Without A Net

Recent AutoCAD Installation Training Videos

Greetings, all (and Happy Thanksgiving to all my US readers). Autodesk is currently observing a company furlough so, with the exception of staff dedicated to manning our critical systems, all United States employees are taking some vacation time this week. Since many of us (including myself) are busy preparing for Autodesk University next week, this time off definitely feels a bit less like an actual vacation.

As I was working on my AU classes today, it occurred to me that I never posted about the recent batch of tutorial videos that I created on the subject of installing AutoCAD 2010. The new videos include Stand-Alone and Network installation of AutoCAD 2010, as well as some of the common post-installation tasks that you need to do immediately after installation.

I've embedded the videos here or you can go to YouTube and watch them from there.

For a complete list of the videos that I've created, you can always check the AutoCAD and Platform Product Support Video Solutions playlist on YouTube.

If you are attending Autodesk University in Las Vegas next week, feel free to stop me and say hello. I'd love the opportunity to meet you and chat.

Cheers,
Tom

Update to Autodesk Graphics Hardware List

The Autodesk video card certification database has recently been updated. The current version is now 18.0.0.4. To see the current supported cards please click the following link:

Graphics Hardware List

The changes from version 18.0.0.3 include 575 new certification results for the drivers below:

ATI®

• Adds support for the ATI® FireGL & FirePro Version 8.634 for Windows XP (6973), XP64 (6973), Vista (678), Vista64 (678)


• Adds support for the ATI® Mobility FireGL V5700 for Windows XP (6973), Vista (630), Vista64 (630)


• Adds support for the ATI® Radeon Catalyst Version 9.8 for Windows XP (6983), XP64 (6983), Vista (685), Vista64 (685)

Nvidia®

• Adds support for the Nvidia® Quadro for Windows XP (191.00), XP64 (191.00), Vista (191.00), Vista64 (191.00)


• Adds support for the Nvidia® Geforce for Windows XP (190.62), XP64 (190.62), Vista (190.62), Vista64 (190.62)

Parallels®

• Adds support for the Parallels® Virtual machine Version 4.0.3646 for Windows XP (3846), Vista64 (3846)

For more information about certified, supported, and nonsupported graphics hardware, check the AutoCAD certified hardware FAQ.

INPUTHISTORYMODE and the Action Recorder

I'm sure many of you are familiar with the INPUTHISTORYMODE system variable, first introduced AutoCAD 2006. This sysvar controls the content and location of the display of a history of your command input and allows you to decide if your command input history gets displayed and where (command line, tooltip, context menu). It doesn't affect the display of commands that you entered, it affects the display of input values that you provided to commands, e.g., points that you picked during a LINE command.

If you're one of those people that sets INPUTHISTORYMODE to 0 because you don't like AutoCAD offering you a history of recent input values, you will have a problem recording macros with the Action Recorder. If INPUTHISTORYMODE is not set to at least 1, the Action Recorder will not properly record input. It seems to record some input from using the Properties Palette but it doesn't play back reliably.

At present, the only workaround for this is to set INPUTHISTORYMODE to an acceptable positive value prior to recording an Action Macro. The INPUTHISTORYMODE setting does not affect playback of Action Macros - only recording.

LMAN Layer State Conversion Issues

In AutoCAD 2008, the Layer States Manager was updated to automatically convert existing Express Tools LMAN layer states and Architectural Desktop Snapshots into AutoCAD layer states. This conversion happens automatically when the Layer States Manager is opened in a drawing containing these legacy types of layer states. After conversion, the old layer states are deleted from the drawing.

Occasionally, we receive a report from a customer that the Express Tools LMAN layer states are being converted every time the Layer States Manager is run, resulting in a new set of converted layer states being created every time. The only time we’ve seen this problem is when customers have a very large quantity of LMAN layer states.

