Getting started

Getting from zero to your first command takes three steps.

1. Download and install

Download the installer from the downloads page. It installs into your own Windows account, so it does not ask for administrator rights.

1. Close AutoCAD, then run the installer. Its files are locked while AutoCAD is open.
2. Start AutoCAD 2025 (or later). It asks whether to load the plugin and names MD Automation as the publisher: tick “Always trust applications from MD Automation”, then click Load.
3. A new MD Plugins tab appears in the ribbon. All MD plugins share this tab: each one adds its own panel.

Caution

Step 2 happens once. If you decline, the plugin simply does not load and the ribbon tab never appears, which looks like a failed install but is not one. Re-run AutoCAD and accept the prompt.

Once you have ticked “Always trust”, every future MD plugin and every update loads silently.

Every plugin is also published on the Autodesk App Store. It is the same build; the download here is available the day it ships rather than after review.

Note

The plugins require AutoCAD 2025 or later (64-bit, Windows). LT versions do not support .NET plugins.

2. Try it free, or buy a licence

Every plugin includes a free 15-day trial, and commands unlock for good with a Standalone licence.

• Free trial: run MDLICENSEMANAGER and click Start trial on the plugin’s row. One trial per machine; the steps are on activate your licence.
• Buy: purchase a Standalone licence on the pricing page. After checkout you get a payment confirmation code, then follow activate your licence.

3. Run your first command

Every plugin puts its panel on the same MD Plugins ribbon tab, and every command works pick-first: select objects, then run it. Try whichever you installed:

Plugin	Panel	Try this
Align & Distribute	Arrange	Select a few scattered objects and pick Align Left, or type MDALIGNLEFT. They snap to the leftmost edge of the selection.
Rotate & Flip	Rotate/Flip	Select a block and pick Rotate CW, or type MDROTATECW. It turns 90° around its own insertion point.
Quick Layer	Layer	Type MDQUICKLAYER, type part of a layer name, and press Enter. That layer is now current.

One Ctrl+Z, or one click of the Undo arrow on the Quick Access Toolbar, undoes the whole operation, whichever you ran.

Every command is also on the right-click menu. Select objects and right-click: each installed plugin adds its own submenu, grouped together between Group and Select Similar.