How to repair corrupt AutoCAD files

By: Revit Designer on April 22, 2018 / comment : 2 AutoCAD, Latest

Sources: 1

Solution:

Use the following guidelines and instructions to clean, repair, and recover your drawing.
 

If the drawing file (DWG) will not open at all:

Your drawing may show the message "Drawing file is not valid," display a message about errors being found, hang or crash during the open process, or simply may not appear in AutoCAD after you have selected to open it (i.e., you open it but all you ever see is the default "Drawing1.dwg" or another file that you currently have open).

• Refer to Error: "Drawing file is not valid" when opening a file in AutoCAD if you receive the "Drawing file is not valid" error when opening the DWG file
• You might have leftover .dwl or dwl2 files in the folder directory. These are two hidden files that have the same name as the .dwg file but with the extensions .dwl and .dwl2. In the Windows Control Panel, go to Folder Options. On the View tab, turn on the option to show hidden files. You can then go back to the folder directory and delete the .dwl and .dwl2 files if they are found alongside your DWG file. Attempt to open the DWG again.

If neither of the above options allow you to open the DWG, move on to the next set of steps. These steps can be tried one at a time. Be sure to stop and try to open the file after each one. If the file opens, there is no need to continue to the rest of the steps.

1. Open a blank DWG and run the RECOVER command. Select the problematic file. AutoCAD will attempt to recover the file and open it
2. Open a blank DWG and run the RECOVERALL command. Select the problematic file. AutoCAD will attempt to recover the file and open it
3. Open a blank DWG and run the INSERT command. Select the problematic file and see if it will insert. If it does, then run EXPLODE and select the inserted block. Run AUDIT and PURGE commands, and then use SAVEAS to create a new DWG
4. Look in the same directory where the DWG resides and see if there is a BAK file of the same name. If so, rename the BAK extension to DWG and see if the file can then be opened
5. Look in C:\Windows\Temp for files with an SV$ extension. If any exist with a similar name to the corrupted DWG file, then rename the extension to DWG and see if it can then be opened
6. Try opening the drawing using DWG Trueview. If you can open it there, convert the drawing to an older DWG version and try opening again
7. Go to your backup system and restore the file from a time before it became corrupted

If the drawing file (DWG) still opens:

Perform the following steps in the order listed:

1. Open the drawing file
2. Purge Registered Applications (from the command line):
   • Type -PURGE
   • "R" for Regapps (registered applications), then Enter
   • "N" when asked to verify each name to be purged, then Enter
3. Type PURGE at the command line. With all checkboxes checked on, click Purge All
4. Audit and fix any errors:
   • Type AUDIT at the command line
   • "Y" for Yes to fix any errors, then Enter
5. Save the drawing

Another possibility is:

1. Open the corrupted drawing and a new drawing
2. CTRL + A and CTRL + SHFT+ C in the corrupted drawing. Base point is 0,0,0
3. CTRL + V in the new drawing. Insert point is 0,0,0
4. Save the new drawing

If the drawing persists with problems, try the following steps:

1. Ensure all layers are on, thawed, and unlocked
2. Detach all external references (XREFs). Double-check that the xrefs do not have circular attachments
3. Write Block all necessary information in the file out to a new drawing (from the command line):
   • Type WBLOCK at the command line
   • Under Source, select "Objects"
   • Under Objects, click the "Select objects" icon
   • Use a selection window to choose only the necessary objects from the file (do not simply type ALL)
   • Set file path and name, then OK
4. Open a new blank drawing file
5. Insert the file created in Step 3 (from the command line):
   • Type INSERT at the command line
   • Select the file
   • Uncheck "Specify On-screen" and check "Explode", then OK
6. Type PURGE at the command line. With all checkboxes checked on, click Purge All
7. AUDIT and fix any errors
8. Type SAVEAS and create a new file name

Still having problems?

Take the following steps.  They can be done in any order, but have been listed in the order that Autodesk recommends. The file can be checked after each step. If the problem is resolved, you don't need to continue.

• ​Open a blank DWG and type RECOVER at the command line. Browse to the problematic file to allow AutoCAD a chance to restore the file
• Type OVERKILL at the command line, and select all objects. Check or uncheck properties to include or ignore, then click OK
• Type DELCON at the command line, and select all objects
• Type BREP and select all objects (if there are solids or surfaces in the file)
• Type -SCALELISTEDIT, then "R" for reset, then "Y" for yes
• Type FILTERS, then click on the 'delete filters' button
• The DGNPURGE tool can be run if the file size is unexpectedly very large (see AutoCAD DWG files unexpectedly increase in file size)
• Try using a different version of AutoCAD to open the drawing, such as AutoCAD 2013 vs. AutoCAD 2015 or plain AutoCAD vs. AutoCAD Architecture, etc. Try different computers if available
• Open a blank DWG, and try to attach the problematic file as an XREF. If it allows you to attach the file, try next to BIND it to the current file. If that works, run the repair steps listed above
• Use the SAVEAS command to save the DWG in an older file format. Attempt to open the newly created file
• Export the file to DXF format using the DXFOUT command. Next, open a blank DWG and use the DXFIN command to import the file just created
• Restore the Layout tabs:
  1. Right-Click one of the default layout tabs
  2. Select 'From Template...'
  3. Open the original file
  4. Choose the layout tabs to restore. (It is recommended to do this one tab at a time, in case one or more layout tabs are corrupted)
• Move drawing objects between model and paper space. You may find that only one drawing space is usable in your file, although your main concern is model space:
  1. ​​Create a new layout and if need be, create a viewport
  2. Use CHSPACE to move all the geometry to paper space
  3. Create a new drawing and use the Design Center (ADC) to move the layout from the damaged file into it
  4. Use CHSPACE again to move the geometry back to model space
  5. Restore the original layouts from the bad file using the Design Center
• Dissect the drawing. In a copy of the file, conduct a process of elimination using QSELECT to select different object types and then delete them to see if that fixes what is wrong in the file. Do PURGE All after each deletion. Eventually you should remove the problem elements and then you can choose to leave them out, copy them in again from another file, recreate them, or further troubleshoot individual items to pinpoint exactly which one is problematic. A quick start to this whole process is to delete everything in the drawing and then test it. This will quickly tell you if the issue is with a drawing object or if it is a part of the drawing database.​
• To eliminate all invisible DWG entities select all features that are relevant in the DWG and "Copywith Base Point" these via the clipboard into a new DWG. Make sure you have switched on all layers that contain relevant dat

