Without A Net

Working Around the Sticky Splash Screen

There have been a few reports of the AutoCAD for Mac splash screen not going away after AutoCAD is fully loaded and ready to use. In these cases the splash screen remains visible over the top of the edit window.

This issue is still being researched but there is a work-around documented in the following solution:

2011: AutoCAD for Mac splash screen never closes

A Call for Layer Nightmares

I'm working on a class that explains layer management tools and techniques and I decided I want to include a few more examples than I already have and I figured the Without a Net readers would be able to help.

What I want are examples of layer management nightmares that plague you and what you have to do to work through them. For example:

• People who believe that naming layers "Layer1" through "Layer438" is perfectly acceptable.
• Drawings where a million objects are on a handful of layers and the object colors, linetypes and lineweights are all forced by-object.
• Some wickedly complicated process you have to go through every time you get drawings from a consultant, just to convert them to your own company standards.

You get the idea and I'm sure you have dealt with much worse than this. If possible, I'd appreciate you including a drawing that shows the problem first-hand but I'll gladly accept just a detailed description if you don't have a drawing you can share.

Please send an email with your layer management nightmares (and drawings if you have them) to [email protected].

Share your pain.

Thanks,
Tom

Missing Palettes and Icons in AutoCAD for Mac

There is an issue being reported against AutoCAD for Mac where the product will launch but the toolsets and palettes are either missing or unable to display the icons. Steps to resolve this issue are documented in the following solution:

2011: Palettes and palette icons are not visible when AutoCAD for Mac is launched

GIS Exchange Support Blog

I know a lot of Without a Net readers are not just using vanilla AutoCAD but are also using vertical products like AutoCAD Map 3D. With that in mind, I want to mention another product support blog that launched recently, GIS Exchange.

GIS Exchange is similar to Without a Net but focuses on support issues, tips-n-tricks, and other information related to Autodesk GIS products such as Map 3D, MapGuide and Topobase. The blog is run by Katie Jacques and Nate Moore of Autodesk Product Support and I'm sure it will be an invaluable resource for your Autodesk GIS-related products.

Changing the Autosave File Location in AutoCAD for Mac

As you're probably aware, AutoCAD includes an automatic save option to save your drawing at specific intervals. The idea is to create a saved copy of whatever drawing you are working on so that if something unexpected happens since the last time you manually saved your drawing, e.g., AutoCAD crashes, your computer crashes, etc., you'll hopefully have a fairly recent copy saved somewhere.

Autosave files are typically named using a mangled version of the drawing name, ending in ".sv$", e.g., "2170topo_1_978319771_4666.sv$". By default, they are saved to a temporary folder on the local machine but you can choose another location for these files using the SAVEFILEPATH system variable or by changing the Automatic Save File Location in Options/Preferences. If you need to revert to an autosave file, you can go to this location, find and copy the appropriate file to another folder, and rename the extension from "sv$" to "dwg".

Note: The automatic save feature is not a substitute for manually saving your drawing and should never be treated as such. It is a contingency plan for when bad things happen.

That's a little background on autosave – just in case you needed it. I actually said all that to say this …

By default, AutoCAD for Mac writes autosave files to the /tmp folder on the root of the hard drive. This is a hidden folder (so you probably don't see it) and is actually a symbolic link to the /private/tmp folder. Here is a view of the /tmp folder from Terminal:

The issue is that the contents of a /tmp folder on a UNIX-based system (of which Mac OS X is one) are not permanent and /tmp gets automatically emptied when the computer is rebooted. This means that any and all autosave files that might be in the /tmp folder will be automatically erased the next time your Mac restarts.

I recommend you change the location where autosave files are saved in AutoCAD for Mac so that:

1. Your autosave files won't run the risk of being quietly removed.
2. They are easier to find than when in a hidden folder.

As I stated earlier, you can do this using the SAVEFILEPATH system variable or by changing the Automatic Save File Location in Application Preferences:

AutoCAD for Mac Prefs: Just Browsing

The Application tab – it's not really a tab but I don't know what else to call it – of the Application Preferences dialog lists various folders that AutoCAD for Mac searches for support, driver, menu, and other files. This is the AutoCAD for Mac equivalent to the Files tab in the Options dialog on the Windows version of AutoCAD.

On the Windows version, adding a new folder to the different search paths is pretty straight-forward: select the parent folder; click Add...; click Browse...; select a folder; done.

In AutoCAD for Mac, that process is a little more elusive and on the surface, looks like it can't be done at all. It can … but it requires a trick, as documented in the following solution:

2011: How to browse to add a folder to Application Preferences

Using the steps described you can create a new entry in a search path and then browse to select the folder you want to add. It's only a couple more keystrokes but it's better than having to manually type something like:

/Users/Tom/Library/Application Support/Autodesk/roaming/AutoCAD 2011/R18.1/enu/Support

Browse on!

AutoCAD for Mac and Unsupported Mac OS Languages

There have been several reports of issues where AutoCAD 2011 for Mac can't be started. In these cases AutoCAD for Mac is installed successfully but on startup it only gets as far as showing the splash screen and then either freezes or quits without an error message.