LMAN data was stored on individual layers as xdata and there is a limit to how large the xdata can be. After each layer state is converted, the Layer States Manager deletes each layer state from the blob of xdata and then reapplies that truncated xdata back to the layer.  However, when that xdata exceeds the size limits, the truncated data is rejected and the original xdata is restored (LMAN was an AutoLISP routine so it seems that xdata limit did not apply as strictly to AutoLISP as it does to the ObjectARX app doing the converting).  This is why it keeps converting the LMAN layer states - because it can't successfully delete them.  If you have less than about 100 layer states  this conversion process should work without issue but when you have large numbers of LMAN layer states it's just too much xdata.

If you've experienced this problem with duplicate conversion of LMAN layer states, the workaround is a two-step process:

1. Start the Layer State Manager and let it do the conversion.
2. Run the following AutoLISP routine (LMANKILL) immediately after the conversion.

Download LMANKILL.LSP

LMANKILL.LSP will remove all Express Tools LMAN layer states from the current drawing.  It is quick and complete.  In fact, if you don't want any of those LMAN layer states to be converted, you could run this first and be done with them for good.

Again, this problem should only present itself when there is a large number of LMAN layer states being converted.

AutoCAD Adware Trojan

A new Adware Trojan has recently been identified as using AutoCAD as a delivery vehicle for installing Browser Helper Objects that cause IE to display popup ads.

This malware was first reported by the Webroot Threat Blog in this article:

AutoCAD Adware Trojans Target Techies

You can read the Webroot posting for all the details but, in a nutshell, a Windows stub application checks the system for AutoCAD installations, downloads the appropriate version of ObjectARX app from servers in China and modifies startup AutoLISP files to load that ARX app the next time AutoCAD is started. Once the ARX app loads and runs it does several things to the system that ultimately allow advertisements to appear when the user is viewing certain popular Chinese search engine results and when the time zone of the infected system is set to Beijing.

All indications are that AutoCAD is only being used as a delivery mechanism in order to make it harder to detect the malware (since anti-virus software doesn't tend to look at ObjectARX files). It should also be noted that this kind of infection seems to specifically target machines that are in use in China or have been used in China.

So, what can you do to try and avoid this kind of issue?

First, stay up to date with Windows patches and anti-virus definitions. It isn't clear whether the Windows stub application is being explicitly downloaded by users or if it's a "drive-by download" but what is clear is that it all starts from that application. Webroot tells me that they have submitted the Windows stub app and other payloads to a service that will distribute it to the major anti-virus vendors.

Second, check your AutoLISP startup files (acad2009doc.lsp, acad2009.lsp, acaddoc.lsp, acad.lsp, etc.) and make sure you don't have (arxload) statements that can't be accounted for. For that matter, check for the existence of acaddoc.lsp and acad.lsp. AutoCAD no longer creates these files so, if you have them, make sure they are yours.

As always, be careful what sites you visit and what you download. As I said, it looks like this malware is targeting systems in China so most of you likely don't have anything to worry about. Still ... it's better to be forewarned and cautious.

If, by chance, you have a system that is infected with this particular bit of malware, I expect that most any reputable anti-virus software should be able to clean it up. Manual methods are not recommended as the changes made by the malware are pretty invasive and the malware is capable of detecting tampering and immediately rebooting the machine. It may take the anti-virus software a few cycles of scanning, cleaning, and rebooting before the system is clean but it should be correctable.

Special thanks to Andrew at Webroot for posting about this malware and for providing me all the details about how it works. Thanks, also, to Gerrit De Jong of Autodesk distributor Pollux BV, Netherlands, who originally brought this to our attention.

Changing the AutoCAD Text Window Length

I recently received a question from a customer asking how to increase the history length of the AutoCAD text window. As I recall, this used to exposed in the Options dialog but seems to have vanished over time. The default for the text window is 400 lines, meaning that you can press F2 and always see the last 400 lines of whatever has scrolled by at the command line, but sometimes this just isn't long enough and you want to be able to look back further.

