This is not a new issue – we've heard about it since Windows 7 officially shipped – but apparently it's new to some people and is still being reported.
The symptom is that you are running AutoCAD (or an AutoCAD vertical) in Windows 7 and you use a command that invokes an AutoCAD file navigation dialog – Open, Save, ImageAttach… take your pick – and your system locks up requiring a hard reset of the computer.
This issue is caused by the default driver that shipped with Windows 7 for the NVIDIA® video card. In our testing, and in cases reported by customers, updating the Windows 7 system to the latest certified driver resolves this problem.
We have discovered a separate, but somewhat related, issue that only affects migrated data on systems where AutoCAD 2011 for Mac Update 1 has been installed. The symptoms are that the cursor regularly freezes for a few seconds while editing.
Like the previous issue, this is a problem in the Flexera licensing technology, triggered by migrating old or corrupted trusted storage licensing files from one machine to another. The fix for this is also the same as the other issue and is documented in the following solution:
Over a year ago, I wrote about using a hidden option in the VPLAYER command to reset viewport layer overrides from the AutoCAD command-line. I want to revisit this subject because this option is now even more relevant to AutoCAD for Mac users.
In case you're not familiar with the feature: viewport layer overrides is a feature we added back in AutoCAD 2008 that lets you override a layers color, linetype, lineweight and plot style in viewports. This allows objects to display themselves differently in different viewports without affecting the global layer properties.
In the Windows version of AutoCAD, you can quickly remove some or all of your layer viewport overrides directly from the right-click context menu in the Layer Property Manager dialog:
These same options don't exist in the context menu of the AutoCAD for Mac Layer palette (even though the documentation states that they do) and it may not be obvious how to remove your layer viewport overrides.
One method is to right-click the border of a viewport (or selected viewports) and choose Remove Viewport Overrides for All Layers from the context menu:
This is something of a brute force approach because it provides no granularity in which overrides you are removing for which layers; it's all or nothing. Still, it does work.
The other option is to use the hidden reMoveoverrides option of the VPLAYER command as detailed in this post from December 2009:
This option gives you full control over what overrides you are removing, from what layers, and in what viewports. It's also worth noting that the VPLAYER command can also be used to create layer viewport overrides in both AutoCAD for Windows and AutoCAD for Mac.
We have seen some cases where AutoCAD for Mac will fail to launch after being installed on a hard drive that was either migrated from another hard drive using Migration Assistant or restored from a Time Machine backup.
It seems that metadata is being added to the FLEXnet Publisher folder during migration or restore and that is preventing FLEXnet from creating the trusted storage files that are required to launch and run AutoCAD for Mac (it is safe to assume that this issue can also affect native Mac Autodesk products other than just AutoCAD for Mac).
The workaround for this is to rename the existing FLEXnet Publisher folder and then uninstall and reinstall AutoCAD for Mac. This will create a new FLEXnet Publisher folder where FLEXnet can create the trusted storage files and AutoCAD will be able to successfully launch. Specific details are included in the following technical solution:
Note: The FLEXnet Publisher folder is not owned by Autodesk but is owned by Flexera, makers of the FLEXnet licensing technology used in Autodesk products. This solution is offered as one possible method of resolving this issue but following these steps is solely up to the discretion of the customer.
We've had reports of slow performance in AutoCAD 2011 when selecting and deselecting extremely complex or dense hatch patterns. The symptoms are that you select a hatch pattern and your cursor freezes for several seconds before you are able to move it again. Sometimes you also see the "thinking" cursor (or what I call the "Blue Wheel of Pain"). The same symptoms repeat when you deselect that hatch pattern.
Typically, this behavior is related to the ribbon and the hatch preview capabilities offered by the contextual hatch ribbon panel. One workaround is to change to the AutoCAD Classic workspace (which, by default, does not use the ribbon) and restart AutoCAD in that mode. In most cases, customers experiencing this issue see immediate and noticeable performance improvements.
Note: Restarting AutoCAD after switching to the Classic workspace is usually necessary to properly clear memory of any caching the ribbon may have done.
The following solution has been updated to include this and other information relating to improving hatch performance:
Over the years, we've seen an intermittent issue with the Product Activation wizard where it will launch to activate an Autodesk product but the dialog will be empty save for two unlabeled radio buttons:
This condition typically indicates that JavaScript execution has been disabled or impaired under the local security settings.
Up to now we've published a workaround that explains how to enable Active Scripting for the My Computer zone but those steps have not successfully resolved the issue for many users. A big part of the challenge in tracking down the root cause of problems like this is being able to reproduce the problem ourselves.
Recently, we were able to reproduce this problem in-house, track down some other conditions that may be contributing to the issue, and offer a couple more suggestions for resolution. I won't go into all the details here but you can read them in the updated technical solution:
I want to recommend a utility that I think AutoCAD for Mac users will really appreciate. The app is called Default Folder X and is available from St. Clair Software. It is not free but it has been worth the expense to me.