How to enable or disable hardware acceleration in AutoCAD

By: Revit Designer on April 22, 2018 / comment : 0 AutoCAD

Sources: 1

Solution:

There are several ways to toggle hardware acceleration in AutoCAD-based products. Try one of the following methods:

• Enter the GRAPHICSCONFIG command and click the Hardware Configuration button.
• Enter the 3DCONFIG command and click the Hardware Configuration button.
• Enter OPTIONS on the command line or choose it from the Application menu to open the Options dialog box. On the System tab, click the Graphics Performance button. Then click the Hardware Acceleration button to turn it off or on.
• Click the GRAPHICSCONFIG performance button in the lower-right corner of the AutoCAD application window.

There may be a delay the first time you use GRAPHICSCONFIG or 3DCONFIG or when you click the performance button.

Note: The interface options may differ, depending on product and product version. AutoCAD LT 2011 and earlier do not support hardware acceleration and do not have 3DCONFIG. 

How to disable Autodesk A360 without uninstalling it

By: Revit Designer on April 22, 2018 / comment : 0 AutoCAD

Sources: 1

Working with shared contents: eliminating slow network performance

By: Revit Designer on April 22, 2018 / comment : 0 AutoCAD

Sources: 1

This is not really an AutoCAD tip. It’s more how you can speed up access if you share your AutoCAD contents and customization over network.

The problem with sharing contents over network is performance. If you have good infrastructure, it might not be a problem. But if you share your contents over WAN or internet, with hundreds of users, it can be really painful. Even pulling a block from your server can take a while.

It is a good thing to centralize your company standard contents and customization, to force standards among your users. You can see some sample like sharing tool palettes like describe here, enterprise CUI like here, or in this AU archive about AutoCAD tool palettes. But again, it may decreasing your productivity, not increasing it if you have problem with network connection.

Set your offline files
One thing that you can do to eliminate this problem is by working with offline files. You can set offline files, so your computer will copy files from your server and put them locally. This is pretty much like working with local files.

No, you don’t have to copy them to your local drive manually. All you need is to set a network folder to always available offline. Windows can sync your files by following a schedule or other events that you prefer.


Once you set it, you can click work offline in Windows Explorer. Even if you are connected to network, your Windows will not take those files from your server anymore!
It might be better if you set automatic sync in Windows Sync Center. Windows can sync your offline files daily if necessary, or you can sync them manually when you know there are changes have been made.

Just try it, and explore the options that will work for you.

Are there antivirus exclusions to make Autodesk programs run better?

By: Revit Designer on April 22, 2018 / comment : 1 AutoCAD

Sources: 1

Issue: 

You want to know if there are adjustments you can make to an antivirus program to make your Autodesk software run better.

Solution: 

Antivirus software can affect the installation of the program. After the program is installed, if you can make exclusions in your antivirus software, it may be useful to exclude the Autodesk folders:

• C:\Program Files\Autodesk 

• C:\Program Files\common Files\Autodesk 

• C:\Program Files (x86)\Autodesk 

• C:\Program Files (x86)\common Files\Autodesk 

• C:\ProgramData\Flexnet C:\ProgramData\Autodesk 

• C:\Users\\AppData\Roaming\Autodesk 

• C:\Users\\AppData\Local\Autodesk 

Also, creating exceptions for the various types of files used by Autodesk products can be helpful. Here is a list of some file types used by Autodesk programs: 
3ds, ac$, apj, bak, ctb, cui, cuix, dcl, dst, dwf, dwg, dwl, dwl2, dwt, fbx, ipt, lin, ma, mat, max, mb, mns, mnu, pat, pgp, rfa, rft, rte, rvt, shp, shx, stb, sv$ You may need to also add the following: .sq* (sqlite), .wdp, .ldb, .mdb, .mui, .aux, .chm 

These are some license components that may need to be added as exclusions to the antivirus program:

• C:\Program Files\Autodesk\Autodesk AutoCAD 201x\acad.exe (or the exe of the Autodesk program that you are running) 

• C:\Program Files\Common Files\Macrovision Shared\FlexNet Publisher\ FNPLicensingService64.exe 

• C:\Program Files\Common Files\Autodesk Shared\AdLM\R14\LMU.exe (the folder R14 may differ depending on the version of the product installed - i.e it could be R12, R10...) 

If you are using AutoCAD Electrical, you may need to add an exception to: 
C:\Users\YOUR-USER-NAME\Documents\Acade 201x (where x varies depending upon your version of the product)