# The Tool Folder

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# The Tool Folder

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The Tool Folder is a special folder in which you can store frequently used tools. When Sketchpad starts, it checks the Tool Folder and puts every tool in this folder into the Custom Tools menu that appears when you press and hold the Custom tools icon. (When you first install Sketchpad, there is no Tool Folder until you designate one by using the Choose Tool Folder command from the Custom Tools menu menu.)

| Choose Tool Folder

The Choose Tool Folder command in the Custom Tools menu allows you to choose a location in which to store documents containing custom tools that you use frequently. The tools contained in these documents appear automatically in the Custom Tools menu when you start Sketchpad, so they are always available.

When you choose this command, a dialog box appears. Choose a folder from the dialog box, or create a new folder. You can give the folder any name you like.

If the Create Example Tools document in chosen Tool Folder box is checked, Sketchpad will copy into the folder a Sketchpad document called Example Tools.gsp. This document contains a number of tools that show the variety and usefulness of custom tools.

Once you've chosen a Tool Folder, use it to save your own Sketchpad documents containing tools. Every tool in this folder will be available whenever you start Sketchpad, without any need to open the documents containing the tools.

Sketchpad scans the Tool Folder when it starts, so if you save a new document containing a tool in the Tool Folder, it won't appear right away. To make the new tool appear, you can either restart Sketchpad, or use the Choose Tool Folder command again, choosing the same folder as before. (When you choose the command again, Sketchpad scans the chosen folder to find all the tools located there.)

On Windows you can also use a command-line flag to set a specific tool folder that takes precedence over the chosen Tool Folder.

| Forget the Tool Folder

Hold the Shift key while pulling down the Custom Tools menu to change the Choose Tool Folder command to Forget Tool Folder. Choose this command to forget the current Tool Folder, so that there's no active Tool Folder. When Sketchpad forgets the Tool Folder, it also forgets the tools contained in that Tool Folder. (The folder and its tools are not deleted; they remain where they were, even though Sketchpad no longer remembers them.)

If you want to choose a different Tool Folder, there's no need to forget the current one first; just use the Choose Tool Folder command to identify a different folder.

| Store a Tool in the Tool Folder

To store a tool in the Tool Folder: 1.Create or copy the tool(s) you want into a new document. (You can copy tools between open documents with Tool Options.) 2.Choose File | Save As. 3.Use the Save As dialog box to navigate to your chosen Tool Folder.

4.Save the document in your Tool Folder.

Alternatively, you can drag Sketchpad documents into this folder from other locations on your computer to make their tools available the next time you start Sketchpad.

The new tool will be available the next time you start Sketchpad. (To scan the folder for tools without quitting and restarting Sketchpad, use the Choose Tool Folder command again, and choose the same folder as before.)

See also:

Custom Tools Menu

Use a Custom Tool

Make a Custom Tool

Advanced Tool Topics