location where you installed your Axiom products). The default location for the Axiom base directory for V7 is "C:\Program Files\Axiom\V7\" and for V8 the location is "C:\Program Files\Axiom\V8".
How to load an additional MicroStation application from your Axiom pull-down menu
Here is an example of what a section of the current (default) "aximenu" file looks like and what the Axiom pull-down menu in MicroStation looks like as a result:
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| Figure 1: A V8 "aximenu.cfg" file with its corresponding Axiom pull-down menu display |
Notice that for every product displayed in the menu on the right, there are two lines driving it from the "aximenu.cfg" file shown on the left.
The "#" that precedes the first line for every product in the "aximenu.cfg" file is used to indicate that the text or other characters immediately after it will be displayed on the Axiom pull-down menu. [Exception: The ~ symbol does not display. It tells the computer that the letter immediately following is also the hot key for the given application.] The second line (the line immediately after the line starting with the "#") defines the application to be loaded when you select the item from the menu.
For example, if you wanted the Axiom pull-down menu to display "Chicken" and you wanted to load "chicken.ma" you would enter the following two lines into the "aximenu.cfg" file:
#Chicken
C:\Program Files\Poultry\chicken.ma
In this example, "C:\Program Files\Poultry\" is the location of chicken.ma.
How to load a Windows application from your Axiom pull-down menu
Setting up to load a Windows application from the Axiom pull-down menu is essentially done the same way as adding a MicroStation application to load from the menu. The difference is, on the line where specifying the application to be loaded, you must precede the path to the file with "WIN:". For example, if you want the Axiom pull-down menu to display "Windows Application" and you want to load "windowsapp.exe", you would enter the following two lines into the "aximenu.cfg" file:
#Windows Application
WIN:"C:\Program Files\WindowsApp\windowsapp.exe"
In this example, "C:\Program Files\WindowsApp\" is the location of windowsapp.exe.
Send us your MicroStation tips!
Send your favorite MicroStation tip to msttips@AxiomInt.com. If you need any assistance setting up these configuration variables, please call Axiom tech support at 727-442-7774 or e-mail support@AxiomInt.com.
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