ACA: Open Dialog Does Not Show - But FILEDIA Is Set to 1

I had a report that the AutoCAD^® Architecture Open dialog was not showing up when the OPEN commmand was being used. First thing I checked was the value of the FILEDIA System Variable, but it was set to 1, and there were no prompts on the Command Line when running the OPEN command.

I found the solution for this case in an Autodesk Knowledge Network article, Dialog windows do not display and the program appears to freeze, which offers several suggestions for resolving the issue. Having already done the first one (FILEDIA), I tried the second one - holding SHIFT+WINDOWS KEY and then pressing the LEFT or RIGHT ARROW KEY. That keystroke combination moves the current window from one screen to the next, and it did bring the Open dialog back onto one of the two active monitors.

The user's computer is a laptop, which was docked and closed, but perhaps the dialog was hiding out on the laptop monitor? Wherever it was, the issue was resolved, and I was glad to not have to resort to the last suggestion, editing the Windows Registry.

No More 32-bit AutoCAD

See this Autodesk Knowledge Network Article for details on the discontinuation of a 32-bit version of AutoCAD, starting with the next release.

Return of the Educational Watermark in AutoCAD 2019 and 2019 Vertical Products

The educational watermark has returned in the 2019 versions of AutoCAD^® and AutoCAD-based vertical products, like AutoCAD^® Architecture and AutoCAD^®MEP. More details on the 2019 implementation of the educational watermark can be found in this Autodesk Knowledge Network article.

Revit: Linked AutoCAD File with MText and Columns

One of the users at my firm was trying to link an AutoCAD file into Revit 2016, to get some formatted text notes into his project. The formatting of the text changed from what shows in AutoCAD when linked into Revit. It turned out he was using the Columns feature of MText to get his notes to wrap into a second column, as the total "height" of the notes was greater than the height of the sheet. Revit ignored the columns formatting and displayed the text as one continuous column, with the width set to match the total width of both columns in AutoCAD.

The solution was to reformat the MText in AutoCAD, removing the columns formatting, setting the overall width to that of one column, and breaking the MText into two separate pieces, one for each of the former columns. Any future edits to the AutoCAD file will have to deal with the separation of the MText into two pieces, but the text does appear as desired when linked into Revit.

One more issue that we will not encounter as often as we start using Revit 2018 on new projects, given the somewhat improved ability to format text in 2018.

In What Version of AutoCAD Was My File Saved?

As I start thinking about deploying AutoCAD^® Architecture and AutoCAD^® MEP 2018, I have been considering how to manage having multiple file formats in use at the same time. Not that we have not had to deal with that in the past; but we have been primarily using 2013-format releases for quite some time, so I will need to make and keep users aware of the fact that once a file is saved in the 2018 format, there is no going back.

One "trick" I personally have used to check on the file format of a file prior to opening it is discussed in this Autodesk Knowledge Network article. You can determine the file format of an AutoCAD^® drawing file by opening the file in a plain text editor (like Notepad) and looking at the first six characters. That article lists the "codes" for the 2000 through 2013 file formats. Shaan Hurley, in this article in his Between the Lines blog, has a more complete listing of the codes, including the fact that the new 2018 file format is AC1032. Scroll down to the bottom of the article, under the DWG File History header, for the full listing.

One drawback to that trick is that really large files can take quite some time to open in Notepad, and there is always the risk (however small) that you could accidentally make a change and then save the file in Notepad. It occurred to me that an AutoLISP routine ought to be able to use the read-line function to read the first line of a drawing file, extract the first six characters, and then report the results; this proved to be true. You do have to have an instance of AutoCAD open first, but if you do, the routine works much faster than opening in Notepad for large files, and there is no risk of changing the file. I chose to limit the versions for which it tests to the AC1001 (Version 2.2) format. I was not able to fully test all of those, as I was unable to find a file in my archives that was last saved in anything earlier than Release 9 (AC1004). If your archives include files of earlier vintage, you could extend the code for the earlier versions listed in Shaan's article, assuming that those older files have the "code" in the first six characters.