You can set the history length of the text window by issuing the following statement at the AutoCAD command line:

Command: (setenv "CmdHistLines" "1000")

In this example, I'm setting the history length to 1000 lines. The allowable range is between 25 lines and 2048 lines. If you try to set a value outside that range, it will default to the last used length. This new value gets saved to the current profile.

If you want to find out the current history length, you can type the following:

Command: (getenv "CmdHistLines")
"1000"

Note that "CmdHistLines" is case-sensitive and must be entered that way. Also, the length value must be included within quotes as shown.

So, while not a new trick by any stretch (it's been around for years), maybe it's new to some of you.

Deploying Design Review 2010

I was asked a couple of times last week how Design Review 2010 can be deployed to multiple machines as the download is for a web installer which requires an active internet connection.

The answer to this is to download via the Additional Install Option link which is shown in the image below:

 

After selecting the deploy Autodesk Design Review option you can choose between two installation methods, the Bootstrap Installer (MSI) and the Executable Installer:

 

To deploy Autodesk Design Review you should select the MSI download option.

For full instructions on deploying Design Review 2010 you should refer to the installation guide which can be viewed here:

Autodesk Design Review Install Guide

 

Parametrics Tip: PARAMETERCOPYMODE

Continuing with lesser known tips for working with parametric constraints, I want to familiarize you with the PARAMETERCOPYMODE system variable.

PARAMETERCOPYMODE affects how geometric and dimensional constraints get created when copying constrained objects. PARAMETERCOPYMODE controls how constraints are copied both within the same drawing and when copying to another drawing.

When PARAMETERCOPYMODE is 0, no constraints get copied – only the objects themselves. This applies to copies created in the source drawing as well as copies pasted into another drawing.

Copying Within the Same Drawing

When PARAMETERCOPYMODE is set to 1, copies of constrained objects will include all associated constraints. Dimensional constraint names will automatically be incremented to ensure they are unique. This is as much as you can do with PARAMETERCOPYMODE when copying within the same drawing; all other values for the system variable only affect copying across drawings.

Copying Across Drawings

There are four settings (other than 0) that affect how constraints are copied when pasting into another drawing. Each higher setting builds on the lower settings.

When PARAMETERCOPYMODE is set to 1, copies of constrained objects will include all constraints. Constraint expressions that reference user variables will be copied using fixed constraint values. In the following example, dimensional constraint rad3 references user variable Var1 in its expression:

Constraints and variables in the source drawing

When copying to another drawing, the copy of the rad3 dimensional constraint gets set to the original value of Var1 and the user variable is no longer included.

Copy created in the target drawing with PARAMETERCOPYMODE set to 1

PARAMETERCOPYMODE == 2 behaves just like PARAMETERCOPYMODE == 1 except that expressions will continue to reference user variables only if they already exist in the target drawing. Using the previous example, if the target drawing already had a Var1 user variable, the copied constraint expression would continue to reference it and use its local value.

Copy created in the target drawing with PARAMETERCOPYMODE set to 2

Building on that, PARAMETERCOPYMODE == 3 also forces expressions to reference user variables if they already exist in the target drawing. If the user variable does not already exist, a variable will be created using its original value.

Finally, PARAMETERCOPYMODE == 4 copies all constraints, variables and expressions and will create user variables as needed. There is a subtle but important difference between this setting and PARAMETERCOPYMODE == 3. Referring one last time to the example, if the Var1 user variable existed in the target drawing and had the same value as in the source drawing, it would be referenced by the copied constraints. If Var1 had a different value than the original, a new variable would be created using the original value and expressions would be updated to reference that new variable instead.

Copy created in the target drawing with PARAMETERCOPYMODE set to 4

Notice that a new Var2 variable was created and the copied expressions were updated to reference Var2 instead of the local Var1 variable. This is because the Var1 variable in the target drawing had a different value than the Var1 variable in the source drawing.

