BricsCAD Express Tools Command Overview

Quick answer: Express Tools is a large collection of productivity commands, activated with EXPRESSTOOLS, with EXPRESSMENU specifically activating the Express Tools menu and ribbon. This page confirms two commands referenced elsewhere in this hub as part of this same collection: AI_CIRCTAN (tangent circles, mentioned on the Circles page) and TXTEXP (exploding text into polylines, mentioned on the Text Exploding page).

Activating Express Tools

Command	What it does
`EXPRESSTOOLS`	Activates the Express Tools
`EXPRESSMENU`	Activates the Express Tools menu and ribbon

UCS and View Tools

Command	What it does
`ACETUCS-BACK`/`-BOTTOM`/`-FRONT`/`-LEFT`/`-RIGHT`/`-TOP`	Aligns the UCS’s XY-plane parallel to that face of the drawing, Z-axis pointing away from it
`RTUCS`	Rotates the UCS dynamically
`EXPLAN`	Displays the plan viewpoint without changing the zoom factor

Selection Tools

Command	What it does
`AI_DESELECT`	Deselects all entities
`AI_SELALL`	Selects all entities except those on frozen layers
`EXC`/`EXCP`	Selects entities outside a rectangle or polygon
`EXF`	Selects entities that don’t intersect a fence line
`EXP`	Selects all entities except the previous selection
`EXW`/`EXWP`	Selects entities except those inside a rectangle or polygon
`FASTSEL`/`FS`	Selects entities touching the selected entity
`FSMODE`	Controls chain selection for `FS`/`FASTSEL`
`GETSEL`	Creates a selection based on entity type and layer filters
`SSX`	Creates a selection based on a selected entity’s filters
`TSPACEINVADERS`	Selects text entities overlapped by another entity

Drawing and Editing Tools

Command	What it does
`AI_CIRCTAN`	Creates a tangent circle
`COPYM`	Makes multiple copies of selected entities
`MOCORO`	Moves, copies, rotates, or scales entities
`MSTRETCH`	Stretches entities using multiple crossing windows or polygons
`BEXTEND`/`BTRIM`	Extends or trims to entities nested in blocks and Xrefs
`TREX`	Extends or trims entities
`EXTRIM`	Trims entities crossing a cutting edge
`EXOFFSET`	Offsets selected entities
`NCOPY`	Copies entities nested inside Xrefs or blocks, without exploding or binding
`MPEDIT`	Edits multiple polylines, converting lines and arcs into polylines
`BREAKLINE`	Creates a polyline with a breakline symbol
`MKLTYPE`	Creates a linetype based on selected entities
`MKSHAPE`	Creates a shape definition based on selected entities
`SHP2BLK`	Converts every instance of a shape entity to an equivalent block

Block Tools

Command	What it does
`BCOUNT`	Reports how many instances of each block appear in a selection
`BLOCK?`	Lists the entities in a block definition
`BSCALE`	Scales block references relative to their insertion points
`BURST`	Explodes blocks, converting attribute values into text entities

Text Tools

Command	What it does
`ARCTEXT`	Adds text aligned with a selected arc
`TCASE`/`-TCASE`	Changes the case of selected text
`TCIRCLE`	Surrounds text, MText, or attribute definitions with circles, rectangles, or slots
`TCOUNT`	Adds sequential numbering to text and MText entities
`TEXTEDIT`	Edits a selected text entity
`TEXTFIT`	Fits text between two selected points
`TEXTMASK`/`TEXTUNMASK`	Adds or removes a mask behind text or MText
`TJUST`	Changes the justification point of text, MText, or attribute definitions
`TORIENT`	Rotates text, MText, attribute definitions, or block attributes to a new orientation
`TSCALE`	Scales text, MText, attributes, and attribute definitions
`TXT2MTXT`	Combines selected Text and MText entities into a single MText entity
`TXTEXP`	Explodes text into polylines

Dimension and Leader Tools

Command	What it does
`AI_DIM_TEXTABOVE`/`_TEXTCENTER`/`_TEXTHOME`	Positions dimension text above, centered on, or restored to the default position on the dimension line
`DIMEX`/`DIMIM`	Exports or imports dimension styles and settings to/from an external file
`DIMREASSOC`	Restores a modified or overwritten dimension text to its measured value
`QLATTACH`/`QLATTACHSET`	Associates a leader (or selected leaders) with an annotation entity
`QLDETACHSET`	Disassociates selected leaders from an annotation