(defun C:FMT ( / file1 sfile1 sline1 stext1)
  (setq sfile1 (getfiled "Select Drawing File" "" "dwg" 0)
        file1  (open sfile1 "r")
  ) ;_ End setq.
  (if file1
    (progn
      (setq sline1 (read-line file1)
            stext1 (substr sline1 1 6)
      ) ;_ End setq.
      (close file1)
      (cond    ; Condition A.
        ((= "AC1032" stext1)
         (alert
           (strcat
             "Header = AC1032."
             "\nFile " sfile1
             "\nis saved in the 2018 file format."
           ) ;_ End strcat.
         ) ;_ End alert.
        ) ;_ End condition A1.
        ((= "AC1027" stext1)
         (alert
           (strcat
             "Header = AC1027."
             "\nFile " sfile1
             "\nis saved in the 2013 file format."
           ) ;_ End strcat.
         ) ;_ End alert.
        ) ;_ End condition A2.
        ((= "AC1024" stext1)
         (alert
           (strcat
             "Header = AC1024."
             "\nFile " sfile1
             "\nis saved in the 2010 file format."
           ) ;_ End strcat.
         ) ;_ End alert.
        ) ;_ End condition A3.
        ((= "AC1021" stext1)
         (alert
           (strcat
             "Header = AC1021."
             "\nFile " sfile1
             "\nis saved in the 2007 file format."
           ) ;_ End strcat.
         ) ;_ End alert.
        ) ;_ End condition A4.
        ((= "AC1018" stext1)
         (alert
           (strcat
             "Header = AC1018."
             "\nFile " sfile1
             "\nis saved in the 2004 file format."
           ) ;_ End strcat.
         ) ;_ End alert.
        ) ;_ End condition A5.
        ((= "AC1015" stext1)
         (alert
           (strcat
             "Header = AC1015."
             "\nFile " sfile1
             "\nis saved in the 2000 file format."
           ) ;_ End strcat.
         ) ;_ End alert.
        ) ;_ End condition A6.
        ((= "AC1014" stext1)
         (alert
           (strcat
             "Header = AC1014."
             "\nFile " sfile1
             "\nis saved in the R14 file format."
           ) ;_ End strcat.
         ) ;_ End alert.
        ) ;_ End condition A7.
        ((= "AC1012" stext1)
         (alert
           (strcat
             "Header = AC1012."
             "\nFile " sfile1
             "\nis saved in the R13 file format."
           ) ;_ End strcat.
         ) ;_ End alert.
        ) ;_ End condition A8.
        ((= "AC1009" stext1)
         (alert
           (strcat
             "Header = AC1009."
             "\nFile " sfile1
             "\nis saved in the R11/R12 file format."
           ) ;_ End strcat.
         ) ;_ End alert.
        ) ;_ End condition A9.
        ((= "AC1006" stext1)
         (alert
           (strcat
             "Header = AC1006."
             "\nFile " sfile1
             "\nis saved in the R10 file format."
           ) ;_ End strcat.
         ) ;_ End alert.
        ) ;_ End condition A10.
        ((= "AC1004" stext1)
         (alert
           (strcat
             "Header = AC1004."
             "\nFile " sfile1
             "\nis saved in the R9 file format."
           ) ;_ End strcat.
         ) ;_ End alert.
        ) ;_ End condition A11.
        ((= "AC1003" stext1)
         (alert
            (strcat
             "Header = AC1003."
             "\nFile " sfile1
             "\nis saved in the Version 2.60 file format."
           ) ;_ End strcat.
         ) ;_ End alert.
        ) ;_ End condition A12.
        ((= "AC1002" stext1)
         (alert
           (strcat
             "Header = AC1002."
             "\nFile " sfile1
             "\nis saved in the Version 2.50 file format."
           ) ;_ End strcat.
         ) ;_ End alert.
        ) ;_ End condition A13.
        ((= "AC1001" stext1)
         (alert
           (strcat
             "Header = AC1001."
             "\nFile " sfile1
             "\nis saved in the Version 2.22 file format."
           ) ;_ End strcat.
         ) ;_ End alert.
        ) ;_ End condition A14.
        (T
         (alert
           (strcat
             "Header = "
             stext1
             "\nFile " sfile1
             "\nis saved in an unknown file format."
           ) ;_ End strcat.
         ) ;_ End alert.
        ) ;_ End condition A15.
      ) ;_ End condition A.
    ) ;_ End progn.
    (prompt "\nNo file selected. ")
  ) ;_ End if.
  (prin1)
) ;_ End C:FMT

