Older AutoCAD loses (part of) the plot

Steve Johnson — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 02:58:08 +0000

I know there are plenty of people still using AutoCAD 2007 and earlier, so this bug warning may save some of you some grief. I have no idea how widespread or isolated this problem is, but under some circumstances I haven’t worked out yet, AutoCAD 2007 fails to plot all of certain dynamic blocks. Some attributes have a habit of being plot-shy. Even if you don’t use dynamic blocks yourself, you could receive a set of drawings, check them on-screen, approve them, plot them and send out paper drawings without all of their parts. Unless you’re carefully manually checking the paper plots, this situation is obviously a little dangerous. Fortunately, Plot Preview also shows up the problem, so it is at least possible to check things without wasting trees.

Here’s an example. This is part of such a drawing displayed in AutoCAD 2007, with all of its parts in place. One of the dynamic blocks is highlighted:

Here’s that drawing plotted using AutoCAD 2007, showing the missing parts:

Earlier releases do the same, including pre-dynamic block releases. As DWF files are just electronic plots, the same problem applies to them. Yes, I’ve checked for non-plotting layers and looked into the visibility states within the dynamic blocks. An audit of the drawing indicates no problems. Attribute visibility settings are not an issue.

Here’s the same drawing plotted using AutoCAD 2009 (2008 and 2010 are fine, too):

What to do? Using a later release would solve it, but might not be a practicable solution in your office right now. Instead, you could consider using DWG TrueView for your plotting. That may not be ideal either, but it could be better than risking the consequences of an unknown number of your plots containing an unknown number of missing parts in unknown places.

Have you come across this problem? If you have any more clues about the circumstances that trigger it, please add a comment.

DWG TrueView 2009 – it measures!

Steve Johnson — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 01:46:52 +0000

Autodesk’s DWG viewer history has been one of twists and turns, including name changes, attempts to charge money for it, lost features, bloat, and general confusion. One of the most obvious problems that prevented people using the recent DWG TrueView offerings was the inability to measure objects. As a result, some people who needed a DWG viewer turned to the MicroStation-based offering, Bentley View. It took a while, but that omission has now been remedied and Autodesk now provides a useful tool for non-AutoCAD users who need to check drawings. You can download it here:

http://www.autodesk.com/dwgtrueview

It’s a 194 MB download in 32-bit form, so it’s no lightweight. It is basically a very cut-down AutoCAD 2009 and shares its Ribbon interface, albeit in much simplified form.

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Older AutoCAD loses (part of) the plot

DWG TrueView 2009 – it measures!