Disclaimer: I have no affiliation with St. Clair Software nor does Autodesk officially endorse or recommend Default Folder X. This is a personal recommendation based on personal experience using my personally owned copy of the software.
Default Folder X enhances the standard Open and Save dialogs on the Mac to add much-needed navigation and functionality.
Here is the standard Open dialog in AutoCAD for Mac:
Here is the same dialog with Default Folder X installed and enabled:
Default Folder X surrounds the Open and Save dialogs with a border that adds additional functionality for accessing your files. It does a lot but here are the parts I use the most:
In the bottom section, you get a preview of the selected file, you can add Spotlight comments or OpenMeta tags, or you can adjust file permissions or inspect more info about the file.
Using the icons in the side bar, you can get a list of the mostly recently visited folders (Default Folder X keeps track of what folders you used in each different application) or access a user-defined list of favorite folders. You also have quick access to all folders on all drives using a hierarchical fly-out menu that requires no clicking (until you find the folder you want). You can also rename or delete files right from dialog (which you can automatically do within Windows file dialogs).
Considering all the different file dialogs we have in AutoCAD for different commands, it's nice to be able to streamline that navigation and access process a bit.
St. Clair Software offers a 30-day free trial so you can evaluate it ahead of time. They also have an overview screencast video that demonstrates Default Folder X in more detail that I have given.
If you're on a Mac, it's definitely worth looking at.
In this installment of the "In The Box" series, I'll look at the System Variable Editor from the Express Tools. If you prefer to skip the reading part, you can jump to the bottom of this post and watch a short video of me demonstrating the System Variable Editor.
Command-line access for this feature is the SYSVDLG command. In the menu, it's under Express->Tools->System Variable Editor. On the Express Tools ribbon tab, it's on the Tools panel as System Variables.
SYSVDLG was created to be a one-stop-shop to view and edit AutoCAD system variables. From this dialog, you can scroll a list of the AutoCAD system variables and for each selected system variable you can see the default value, current value, type, where it's saved, description, and you can edit the system variable value right in the dialog. If that's all SYSVDLG did it would be moderately convenient but maybe not a regular use tool. Fortunately, it does a bit more.
Wildcard Search
The edit field directly above the system variable list allows for filtering the list based on user input. Want to see all those system variables related to hatch patterns? Enter HP* and the list will show you only the matching names:
Trying to remember the name of a system variable and all you know is that it contained "ANG"? Filter the list for *ANG*:
When nothing is entered in the edit field, the list resets to display all system variables. The ability to do wildcard searches makes it quick and easy to find specific system variables by name.
Saving a List of System Variables
SYSVDLG allows you to write a list of system variables out to a file. When nothing is selected in the list you can click the "Save All…" button and it will write out the entire list of system variables. When the list is filtered (via wildcard) the button changes to "Save Filtered…" and it only writes out the filtered list. When two or more system variables are selected in the list the button changes to "Save Selected…" and it only writes out the selected system variables. When writing out the list, there are two format options for the output file: SVF and SCR.
If you save to a file name with an SVF extension, it creates a file that can be read back in to SYSVDLG using the "Read…" button. Reading in an SVF file changes the current system variable values to match those saved in the file. Want to recreate the same dimension variable settings on another machine? Filter the list on DIM*, save the file, move to the other machine and read that file back in to SYSVDLG with the "Read…" button.
When saved as an SCR file, it is automatically ready to run as a standard script. Here is the format of an SCR file output from SYSVDLG:
The file is written using the AutoLISP (setvar) function to restore the system variable values and it also includes the read-only values (but commented out since you can't actually set them anyway).
In addition to using these files to easily restore system variable values, you can also use them to diff an environment. Do you want to see how system variable settings differ between two drawings or machines? Save out two separate files from SYSVDLG and use WinDiff or your favorite file diffing tool to find the differences. With over 850 system variables in AutoCAD, comparing two output files from SYSVDLG could be the fastest way to find your culprit system variables.
Caveats With Verticals
The System Variable Editor was introduced about 10 years ago and does not get the system variable list directly from AutoCAD but from an installed file named SYSVDLG.DAT. This file is updated with each AutoCAD release to include new system variables and any changes to existing ones. As far as I know, this file only contains AutoCAD system variables and does not include system variables that are specific to vertical products, such as AutoCAD Architecture or AutoCAD Mechanical, unless those product teams updated their own version of that file (which I doubt). All of which is to say: if you're using a vertical product, SYSVDLG will likely report an incomplete list of the system variables that are actually available in your product. Just be aware of that.
The System Variable Editor is one of those lesser-known, unsung heros in my AutoCAD toolbox. It's my go-to feature when looking for a particular system variable or needing to compare different environments.