AutoCAD 2000 Environment Variables (setenv / getenv) Reference

Last Updated: March 3, 2026 Applies To: AutoCAD 2000 (R15.0) — also valid R12 through R2005

Overview

In AutoCAD 2000, Environment Variables are profile settings stored in the Windows registry under the current AutoCAD profile. They survive restarts and can be read/written from the LISP command line with no mouse interaction.

Set a value:

(setenv "VARIABLE_NAME" "value")

Read a value:

(getenv "VARIABLE_NAME")

Note

Always use quoted strings for both the variable name and value. Some changes take effect immediately; others require an AutoCAD restart.

Troubleshooting

If a setenv value doesn’t stick (e.g., due to profile issues or an .arg file overriding):

  1. Check your current profile: (getvar "CPROFILE")

  2. Manually edit the registry key at:

    HKCU\Software\Autodesk\AutoCAD\R15.0\ACAD-1:409
  \Profiles\<YourProfile>\Display\<VariableName>

  3. Set as the appropriate type (usually REG_SZ string or REG_DWORD)

The LISP approach handles it in most cases.

Complete Variable Reference

Command Line & History

Variable

Description

Example

CmdVisLines

Visible command-line rows

(setenv "CmdVisLines" "6")

CmdHistLines

Total history lines kept

(setenv "CmdHistLines" "2000")

CmdLine.BackColor

Command line background color

CmdLine.ForeColor

Command line foreground color

CmdLine.FontFace

Command line font name

CmdLine.FontHeight

Command line font height

CmdLine.FontItalic

Command line font italic flag

CmdLine.FontPitchAndFamily

Command line font pitch/family

CmdLine.FontWeight

Command line font weight

Classic Interface

Variable

Description

Example

AcadClassic

R12-style accelerator keys (Ctrl+C = Cancel)

(setenv "AcadClassic" "1")

ScreenMenu

Old vertical side screen menu

CursorSize

Crosshair size (0–100)

(setenv "CursorSize" "100")

Background

Drawing area background color

(setenv "Background" "0")

Blipmode

Blips on/off

ToolTips

Tooltip display

(setenv "ToolTips" "1")

Scrollbars

Scrollbar display

(setenv "Scrollbars" "1")

ShowTabs

Tab display

Paths & Files

Variable

Description

ACAD

Support file search path

ACADDRV

Driver files path

ACADHELP

Help file location

ACADLOGFILE

Log file location

ACADCFG / ACADCFGW

Configuration file location

AVEMAPS

Texture maps for rendering

ColorBookLocation

Color books path

TemplatePath

Template files path

PrinterConfigDir

Printer configuration directory

PrinterStyleSheetDir

Plot style sheets directory

Drawing & Behavior

Variable

Description

Example

MaxArray

Max items in ARRAY command

(setenv "MaxArray" "999999")

MaxHatch

Max hatch lines

AutomaticSaveMinutes

AutoSave interval

CreateViewports

Auto-create viewports on new layouts

ARXDemandLoad

How ObjectARX apps load

Attdia / Attreq

Attribute dialogs and prompts

AlarmOnError

Beep on input error

AutoSnap / Polar / Tracking

Variable

Description

AutoSnapControl

AutoSnap master control

AutoSnapColor

AutoSnap marker color

AutoSnapSize

AutoSnap marker size

AutoSnapShowAperture

Show aperture box with AutoSnap

AutoSnapPolarAng

Polar tracking angle

AutoSnapPolarDistance

Polar snap distance

AutoSnapPolarMode

Polar tracking mode

AutoSnapPolarAddAng

Additional polar angles

AutoSnapTrackPath

Tracking vector display

Other / Legacy

Variable

Description

ACADALTMENU

Alternate menu file

ACADDISPLAY

Display driver

ACADLspAsDoc

Load acad.lsp per-document

ACADMAXMEM

Maximum memory allocation

ACADMAXPAGE

Maximum page file size

ACADPAGEDIR

Page directory

ACADPLCMD

Plot command

ACADRESFILE

Resource file

ACADSERVER

Server location

ACADXMEM

Extended memory

AlternativePageSetUpsTemplate

Page setup template

ANSIHatch

ANSI hatch patterns

ANSILinetype

ANSI linetypes

Anyport

Network port

AutomaticPlotLog

Auto plot logging

AVECFG

AVE configuration

AVEFACEDIR

AVE face directory

AVEPAGEDIR

AVE page directory

AVERDFILE

AVE render file

BmpOutCompression

BMP export compression

BNS_MenuLoad

Bonus menu load flag

Quick Classic Setup Script

Paste at the AutoCAD Command: prompt to apply all classic settings at once:

(foreach pair
  '(("CmdVisLines" "6")
    ("CmdHistLines" "2000")
    ("AcadClassic" "1")
    ("CursorSize" "100")
    ("Background" "0")
    ("ToolTips" "1")
    ("Scrollbars" "1")
    ("MaxArray" "999999"))
  (setenv (car pair) (cadr pair)))

Or add to acad.lsp (in the support path) to run automatically every session.

Dump All Environment Variables

Paste this function at the Command: prompt or add to acad.lsp. Type ENVALL to print every known environment variable and its current value:

(defun c:envall ( / vars val)
  (princ "\n\n=== AutoCAD 2000 Environment Variables Dump ===")
  (setq vars '("CmdVisLines" "CmdHistLines" "AcadClassic" "CursorSize" "Background"
               "Blipmode" "ToolTips" "Scrollbars" "ScreenMenu" "MaxArray" "MaxHatch"
               "AutomaticSaveMinutes" "ARXDemandLoad" "Attdia" "Attreq" "AlarmOnError"
               "ACAD" "ACADHELP" "ACADLOGFILE" "ACADCFG" "TemplatePath" "PrinterConfigDir"
               "PrinterStyleSheetDir" "AVEMAPS" "ColorBookLocation" "CmdLine.BackColor"
               "CmdLine.ForeColor" "AutoSnapColor" "AutoSnapSize" "CreateViewports"))
  (foreach v vars
    (if (setq val (getenv v))
      (princ (strcat "\n" v " = " val))
      (princ (strcat "\n" v " = (not set)"))
    )
  )
  (princ "\n\n=== End of list ===\nType ENVALL anytime to run again.\n")
  (princ)
)

Environment Variables vs System Variables

Environment Variables (setenv)

System Variables (setvar)

Scope

Per-profile, stored in registry

Per-drawing or per-session

Persistence

Survives restarts

Drawing vars saved in DWG; session vars reset

Access

(setenv "name" "val") / (getenv "name")

(setvar "name" val) / (getvar "name")

Controls

UI layout, paths, command line appearance

Snap, grid, units, selection, drawing behavior

Examples

CmdVisLines, CursorSize, Background

CMDECHO, OSMODE, SNAPMODE, ANGBASE

ConstructiVision’s csv.lsp uses ~50 setvar calls for drawing behavior. The setenv variables control the AutoCAD UI shell itself.