Here is an example of the alert message that will be displayed.

AutoCAD® 2018 Users Alert

If you have AutoCAD^® 2018 or any vertical built on AutoCAD 2018 installed AND you installed the 2018.0.1 update during the short period of time that was available BUT have not yet installed the 2018.0.2 update, please do so immediately. The 2081.0.1 update included code from the pre-release Beta version that will cause the license to time out on June 1, 2017. Installing the 2018.0.2 update will remedy this situation. If you do not act, you will not be able to run AutoCAD 2018 on June 1.

How Can I Tell if I Have the 2018.0.1 Update Installed?
At the command line, type ABOUT and then press the ENTER key.

• For AutoCAD or AutoCAD LT^®, look at the Product Version line (the only one there).
• For vertical products, such as AutoCAD^® Architecture, pictured above, look at the Built on line.

If you see

• O.49.0.0: You have the shipping version installed, without any updates. You are NOT impacted by the license timeout issue, however, it is recommended that you install the 2018.0.2 update to take advantage of the fixes contained therein.
• O.61.0.0: You have the 2018.0.1 update installed, and you WILL BE AFFECTED by the license timeout. You do NOT need to uninstall anything, simply install the 2018.0.2 update. See the Autodesk Knowledge Network article link below for more information on the 2018.0.2 update.
• O.72.0.0: You already have the 2018.0.2 update installed. You are NOT impacted by the license timeout issue and need do nothing further with regard to this.

The number of people who installed the 2018.0.1 update who have not already installed the 2018.0.2 update is expected to be small, but you do not want to be "that guy." Take a few moments to check your version now, and, if it is 0.61.0.0, install (or have whomever is in charge of updates install) the 2018.0.2 update now, and make June 1 just another Thursday.

This Autodesk Knowledge Network article gives an overview of what the update includes. If you never installed the 2018.0.1 update, no worries, the 2018.0.2 update includes those fixes, too. There are links at the bottom of the article to the full README for the updates, if you are interested in all of the details.

Read more about the 2018.0.1 Update issue in this article in the AutoCAD Blog.

Note: Should your version number be less than O.49.0.0, then you have a pre-release beta version installed. This will timeout on June 1, 2017. Your only recourse is to uninstall it and then to install the shipping version, if you are entitled to do so.

AutoCAD & AutoCAD LT Webinars

Autodesk is starting up a series of webinars for users of their products; the first few will be of interest to AutoCAD^® and AutoCAD LT^® users.

August 21, 2014, 2:00 pm US EDT (today!) Autodesk® AutoCAD® and AutoCAD LT® Webinar: ‘Taking blocks to the next level: Dynamic blocks!’

August 28, 2014, 2:00 pm US EDT Autodesk® AutoCAD® and AutoCAD LT® Webinar: ‘Smarter AutoCAD Drawings Using Attributes!’

September 4, 2104, 2:00 pm US EDT Autodesk® AutoCAD® and AutoCAD LT® Webinar: ‘Adventures in Annotative Scaling’

08/30/2014 UPDATE:
Miss a webcast? Catch a recorded version here.