The value of PARAMETERCOPYMODE is saved in the registry and is unique to each AutoCAD user profile. The PARAMETERCOPYMODE setting is only referenced during the copy operation and not during the paste operation. This means that you could set PARAMETERCOPYMODE to 4, do a Ctrl+C, open a new drawing, set PARAMETERCOPYMODE to 0, do a Ctrl+V, and it will still copy all the constraints, variables and expressions.

Parametrics Tip: CCONSTRAINTFORM

A few days ago I was preparing some training on the new Parametric Design feature in AutoCAD 2010 and was reminded of how much I enjoy this new functionality. The next few posts from me will focus on some of the lesser known aspects of working with geometric and dynamic constraints.

There are three types of dimensional constraints:

• The dynamic type constrains objects to a value and displays a dimension-like representation. Dynamic constraints do NOT plot.
• The annotational type is identical to a dynamic dimensional constraint except that it displays using the current dimension style. Annotational constraints DO plot.
• The reference type doesn't constrain an object at all but simply displays the objects value using a dimension-like representation. Reference constraints do NOT plot.

Annotational constraints can be very useful in situations where you want to contrain an object and you want that value to display just like a dimension. In fact, an annotational constraint uses the current dim style and has all the same editable properties as a standard dimension.

To create an annotation contraint, you typically start by creating a dynamic constraint, selecting that constraint and then editing the Constraint Form field in Properties to change it from Dynamic to Annotational.

This process can get tedious if you have a lot of dynamic constraints that need to be turned into annotational constraints. Fortunately, there is a quicker way.

If you know ahead of time that what you want to apply are annotational constraints, you can set the CCONSTRAINTFORM system variable to 1. CCONSTRAINTFORM controls whether constraints are applied to objects as annotational or dynamic. When set to 0 (the default), DIMCONSTRAINT automatically creates dynamic constraints. When set to 1, DIMCONSTRAINT automatically create annotational constraints.

Using the CCONSTRAINTFORM system variable can save you time by sparing you from having to convert between dynamic and annotational constraints. Note: this system variable is only used during the initial creation of dimensional contraints. Once a dimensional constraint has been created, you would need to use Properties to convert between the two types.

Live Update and 64-bit IE8

Greetings from Germany. I'm here in Munich to deliver training at Autodesk Industry Academy 2009. This is the first time Autodesk Product Support has put on an event of this magnitude and it's designed specifically to train our channel partners on the latest troubleshooting and problem solving techniques that we are using. I will be giving training on installation and licensing and will cover some of the basics like cascade licensing and creating deployments, as well as highlighting some of the changes in the 2010 products. It has been 18 years since I last visited Germany and I'm looking forward to spending the week here (being a Stoeckel and all).

I want to let you know about an issue with Internet Explorer 8 that causes the AutoCAD Live Update to fail on 64-bit systems.  When installing on a 64-bit system, Microsoft installs both the x86 and x64 versions of IE8 but makes the x86 version the system default.  Microsoft sets the 32-bit version as the default because there are still many plugins that don't work in 64-bit (Flash being one of the big ones). When you run Live Update to install service packs, it uses the system default browser so it ends up invoking the x86 IE8 even though it is running on an x64 system with an x64 AutoCAD.  Since the x86 IE8 can’t launch our x64 ActiveX DLLs, the operation fails with the following message:

"The Communication Center was unable to apply the Live Update service pack. Please restart your computer, launch your application and click the Live Update link in Communication Center."

At this point, the only workaround is to roll back to IE7 or manually download and install the service packs; restarting your computer will not fix the problem.  Remember, this only affects 64-bit systems. Unless Microsoft makes a change and allows the x64 version of IE8 to be the default browser on 64-bit systems, I expect the fix for this will require us to modify the Communication Center so that it explicitly invokes the x64 IE8 instead of using the system default.  I'll keep you posted on any changes around this issue.