Layer Tools

Command	What it does
`AI_MOLC`	Sets the layer of the selected entity as current
`LAYDEL`/`-LAYDEL`	Permanently deletes a layer and all entities on it
`LAYMCH`	Changes selected entities’ layer to match a destination layer
`LAYMRG`	Merges the layers of selected entities into a destination layer
`LAYWALK`	Displays selected layers, freezing all others
`LMAN`/`-LMAN`	Saves, edits, and restores layer states
`LMANMODE`/`-LMANMODE`	Sets layer manager options
`COPYTOLAYER`/`-COPYTOLAYER`	Copies entities to another layer

Draw Order Tools

Command	What it does
`AI_DRAWORDER`	Changes the display order of overlapping entities
`CDORDER`/`-CDORDER`	Arranges draw order based on index color

Attribute Tools

Command	What it does
`ATTIN`	Imports block attribute information from an external TXT file
`ATTIPEDIT`	Edits the text of an attribute within a block
`ATTOUT`	Extracts block attribute information to an external TXT file
`GATTE`	Changes attribute values across every instance of a specified block

Space and Viewport Tools

Command	What it does
`AI_FMS`	Switches from paper space to model space viewports
`AI_MSPACE`	Switches to model space
`AI_PSPACE`	Switches to the last opened paper space layout
`AI_TILEMODE1`	Sets `TILEMODE` to 1
`PSBSCALE`	Sets or updates block reference scale relative to paper space
`PSTSCALE`	Sets or updates text scale relative to paper space
`VPSCALE`	Displays a selected viewport’s scale
`VPSYNC`	Aligns the view in layout viewports with a reference viewport
`LAYOUTMERGE`/`-LAYOUTMERGE`	Merges entities from specified layouts into a destination layout

Image and Hatch Tools

Command	What it does
`CLIPIT`	Clips images, wipeouts, blocks, or Xrefs
`IMAGEAPP`	Sets the external editor application used by `IMAGEEDIT`
`IMAGEEDIT`	Edits a selected image in an external editor
`IMAGEOVERLAP`	Changes tiling overlap distance for images in superhatch
`SUPERHATCH`	Hatches using images, blocks, Xrefs, or wipeouts as the pattern
`TFRAMES`	Toggles visibility of image and wipeout frame borders

External Reference and Nested Entity Tools

Command	What it does
`XLIST`/`-XLIST`	Displays properties of entities nested in Xrefs and blocks
`REDIR`/`REDIRMODE`/`-REDIRMODE`	Redefines hard-coded paths in Xrefs, images, shapes, styles, and rtexts, and sets which entity types to search

URL Tools

Command	What it does
`CHURLS`	Changes previously placed URL addresses
`REPURLS`	Finds and replaces previously attached URLs
`SHOWURLS`	Displays and lets you edit every embedded URL in the drawing

Extended Data (XDATA) Tools

Command	What it does
`XDATA`	Attaches extended entity data to a selected entity
`XDEDIT`	Edits an entity’s extended entity data
`XDLIST`	Lists an entity’s extended entity data

File and Drawing Management Tools

Command	What it does
`DATE`	Displays the date and time at the Command line
`EDITTIME`	Tracks the active editing duration of a drawing
`MOVEBAK`	Sets the destination folder for backup files
`PLT2DWG`	Imports HPGL plot files into the current drawing
`PROPULATE`	Lists, removes, or updates drawing properties data
`QQUIT`	Quickly closes all drawings and exits
`REVERT`	Closes the current drawing without saving and reopens it
`SAVE-CLOSEALL`	Saves and closes every open drawing
`USAVE-CLOSEALL`	Closes all drawings without saving, except the active one

Customization Tools

Command	What it does
`ALIASEDIT`	Creates, edits, and removes command aliases
`SYSVDLG`	Views, edits, and saves system variable settings
`RTEXTAPP`	Assigns the text file editor used by `RTEXT`

LISP and Remote Text Tools

Command	What it does
`LSP`	Lists BricsCAD’s LISP commands, functions, and variables
`LSPSURF`	Edits and debugs LISP applications
`RTEXT`	Inserts or edits a remote text entity
`RTEDIT`	Edits remote text entities

Frequently Asked Questions

Is TXTEXP actually part of Express Tools? Yes, confirmed on this official overview, the same command referenced on this hub’s text exploding page.

How do I turn on the Express Tools menu and ribbon specifically? Run EXPRESSMENU, distinct from EXPRESSTOOLS, which activates the tools themselves.

Is there a quick way to select everything except my previous selection? Yes, EXP selects every entity in the drawing except the previous selection.

How do I merge two layers together, keeping only one? Use LAYMRG, which merges the layers of selected entities into a single destination layer.