How-To: Import a single button bar into SecureCRT

[jdev]

Some have asked for a way to import a button bar into SecureCRT (for example, the comment left by Jesús Franco Chi on 5-19-2020 regarding the Keyword Highlighting in SecureCRT video on our YouTube Channel).

All Button bar configurations are stored in a single file found in SecureCRT's configuration folder.

In version 8.7.x, the file name is ButtonBarV5.ini.

If you desire to "import" a single button bar definition into your SecureCRT version 8.7.x, then you would edit the ButtonBarV5.ini file and add the corresponding data block representing the button bar configuration you'd like to add; such would need to be shared with you by someone who already had the specific button bar present in their configuration.

For example, the button bar shown in the Keyword Highlighting in SecureCRT video would look like this in the ButtonBarV5.ini file:

Z:"Keyword HL Video BBar"=00000007
 SEND,sh ip int br\\r,ip br,,,0,4,
 SEND,ena\\r\\pYOUR_ENABLE_PASSWORD_HERE\\r,enable,,,0,5,
 SEND,configure terminal\\r,conf t,,,0,7,
 SEND,ip dhcp pool dhcp-clients\\r,dhcp,,,0,2,
 SEND,exit\\r,exit,,,0,10,
 SEND,disable\\r,disable,,,0,1,
 MENU_TOGGLE_KEYWORD_HIGHLIGHTING,,Highlight on/off,,,0,0,

Notes:

• I've renamed the button bar to Keyword HL Video BBar in order to avoid any likely conflicts with existing button bars already defined in your ButtonBarV5.ini file.
• In the above example bar, there are 8 total lines; 1 representing the name of the button bar along with the number of buttons on it (in HEX), and 7 subsequent lines representing the individual buttons themselves -- each of these 7 subsequent lines has a leading space character.

To import this button bar to your SecureCRT configuration you would follow these steps:

1. Back up your SecureCRT configuration in case something goes wrong for you during your efforts below.
2. Identify where your SecureCRT configuration folder lives. Options > Global Options, Configuration paths is a great place to start.
3. Close all instances of SecureCRT that are currently running -- you don't want your work editing the ButtonBarV5.ini file to be undone as soon as you close SecureCRT, do you?
4. Edit the ButtonBarV5.ini file found in your configuration folder. Paste the text you see in the Code block above to the very end of your ButtonBarV5.ini file on its own line.
5. Save your changes to the ButtonBarV5.ini file and launch SecureCRT. You should now see a button bar named "Keyword HL Video BBar".
6. Edit the "ena" button to replace the "YOUR_ENABLE_PASSWORD_HERE" text with your actual enable password since this is unlikely to work for you otherwise.