How to Manage User Profiles in BricsCAD

Quick answer: A user profile saves the settings controlling your drawing environment, useful for maintaining separate setups per drawing type, per workflow, per user on a shared computer, or per third-party application. Profiles export to a .arg file, which can be imported on another computer to replicate your settings, the same file format referenced by the /P startup switch covered elsewhere in this hub.

What a User Profile Saves

Once you’re running under a profile, BricsCAD automatically tracks changes to: the main CUI file, the current workspace, configuration settings (every system variable saved in the registry, plus user preferences), default plot settings, dialog window settings (like the Settings dialog’s search options), project settings, recent paths, Status Bar settings, Properties panel settings, toolbar and menu configuration, and worksets.

Opening the User Profile Manager

While BricsCAD is running, launch PROFILEMANAGER. Or run profilemanager_app.exe directly from the BricsCAD program folder as a standalone tool.

User Profile Manager Options

The current profile is marked. From there: Create makes a new profile with default settings; Set Current loads the selected one; Copy duplicates it via the Copy profile dialog; Delete removes it; Export… saves it to a .arg file; Import… brings a .arg file in as a new profile; and OK closes the dialog.

Start launches BricsCAD directly with the selected profile, but this option is only available when you’ve opened the dialog via profilemanager_app.exe standalone, not via PROFILEMANAGER from within a running session.

Starting BricsCAD with a Specific Profile

By default, restarting BricsCAD uses whichever profile was current when you last closed it. To launch with a specific one instead:

• Add the /P option to a desktop shortcut’s Target field (right-click the shortcut, choose Properties). A typical example: "C:\Program Files\Bricsys\BricsCAD Vx\bricscad.exe" /P UserProfileName.
• Or run profilemanager_app.exe and either double-click a profile or select it and click Start.

A few things worth knowing: /P is case insensitive, and a space is required between the file path and the /P option. If BricsCAD is already running, using /P launches a second instance, provided the variable controlling simultaneous sessions is off (note: the body text of this source calls it SINGLETON, while its own Related Variables section links to it as SINGLETONMODE, a naming inconsistency worth being aware of if you go looking for it directly). If the named profile doesn’t exist, it’s created automatically with default hard-coded values. If the profile name contains spaces, wrap it in double quotes, for example /P "background white".

Frequently Asked Questions

What file format do exported user profiles use? .arg files, the same format referenced by the /P startup switch.

Can I start BricsCAD with a specific profile directly from the User Profile Manager? Yes, but only when you’ve opened it as a standalone tool via profilemanager_app.exe, the Start button isn’t available when opened with PROFILEMANAGER from inside a running session.

What happens if I specify a profile name that doesn’t exist yet with /P? BricsCAD creates it automatically, using default hard-coded values for every setting.

Does starting BricsCAD with /P always open a new window? It launches a second instance if BricsCAD is already running, as long as the variable controlling simultaneous sessions is off.