2011

Table Of Contents
Switch Between Dialog Boxes and the Command Line
You can display prompts on the command line instead of using a dialog box,
or switch back again. This option is useful primarily when using scripts.
Some functions are available both in the Command Line and in a dialog box.
In many cases, you can enter a hyphen before a command to suppress the
dialog box and display prompts in the Command Line instead.
For example, entering layer on the command line displays the Layer Properties
Manager. Entering -layer on the command line displays the equivalent
Command Line options.
Suppressing a dialog box is useful for familiar operation with earlier versions
of the program, and for using script files. There may be slight differences
between the options in the dialog box and those available in the Command
Line.
These system variables also affect the display of dialog boxes:
ATTDIA controls whether the INSERT command uses a dialog box for
entering block attribute values.
EXPERT controls whether certain warning dialog boxes are displayed.
FILEDIA controls the display of dialog boxes used with commands that
read and write files. For example, if FILEDIA is set to 1, SAVEAS displays
the Save Drawing As dialog box. If FILEDIA is set to 0, SAVEAS displays
prompts on the command line. The procedures in this documentation
assume that FILEDIA is set to 1. Even when FILEDIA is set to 0, you can
display a file dialog box by entering a tilde (~) at the first prompt.
FILEDIA and EXPERT are useful when you use scripts to run commands.
Quick Reference
Commands
COMMANDLINE
Displays the Command Line window.
COMMANDLINEHIDE
Hides the Command Line window.
20 | Chapter 3 Start a Command