We've discovered the most common cause of this issue is that AutoCAD for Mac has been installed on a Mac OS whose primary system language is not one supported by this release of AutoCAD for Mac. As listed in the readme, the supported languages for AutoCAD 2011 for Mac are currently as follows:

• U.S. (US)
• British (UK)
• French (France)

If your Mac system language is not one of these three, you may be able to work around this issue by changing the OS language to one that is supported. More details on how to do that can be found at the following solution:

2011: AutoCAD for Mac cannot launch with unsupported Mac OS language

In most cases, changing the Mac OS language to one that is supported by AutoCAD 2011 for Mac, and rebooting the system, has resolved the startup problem.

Working with Layer States in AutoCAD for Mac

One of the features not included in the new AutoCAD 2011 for Mac release is the Layer States Manager dialog. This dialog gives you visual access to all your basic layer state operations as well as more advanced stuff such as editing the properties of layers within saved layer states. The fact that running the LAYERSTATE command returns "unknown command" might lead you to believe that layer state-based management is dead on the Mac. Not so.

Although the Layer State Manager dialog is not available in AutoCAD for Mac, most of the really important layer state operations can still be performed using either the -LAYER command or the (layerstate-xxx) AutoLISP functions.

Using the stAte option of the -LAYER command, you can do the basics like saving, restoring and deleting layer states. Using the different (layerstate-xxx) AutoLISP functions, you can do quite a bit more. Here is a list of the available functions:

(layerstate-addlayers)
Adds/updates a series of layers to a layer state

(layerstate-compare)
Compares a layer state to the layers in the current drawing

(layerstate-delete)
Deletes a layer state

(layerstate-export)
Exports a layer state to an .LAS file

(layerstate-getlastrestored)
Returns the name of the last restored layer state in the current drawing

(layerstate-getlayers)
Returns a list of the layers saved in a layer state

(layerstate-getnames)
Returns a list of the layer state names in the drawing

(layerstate-has)
Checks if a layer state is present in the drawing

(layerstate-import)
Imports a layer state from a specified .LAS file

(layerstate-importfromdb)
Imports a layer state from a specified drawing file

(layerstate-removelayers)
Removes a list of layers from a layer state

(layerstate-rename)
Renames a layer state

(layerstate-restore)
Restores a layer state in the current drawing

(layerstate-save)
Saves a layer state in the current drawing

These AutoLISP functions will cover the vast majority of the functionality you could get from using the Layer State Manager dialog.  Check your AutoCAD help for specific usage details. It looks like the AutoCAD for Mac online docs don't include a reference to AutoLISP functions but you can check the AutoCAD 2011 docs here:

AutoLISP Reference Guide

If you're restoring layer states to viewports, you'll want to refer to the following post from earlier this year that explains some limitations with the -LAYER command that can be overcome using the (layerstate-restore) function:

Restoring Layer States with -LAYER

That posting explains how to use the (layerstate-restore) function in conjunction with an Express Tools function that returns the entity ID of the current viewport, e.g.,

(layerstate-restore "mylayerstate" (acet-currentviewport-ename))

Since AutoCAD for Mac does not include the Express Tools you'll want to use a function like the following to get the viewport entity ID and then pass it to the (layerstate-restore) function:

(defun cvport-ename (/ ssvp vpe)
 (setq ssvp (ssget "_x"
  (list '(0 . "VIEWPORT")
   '(67 . 1)
   (cons 69 (getvar "cvport"))
   (cons 410 (getvar "ctab"))
 )))
 (if ssvp
  (setq vpe (ssname ssvp 0))
 )
 vpe
)

(layerstate-restore "mylayerstate" (cvport-ename))

Note: This function is pretty basic and will likely fail on layout names that include wildcard characters.  You are welcome to add the additional layers of error checking and string replacement on your own. Plan accordingly.

Thus, with a few minor exceptions, you can still handle most of the really important layer state operations even though you don't have the Layer State Manager dialog.

New AutoCAD for Mac Services & Support Page

A new Autodesk Services & Support page is now available for the AutoCAD for Mac product:

AutoCAD for Mac Services & Support

This page will include support topics and featured content that is specific to AutoCAD for Mac, including links to tutorials and online documentation.

In the future, major support issues that are common to both AutoCAD and AutoCAD for Mac will likely appear on this new page and on the AutoCAD Services & Support page.

Trackpad Multi-Touch Gestures in AutoCAD 2011 for Mac

AutoCAD 2011 for Mac is finally out (Huzzah!) and with it comes support for several multi-touch gestures that streamline some fundamental navigations when using a Mac laptop trackpad or the Apple Magic Trackpad.

I first discovered these by accident. Without thinking about it, I did a 2-finger drag to pan a drawing I was working in and it actually PANNED! It took no time for me to grow accustomed to using the following gestures:

Pan
2-finger dragging
Spacebar + 1-finger dragging

Zoom In
Pinch open
Option key + 2-finger drag up

Zoom Out
Pinch closed
Option key + 2-finger drag down

3D Orbit
Shift key + 2-finger dragging

I created the following video to better demonstrate each of these operations: