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============================================================= README.DOC - AutoCAD Release 12 c2 for AutoCAD 386 ============================================================= General Information March 9, 1993 ====================================================================== CONTENTS ======== What's New in Release 12 c2 Platform-Independent Information - General Notes Platform-Specific Information - AutoCAD 386 R12 Questions and Answers Manual Corrections and Additions AutoCAD Reference Manual AutoCAD Customization Manual AutoLISP Programmer's Reference AutoCAD Development System Programmer's Reference AutoCAD Extras Manual Bonus CD-ROM Information ====================================================================== See the following documents for more README information: README.DRV Contains additional information on ADI 4.2 device drivers. README.ADS Describes the text files that explain how to compile, link, and debug AutoCAD Development System (ADS) Applications, and tells where to find them. README.AME Contains additional information on the AutoCAD Advanced Modeling Extension Release 2.1 (AME R2.1). README.ASE Contains additional information on the AutoCAD SQL Extension (ASE). README.AVE Contains additional information on AutoCAD Render. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- WHAT'S NEW IN RELEASE 12 C2 =========================== Q1: What's New? AutoCAD's Plotter drivers can now be configured for a logical network device -- or "captured port" (like LPT1) -- instead of a physical device. During configuration, the port device names LPT1:, LPT2:, and LPT3: are listed along with the port addresses in hexadecimal of the actual available physical ports. If you choose a device name that is "captured" for network printing, AutoCAD will honor the network redirection. If you choose a port address, AutoCAD will always send output to the selected physical port. You can also send plotter output to a port by plotting to file and entering a device name. Legitimate device names are PRN:, LPT1:, LPT2:, LPT3:, COM1:, COM2:, COM3:, COM4:, CON:, and AUX:. These device names can be entered in upper or lower case, with or without the trailing colon. If you are using dialog boxes, these device names can be selected in the Create Plot File dialog box under "Directories". If you are using Microsoft Lan Manager, device names of network redirected ports do not appear in the dialog box. Network support has been improved by sending plots to multiple spool queues for different plotters on the same network. Updated documentation for these new plotting facilities can be found in the Platform Specific section of this readme. International versions that have a hardware lock now provide for server authorization (for Novell networks only). This allows customers running AutoCAD 386 Release 12 with hardware locks to have a "floating" license for concurrent usage. The minimum number of nodes for the network has been set to five. (Note -- This requires a special hardware lock. Please consult the AutoCAD Novell Server Lock Documentation) SQL drivers for INFORMIX 4.1 and ORACLE 6.0 have been added. These were previously available in the SUN version of AutoCAD only. Q2: What problems have been corrected? The c2 update eliminates problems encountered during simultaneous access of the ACAD.PWD file by contending nodes on network installations. The R12LAN patch has been included, which corrects file access problems found with combinations of MS-DOS 5.0 and many popular networks. The IRQ7 patch has been included, which avoids Phar Lap errors 10025 and 10026 on some "clone" 486 computers. AutoCAD 386 Release 12 can now run under OS/2 2.0. Note: this requires an OS/2 Service Pack update from IBM. For further infomation, please call IBM HelpWare at 800-722-2227. Note -- OS/2 2.0 is not a supported environment, however our customers seem to be happy running AutoCAD 386 in an OS/2 2.0 DOS box. The c2 update corrects a problem with the programs in ACADAPP, including DDCHPROP and DDMODIFY, which previously caused AutoCAD to reject the functions and report error messages during the QSAVE and END commands. The plot dialogue now converts fractional scales to full decimal accuracy. AutoCAD can now be fully configured through a script. A configuration script will no longer prompt "Press Return for more." Entities in external reference files, especially filled regions, now do not plot when the layer is frozen. The integrity of linetypes is maintained in Paper Space viewports, regardless of the LTSCALE setting and ZOOM factor. The Advanced Modeling Extension, AME 2.1, has been updated to improve the accuracy of mass properties and moments of inertia, to remove dead regions when using SOLIDIFY, and to explode blocks correctly with WBLKSOL.LSP. DIGITIZER Driver Updates The c2 release includes earlier c1 updates which improve the performance of all drivers, offer smooth crosshair movement in very large drawings, and allow access to older Hitachi models. Numonics: The driver solves intermittent problems with the pick button. Summagraphics: The driver eliminates jumpy crosshairs on the SummaSketch II with a 16 - button puck. PLOTTER Driver Updates The c2 release includes earlier c1 updates which improve the speed of all plotter and printer drivers. The DEFPOINTS layer is no longer plotted. Houston Instruments: Pen changes are handled properly, and entity colors are plotted correctly. CalComp: Corrects improper pen changes, which were causing multicolored text and lines. Fixes problems with solid fill regions and omissions of polylines. Hewlett-Packard HP-GL/2: Pen changes are handled properly. Fixes problems with solid fill regions and omissions of polylines. PostScript: Pen assigments are handled properly. Fixes problems with solid fill regions and omissions of polylines. Raster File Formats: Configuration for only one pen is now allowed. Also allows multiple pen widths, and pen width definition is written to the output file. The driver now supports 16-million color output or 256 shades of gray-scale (for .EPS files). HP LaserJet: Fills solid regions properly (rather than like a hatch pattern) when plotting at 300 dots per inch. Q3: What documentation has been updated for this release? A Network Hardware Lock Notice; included in all International networked copies of AutoCAD. The printed manuals have not been updated for this release; only the readme files have changes. See readme.doc, readme.ads, readme.drv, readme.ame, and readme.ave for the latest information. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ GENERAL NOTES ============= - Backwards Incompatibility -- PostScript Fonts PostScript fonts shipping with Release 12 C2 are not compatible with the original Release 12 version of AutoCAD. Do not use the fonts supplied in this C2 version with your original Release 12 product as these fonts will cause AutoCAD to abort. - Using Custom Menus Many Release 12 features are implemented as external ADS and AutoLISP applications. These applications are made available to you by the loading of the file acadr12.lsp. This file is automatically loaded when the standard menu that is installed with Release 12 (acad.mnu) is loaded. If acad12.lsp is not loaded, many features, such as the region modeler, AVE Render, and various dialogues, will not be available. If you are using an older menu, or any menu other than the one installed with AutoCAD Release 12, you must make sure that acadr12.lsp is loaded. To load acadr12.lsp, insert the following line in the menu's .mnl file, if it exists, or in acad.lsp: (load "acadr12") - Entity Sorting/Drawing Order The SORTENTS system variable determines whether or not entities are processed in database order by various AutoCAD operations. By default, this is set to 96 (entity sorting for plotting and PostScript output only). If it is important for the display and selection of entities to have a predictable order, you can change the setting of SORTENTS as desired. However, specifying sorting for additional types of AutoCAD operations can significantly affect AutoCAD's performance in large drawings (especially the time required for a REGEN, if bit value 16 is set in SORTENTS). See "Entity Sort Method..." on page 29 in the AutoCAD Reference Manual. - AutoCAD Release 12 Memory Use In Release 12, AutoCAD makes more aggressive use of memory than ever before. Various commands such as Hide, Regen, and Render use memory intensively and in return either run faster or offer extended capabilities. Because of these changes, optimizing memory use and the location of temporary and paging files is increasingly important. See "AutoCAD 386 Memory Use" in the AutoCAD Interface, Installation, and Performance Guide for details. In addition, see the corrections and addenda related to TREEMAX, ACADPAGEDIR, ACADMAXPAGE, and the placement of temporary files noted below in this document. - AVE Render and New Drawings You cannot create a completely empty new drawing if AVE Render is loaded. If you want to load a complete DXF or IGES file when AVE Render is loaded, you must first unload AVE Render. To do so, select Unload Render from the Render pull-down or use the following command line syntax: Command: (xunload "averendr") Then use the NEW command to obtain a new drawing. (Note: If your configured prototype drawing is not an empty one, you'll also need to select the "No Prototype" toggle in the New Drawing dialogue box.) - Automatic Timed Save Feature The new Automatic Timed Save feature has replaced the Spacer File mechanism previously used by AutoCAD to reserve hard disk space for the drawing currently being edited. This feature, common to most programs, saves your drawing file on a regular, user-defined, interval. See "Automatic Timed Save" on page 79 in the AutoCAD Reference Manual. - Moving the AutoCAD Program Files If you move your AutoCAD program files to a different directory after initial configuration, you will need to reconfigure AutoCAD. This is because the entire path to the drivers is saved in the acad.cfg file. - Quitting a Drawing from a Script Scripts do not call the Drawing Modification dialogue box that appears when you issue QUIT, NEW, or OPEN from a drawing with unsaved changes. A script that uses QUIT, NEW, or OPEN should follow these commands with Y (discard all changes) or N (don't discard changes) -- not with S (Save Changes) or D (Discard Changes). - Release 11 Compatibility with Release 12 Users of Release 11 and Release 12 can freely exchange drawing files, without any required file conversion. However some support files, such as the R12 acad.mnu file and many AutoLISP/ADS programs, are not downwardly compatible with R11. If you plan to intermix or exchange R11 and R12 drawings, we recommend that you keep your R11 support files accessible. The \r11supp directory contains a self-extracting compressed file containing many of the R11 support files. When this file is executed (make the \r11supp directory current and enter `r11supp' at the DOS prompt), it "expands" into 36 files totaling approximately 730K bytes in size. - TABLET Command Compatibility Due to changes in the TABLET Cfg and TABLET Cal commands, scripts, menu items, the AutoLISP (command) function, and the ADS ads_command() function may now supply input at the "Digitize point:" prompts of these commands. Where previously AutoCAD waited for the user to digitize a point at these prompts, now it is necessary to supply explicit pauses to make it do so. Since scripts have no mechanism for pausing, these commands should not be used in a script. See the section entitled "TABLET command", starting on page 94 of the AutoCAD Reference Manual, for a complete description of the new tablet calibration options. Also see the AutoLISP Programmer's Reference and the ADS Programmer's Reference for information on the (tablet) and ads_tablet() functions. - UNNAMED drawings Prior to Release 12 it was impossible to start a drawing without naming it. With Release 12, when you start AutoCAD without providing a drawing name, you are editing a drawing named "UNNAMED" until you specifically name it with SAVE, SAVEAS, or other commands that require a name for the drawing. If you plot this drawing to a file before naming it and don't supply an explicit name for the plot file, it will be named unnamed.plt. Also, in the unlikely event that you crash, AutoCAD gives you the option to save the drawing. If this drawing has not yet been named, AutoCAD saves it as unnamed.dwg. - Using Files from a Read-Only Directory By default, AutoCAD creates temporary paging files in the same directory as the current drawing. If you have not changed the default configuration and you attempt to open a drawing in a read-only directory you will get the following message: +----------------------------------------------------------------+ | AutoCAD Alert | +----------------------------------------------------------------+ | To access files in a read-only directory, you must configure | | a temporary file location other than DRAWING | | | | [ OK ] | +----------------------------------------------------------------+ Examples of read-only media include write-protected floppy disks, read-only network directories, and CD-ROMs. To open a drawing in a read-only directory (or drive), you will need to specify the name of a writable directory where AutoCAD can create temporary paging files. Option 5 of the Configure Operating Parameters submenu of the Main Configuration menu lets you do this. See your AutoCAD Interface, Installation, and Performance Guide (and later sections of this README) for more information on temporary paging files. - Programming with the Get File Dialogue The AutoCAD Development System Programmer's Reference manual (p 156) states "The string in the result argument, result->resval.rsting, must point to a memory area large enough to store a pathname string." This is erroneous. The ads_getfiled() function does not always return a pathname. If the user dismisses the dialogue by pressing the "Type It" button, the dialogue returns an integer value equal to 1. For this reason it is necessary for the ADS library to allocate the memory needed to store the pathname if a pathname is returned. If the caller attempts to allocate a memory buffer for this purpose, the pointer passed into ads_getfiled will be ignored and the buffer may become inaccessible to the caller. According to the AutoCAD Development Systems Manual, and the AutoLISP Programmers Reference Manual, if the flags bit 1 is set (Value = 2), the 'Type it' button will be disabled. This implies that the programmer would not need to test for the return values caused by the user pressing this button. However, if the NULL display driver is configured, ads_getfiled() and (getfiled) always returns these values - no matter what the flags setting is. Therefore , the programmer must test for these values, even if flags is set to 2. - Executing Lisp Functions with the same name as an icon menu This can cause the screen menu area to be overwriten. Our recommendation for people developing custom icon menus is to prefix the icon menu name with "ICON_" to avoid any conflicts with Autolisp functions. - AutoCAD Color Dialog AutoLISP: (acad_colordlg colornum [flag [layer_colornum]]) If the optional "flag" argument is supplied and is non-nil, the layer color may also be supplied as the third argument. Examples: (acad_colordlg 1) ; default color is 1; BYLAYER and BYBLOCK okay (acad_colordlg 2 T) ; default color is 2; BYLAYER and BYBLOCK okay (acad_colordlg 3 nil) ; default color is 3; BYLAYER and BYBLOCK not allowed (acad_colordlg 4 T 5) ; default color is 4; BYLAYER and BYBLOCK okay, layer's color is 5 ADS: acad_colordlg colornum [flag [layer_colornum]]) If the optional "flag" argument is supplied and is not RTNIL, the layer color may also be supplied as the third argument. Example: struct resbuf *rb, rslt; rb = ads_buildlist(RTSTR, "acad_colordlg", RTSHORT, 4, ; arg1 - default color RTT, ; arg2 - BYLAYER/BYBLOCK okay RTSHORT, 5, ; arg3 - layer color RTNONE); ads_invoke(arglist, rslt); PLATFORM-SPECIFIC INFORMATION - 386 ======================================================== Dos Extender Version ==================== The version of the Phar Lap Dos Extender in R12 C2 is "4.1_ACAD2." This includes the AutoCAD patches necessary to run in an OS/2 2.0 Dos Box. You will still need to install the OS/2 2.0 Service Pack or OS/2 2.1 in order to get the necessary changes for OS/2 2.0 itself. Font Mapping ============ In Release 12 C2, the PostScript fonts eur_____.pfb and euro____.pfb now map to the DOS 850 code page. Prior to this release, these two fonts mapped to the ISO 8859-1 code page. As a result of this change, 8-bit characters entered using these two fonts may map differently in Release 12 C2. Novell Issues(International Version) ============= If you are running the International Version of AutoCAD 386 with the Novell floating license server and have a printer attached to the Rainbow lock on server, we recommend using Novell "pserver.nlm" version 1.27 or higher. If you are printing through the Network Lock attached to a Novell Server, do not use the Novell feature "AUTOENDCAP." Lantastic Issues ================ In order to share a common copy of "acad.exe" on a lantastic server, you need: * Appropriate number of AutoCAD licenses. * You must not install "share" on the server. ADS_DRAGGEN ============ The ads_draggen function in R12 C0 and R12 C1 of AutoCAD didn't provide the sample point or the final selection point in the same coordinate system as other ADS functions returning points. This functions now provides both sample and final selection points in User Coordinates. Applications written for a previous R12 release may behave differently when run with this release. The ADS sample program, dragger.c has not been updated to reflect this change. The global ads_point variable 'Base' and the ads_point 'pt', in the dragsampler function, must be transformed from User Coordinates to World Coordinates before they are used. New Capabilities for the ACADPLCMD Environment Variable --- ------------ --- --- --------- ----------- -------- The ACADPLCMD environment variable specifies a command that is executed whenever AutoCAD completes a plot to the special file name AUTOSPOOL. For example, you can use ACADPLCMD to initiate plotting, queue the plot file to a plot spooler, or notify a system operator that a plot file has been generated and is ready to plot. AutoCAD expands special percent characters in the string specified by the ACADPLCMD environment variable before executing the command. The expansion of special percent characters in the ACADPLCMD environment variable has been enhanced by - adding new percent characters - allowing multiple occurrences of percent characters - allowing capitalized percent characters These enhancements to ACADPLCMD make it easier for you to spool and print over networks to multiple plotters. The percent characters %s and %% have not changed from the previous release of AutoCAD. See the "AutoCAD Interface, Installation, and Performance Guide" for instructions on using the ACADPLCMD environment variable. NOTE: On DOS systems, the command line length limit is approximately 125 characters. You might exceed the limit if you combine several special percent characters in an ACADPLCMD string. These are the percent characters that AutoCAD expands when you use ACADPLCMD: %c or %C This is replaced with the plotter description. The description is the user- specified description of the plotter entered during plotter configuration. For the current plotter, the plotter description is in the AutoCAD system variable PLOTID. When AutoCAD expands %C, it replaces all sequences of one or more non-alphanumeric characters (language dependent characters) with a single underscore. If the plotter doesn't have a description (PLOTID is ""), AutoCAD removes the %C before expanding the percent characters in the ACADPLCMD value. For example, if ACADPLCMD is "%L %C %D" and the current plotter doesn't have a description, AutoCAD removes the %C and expands only the %L and the %D. If your company has several of the same model plotters with different configurations (for example, different pen setups), you can use the plotter description to specify which plotter to use. Users can change the plotter description during the AutoCAD plotter configuration. Users cannot change the plotter model (%M) or plotter name (%N). %d or %D Specifies AutoCAD drawing name including the full path and extension. The drawing name without the extension is in the AutoCAD system variable DWGNAME, and the path is in DWGPREFIX. This can be up to 65 characters under DOS. You might exceed the maximum command line length when using this percent character with others under DOS. %e or %E Specifies the equal sign (=). The DOS SET command does not let you use an equal sign in the value of an environment variable. With %E, you can execute a command that contains an equal sign under DOS. %h or %H Returns the height of the plot area in the selected plotting units. For example, if the AutoCAD plot area is 203.20mm high and 266.70mm wide, AutoCAD replaces %H with 203.2000. The height is specified to four decimal places. The paper height and width (%W) can be useful for sorting plot files into queues of plots on a single paper size. %i or %I This becomes the first letter of the plot units. The letter is "I" if you select inches as the plot units; it is "M" if you select metric. NOTE: The letters are NOT translated for foreign language versions of AutoCAD. %l or %L This is replaced with the AutoCAD login name. The login name is in the AutoCAD system variable LOGINNAME. When AutoCAD expands %L, it replaces all sequences of one or more non- alphanumeric characters (language dependent characters) with a single underscore. %m or %M This returns the AutoCAD plotter model. The model name is the name AutoCAD lists during configuration. When AutoCAD expands %M, it replaces all sequences of one or more non-alphanumeric characters (language dependent characters) with a single underscore. For example, if you use the model "HP LaserJet II w/ 1.5 Mbytes," AutoCAD replaces %M with this string: HP_LaserJet_II_w_1_5_Mbytes Depending on the number and type of plotters you have, you can use this percent character to specify which plotter should receive a plot file. You can also use the plotter description (%C) or the plotter name (%N). %n or %N This becomes the plotter name. The plotter name is the name AutoCAD uses to identify the manufacturer and type of plotter. When AutoCAD expands %N, it replaces all sequences of one or more non-alphanumeric characters (language dependent characters) with a single underscore. For example, if you use the plotter named "Hewlett-Packard (PCL) LaserJet ADI 4.2 - by Autodesk," AutoCAD replaces the %N with this string: Hewlett_Packard_PCL_LaserJet_ADI_4_2_by_Autodesk If you only have a few plotters from different manufacturers, you can use this percent character to specify which plotter should receive a plot file. Some device drivers support only a single plotter, and others support several models. You can also use the plotter description (%C) or the plotter model (%M). %p or %P This is replaced with the plotter number. During configuration, AutoCAD assigns a number to a configured plotter and lists the plotters in this order. The value of %P is the number assigned during configuration. The value of %P is one greater than the AutoCAD system variable PLOTTER. See the "AutoCAD Reference Manual" for more information on PLOTTER. AutoCAD does not permanently assign a number to a configured plotter. If you have multiple plotters configured and you delete one, AutoCAD assigns new numbers to the remaining plotters. Use this percent character with caution. %s or %S Specifies the plot spool file name including path and extension. %u or %U This is the user name entered when you first install and personalize AutoCAD. The name is displayed during AutoCAD startup. If your company places a department name and/or mail-stop within the user name, you can use %U for delivery of the finished plot within the company. When AutoCAD expands %U, it replaces all sequences of one or more non- alphanumeric characters (language dependent characters) with a single underscore. %w or %W Returns the width of the plotted area in the selected units. For example, if the AutoCAD plot area is 203.20mm high and 266.70mm wide, AutoCAD replaces %W with 266.7000. The width is specified to four decimal places. The paper height (%H) and width can be useful for sorting plot files into queues of plots on a single paper size. %% Specifies the percent sign "%". Notes on Percent Character Expansion ------------------------------------ For any percent character, you can use the uppercase or the lowercase letter. AutoCAD treats either percent character in the same manner. All leading and trailing spaces or tabs are removed for all % character expansions. For the %C, %L, %M, %N, and %U characters, AutoCAD replaces all sequences of one or more non-alphanumeric characters (language dependent characters) with a single underscore. Example ------- You can use ACADPLCMD to start a plot routine that uses several parameters. If you enter this SET command at the DOS system prompt and set up AutoCAD to use ACADPLCMD, AutoCAD starts the batch file plot.bat with the login name, user name, drawing name, plotter model, and spool file name: D:\> SET ACADPLCMD=plot.bat %l %u %d %m sp%e%s When a user plots a file, AutoCAD creates a spool file and issues a DOS command like this (converting the %e to an equals sign): plot.bat B_Smith Plot_Rm d:\dwgs\r1.dwg HP_LaserJet sp=d:\v1234567.ac$ You can enter this in an autoexec.bat file to set ACADPLCMD during startup: SET ACADPLCMD=plot.bat %%l %%u %%d %%m sp%%e%%s You need two percent signs for the percent characters when you set ACADPLCMD from a DOS batch file. - Why don't the Dialogue Box Sliders Work with my Digitizer? Dialogue box sliders require device drivers written to the newest ADI 4.2 specification. Contact the maker of your tablet or original supplier of the ADI driver for a newer driver. If you cannot obtain a working ADI 4.2 driver for your digitizer, it is possible to use AutoCAD R12 with the old driver by setting the IGNORE_DRAGG environment variable. See the Interface, Installation, and Performance Guide for more information. - Using Old ADI Drivers All drivers must obey a specific naming convention for R12 to find them. Digitizer drivers start with DG, Plotter drivers start with PL, Display drivers start with DS, and combined Rendering and Display drivers start with RC. R11 protected-mode drivers must be renamed for AutoCAD to locate them. Note: You may have to use the -priv switch on cfig386 in order to use pre-4.1 protected mode drivers. For more information, see the Interface, Installation and Performance Guide. - Upgrade Installation Information When upgrading from an earlier release of AutoCAD, we recommend that you install Release 12 in a separate directory, rather than installing on top of the existing software. This is particularly important if you are using the Release 11 AutoCAD Extension for Windows or any third-party applications. If you install on top of an older version, various support files required for use with R11 AEW will be overwritten. The support files needed by R11 AEW are installed as part of Release 12. They are stored in a self-extracting compressed file in the \r11supp directory called r11supp.exe. See the 386 Interface, Installation, and Performance Guide for further details. - AVE Render and Color Mapping Display colors with a value of 16 or greater reference the standard AutoCAD color map, which, on most displays, is overridden by certain rendering operations. If you have assigned these higher-numbered colors to your dialogue boxes (with DLGCOLOR), you can avoid potential display conflicts by invoking the dialogue from a NON-RENDERED viewport. - DLGCOLOR Command As supplied, AutoCAD's dialogue boxes use very few colors (this is to ensure proper visibility on all types of displays). You can use the DLGCOLOR command to liven up the colors of these dialogues considerably and to give their buttons a 3D appearance. You can use DLGCOLOR to create your own color combinations or to choose one of several color schemes provided as .DCC (dialogue color configuration) support files. To select one of the supplied color schemes, pick "Read file" from the DLGCOLOR dialogue box, and then select one of the .DCC files from your SUPPORT directory. To see what a color combination looks like on your display, pick "Show..." to display a sample dialogue box that uses the color scheme you selected. If you like what you see, dismiss the sample dialogue box and pick "OK" in the main DLGCOLOR dialogue box. The color scheme you choose is saved in acad.cfg. - Configuring the DOS-Extender Switches for a Networked Environment In a networked environment, customers frequently prefer to load a single copy of the executable on a file server after purchasing multiple licenses. AutoCAD provides several configuration options to ensure smooth operation in this case. Specifying a network node name, redirecting temporary files to local drives, and setting the ACAD and ACADCFG variables to specific pathnames can help. With AutoCAD 386, you may need to account for the DOS-extender settings as well. For example, concurrent users may need to redirect their swap files to local drives. This requires setting the -swapdir parameter. However, this option can be configured only once in the AutoCAD 386 executable. There is a way around this limitation, since the DOS-extender kernel present in AutoCAD 386 allows the specification of "run-time" environment variables. The technique: Configure the AutoCAD 386 executable for a run-time environment string by typing: cfig386 acad.exe %ACAD386 If you are specifying multiple DOS-Extender switches using cfig386, then %ACAD386 must be specified last, e.g.: cfig386 acad.exe -nopgexp [...] -vscan 20000 %ACAD386 Then, prior to running AutoCAD 386, set the environment variable ACAD386 to a string defining the DOS-Extender settings, either by typing the following in at a DOS prompt or by using a batch file: SET ACAD386= -swapdir d:\swapf Using the above commands, one could configure the acad.exe file residing on the file server for a run-time %ACAD386 variable, and have a unique batch file on individual workstations that specifies a value for the ACAD386 environment variable. Note that you must configure the AutoCAD 386 executable first for this to work. - Limitations on the use of the MULTIPLE command If you use the MULTIPLE command in conjunction with any dialogue box command, you will need to issue multiple Ctrl-C's quickly to end the command repetition. R12 QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS ========================= Q. I have script files to do my plotting, but these no longer work. Why? A. Some of the major enhancements to AutoCAD R12 are in the PLOT command. Unfortunately, old plotting scripts will no longer work because the command has been so completely altered. To force AutoCAD to follow pre-R12 formats, set the system variable CMDDIA to 0. Command: cmddia 0 In R12, AutoLISP now remains active during the PLOT command; new AutoLISP functions can be written to do an even better job of plotting than pre-R12 scripts. Here is an example of an R12 PLOT command written in AutoLISP: Command: (command "plot" "e" "n" "filename" "") Q. AutoCAD doesn't locate any of my drivers during configuration. What's wrong? A. The environment variable ACADDRV is not set to the directory containing the AutoCAD drivers. By default, the drivers are placed in the \drv directory. See your AutoCAD Interface, Installation, and Performance Guide for more information. Q. When I use the menu I frequently get the error message: "Unknown command. Type ? for list of commands." What's wrong? A. AutoCAD is unable to locate the menu lisp file. The menu file for R12 has been broken into two parts, the standard menu file, acad.mnu, and the AutoLISP menu file, acad.mnl. These files must be located in the same directory and have like names. See page 112 of the AutoCAD Customization Manual for more information on .mnl files. Q. What is base.dcl? Why does AutoCAD report that it cannot be found? A. AutoCAD R12 has customizable dialogue boxes. The definitions for these are stored in .dcl files. The file base.dcl contains basic dialogue definitions used in the layout for AutoCAD's internal dialogue boxes, as well as items useful to application developers. If AutoCAD cannot find base.dcl it usually means that the AutoCAD \support directory has not been added to the ACAD environment variable. Q. Occasionally when I enter AutoCAD, I receive an error message reporting that the digitizer is not responding or Analog Circuitry Failure. In the past, a PLOT command followed by a Control-C would restart the tablet. A. R12 has a new command called REINIT which will reinitialize the digitizer, the plotter, the display, or the .pgp file. NOTE: You can also use the RE-INIT System Variable, see the AutoCAD Reference Manual for more information. Q. I installed AutoCAD R12 but now I have to reconfigure whenever I go from R11 to R12 or vice-versa. A. If you have two versions of AutoCAD installed on the same computer, you must specify a different location for the acad.cfg by using the ACADCFG environment variable. Q. How do I reconfigure AutoCAD now that there is no main menu? A. To configure AutoCAD R12, you can either: specify the -R command line option to the ACAD executable (ACAD -R), type CONFIG at AutoCAD's command prompt, or select Configure from the File pull-down menu. Q. Where can I get more PostScript fonts? A. AutoCAD uses any Type 1 PostScript Fonts. They are sold by a variety of vendors and are available at local computer stores. See chapter 10 of the Customization Manual for additional information. Q. Can I distribute an .shx file which I have compiled from a font supplier's .pfb file? A. No. The font supplier's copyright prohibits distribution of any files derived from their .pfb files. Q. Why don't I get PostScript fonts when I plot with PSOUT? A. The acad.psf file contains the logical mapping between the AutoCAD font name and the PostScript font name. This font mapping references the .shx or .pfb file name and not the AutoCAD style name. For more information refer to the text included in the acad.psf file and chapter 10 of the AutoCAD Customization Manual. Q. Where is the PRPLOT Command? A. The PRPLOT command is now part of the PLOT command. Printers and printer plotters are handled just like plotters, and can be configured by the Configure plotters option of the CONFIG command. All plotter and printer plotter drivers are discussed in appendix C of your AutoCAD Interface, Installation, and Performance Guide. MANUAL CORRECTIONS AND ADDITIONS ================================ AutoCAD Reference Manual ------------------------ Chapter 6 - "PEDIT Command--Polyline/Mesh Editing", page 243. The following should be added to the discussion of the Join option of PEDIT: Note: Using the Join option on a curve-fit Polyline removes the curve fitting. Chapter 13 - "Freeplotting--Using AutoCAD to Plot", page 545. The following should be added to the description of using a script with Freeplotting: In Freeplot, AutoCAD prompts for the drawing name after the PLOT command is issued. When plotting from a script, you must provide the drawing name after the PLOT command. Appendix A - "PostScript Fonts", page 580. The name of the PanRoman font "Pan" is incorrect, it should be "Par". - "DDIM", page 643. Contrary to its table entry on page 643 of the AutoCAD Reference Manual (May 28, 1992 edition), the DDIM command cannot be used transparently. It can be used as an ordinary command, or as a DIM subcommand. AutoCAD Customization Manual ---------------------------- Chapter 5 - "Shape Descriptions", page 51. The first sentence of the fifth paragraph in this section should be replaced with the following: Every shape in a particular shape file must have a unique number between 1 and 258 (numbers 256, 257, and 258 are for the symbolic identifiers "Degree_Sign", "Plus_Or_Minus_Sign", and "Diameter_Symbol"). Chapter 7 - "Invoking a Script When Loading AutoCAD", page 102. The following sentence should be added to the Note about Freeplotting: See the AutoCAD Reference Manual for information on the Freeplot feature. Chapter 11 - "HEADER Section", page 252. The $DWGCODEPAGE variable is listed as a type 70, this is incorrect it is really a type 3. - "TABLES Section", page 258. A portion of the description in the VPORTS group is incorrect. The text "... 12 and 22 (view center point, in WCS) ..." should read as "... 12 and 22 (view center point, in DCS) ...". It should also be noted that the groups 68 (status field) and 69 (ID) are never saved. AutoLISP Programmer's Reference ------------------------------- Chapter 1 - "Function Libraries--Automatic Loading", page 15. The following should replace the last sentence in the second paragraph: When a menu file is loaded (either by starting a drawing or issuing the MENU command), AutoCAD searches the directory containing the newly loaded .mnu file for a .mnl file of the same filename. If a matching .mnl file is found AutoCAD loads the AutoLISP code in that file after loading the menu file (e.g., AutoCAD loads the file acad.mnl after loading the acad.mnx compiled menu file). - "Function Libraries--Automatic Loading", page 15. The following should be added to the description of the .mnl file. If a menu file is loaded with the AutoLISP (command) function, its associated .mnl file is not loaded until the entire AutoLISP routine has run to completion. Chapter 4 - "(entget)", page 102 and "(entmod)", page 107. These sections should include the following information: Before performing an (entget) or (entmod) on Vertex entities, you should read or write the header (Polyline entity) for the Polyline to which they belong. If the Polyline entity most recently processed is different from the one to which the Vertex belongs, width information (the 40 and 41 groups) can be lost. - "(*error*)", page 111. This incorrectly states that your *error* function should not include any calls to the command function without arguments. This paragraph should be replaced with the following: Your *error* function can include calls to the command function without arguments (i.e., (command) ); this will cancel a previous AutoCAD command called with the command function. - "(grread)", page 121. Value 16 (bit 4) of the <allkeys> argument is not supported. - "(grread)", page 123. The text "... grread returns a type 11 code ..." should be replaced with "... grread returns a type 6 or type 11 code ...". - "initget - Keyword Specifications", page 127. The following information should be added to this section: A legal keyword can contain letters, numbers, or hyphens (-). - "(tblnext)", page 157. The following note should be added to the (tblnext) description: Hint: Since the (vports) function returns current VPORT table information, it might be more appropriate to use (vports) as opposed to (tblnext). Appendix B - "Entity Group Codes", page 200. The meaning of Text entity group code 41 should be "Relative X-scale factor (optional; default: 1.0) Appendix C - "Error Codes", page 210. The following error code should be added to the "On-line program error codes" table: +-------+--------------------------------------------------------+ | Value | Meaning | |-------|--------------------------------------------------------| | 85 | AutoLISP/ADS operation attempted and prohibited while | | | a dialogue box was displayed | +-------+--------------------------------------------------------+ AutoCAD Development System Programmer's Reference ------------------------------------------------- Chapter 2 - "File" Search, page 57. The third line of code in the example, if (ads_newrb(result) == NULL) { should read as follows: if ((result = ads_newrb(RTSTR)) == NULL { Chapter 3 - "Filtering for Extended Entity Data", page 88. The examples on pages 88 and 89 are incorrect. They should be replaced with the following examples: Example 1: eb1.restype = 0; /* Entity type */ strcpy(sbuf1, "CIRCLE"); eb1.resval.rstring = sbuf1; /* Circle */ eb1.rbnext = &eb2; eb2.restype = -3; /* Extended entity data */ eb2.rbnext = &eb3; eb3.restype = 1001; strcpy(sbuf2, "APPNAME"); /* Application name */ eb3.resval.rstring = sbuf2; eb3.rbnext = NULL; /* Select Circles with XDATA registered to APPNAME */ ads_ssget("X", NULL, NULL, &eb1, ss); Example 2: eb1.restype = 0; /* Entity type */ strcpy(sbuf1, "CIRCLE"); eb1.resval.rstring = sbuf1; /* Circle */ eb1.rbnext = &eb2; eb2.restype = -3; /* Extended entity data */ eb2.rbnext = &eb3; eb3.restype = 1001; strcpy(sbuf2, "APP1"); /* First application name */ eb3.resval.rstring = sbuf2; eb3.rbnext = &eb4; eb4.restype = 1001; strcpy(sbuf3, "APP2"); /* Second application name */ eb4.resval.rstring = sbuf3; eb4.rbnext = NULL; /* Select Circles with XDATA registered to APP1 and APP2 */ ads_ssget("X", NULL, NULL, &eb1, ss); Example 3: eb1.restype = 0; /* Entity type */ strcpy(sbuf1, "CIRCLE"); eb1.resval.rstring = sbuf1; /* Circle */ eb1.rbnext = &eb2; eb2.restype = -3; /* Extended entity data */ eb2.rbnext = &eb3; eb3.restype = 1001; strcpy(sbuf2, "APP1,APP2"); /* Application names */ eb3.resval.rstring = sbuf2; eb3.rbnext = NULL; /* Select Circles with XDATA registered to APP1 or APP2 */ ads_ssget("X", NULL, NULL, &eb1, ss); Example 4: eb1.restype = 0; /* Entity type */ strcpy(sbuf1, "CIRCLE"); eb1.resval.rstring = sbuf1; /* Circle */ eb1.rbnext = &eb2; eb2.restype = -3; /* Extended entity data */ eb2.rbnext = &eb3; eb3.restype = 1001; strcpy(sbuf2, "APP[12]"); /* Application names */ eb3.resval.rstring = sbuf2; eb3.rbnext = NULL; /* Select Circles with XDATA registered to APP1 or APP2 */ ads_ssget("X", NULL, NULL, &eb1, ss); - "Transforming Selection Sets", page 94. In the second example of the dragsample() function, the declaration of the matrix argument should be as follows (as it is in the first example): ads_matrix matrix; - "Entity Name Functions", page 97. This section should include the following information: If a call to ads_entsel(), ads_nentselp(), or ads_nentsel() returns RTERROR, and you want to know whether the user picked a point that had no entity or simply pressed <CR>, you can inspect the value of the ERRNO system variable. If the user picked an empty point, ERRNO equals 7 (OL_ENTSELPICK). If the user pressed <CR>, ERRNO equals 52 (OL_ENTSELNULL). (You can use the symbolic names if your program includes the header file, ol_errno.h.) CAUTION: You should inspect ERRNO immediately after ads_entsel(), ads_nentselp(), or ads_nentsel() returns. A subsequent ADS library call can change or clear the value of ERRNO. - "Anonymous Blocks", page 110. Lines 5 through 8 of the example at the bottom of the page are incorrect. They should be replaced with the following lines of code: ads_point pnt1 = { 0.0, 0.0, 0.0 }; entlist=ads_buildlist(RTDXF0, "BLOCK", 2, "*ANON", 10, pnt1, 70, 1, 0); Chapter 4 - "ads_entget()", page 145 and "ads_entmod()", page 149. These sections should include the following information: Before calling an ads_entget() or ads_entmod() for Vertex entities, you should read or write the header (Polyline entity) for the Polyline to which they belong. If the Polyline entity most recently processed is different from the one to which the Vertex belongs, width information (the 40 and 41 groups) can be lost. - "ads_getfiled", p. 156. In the paragraph below figure 4-2, replace the first two sentences with the following sentences: If the dialogue box gets a filename from the user, ads_getfiled() sets the string in the result argument to a string specifying the filename; otherwise, ads_getfiled() sets the string in result to NULL. The ads_getfiled() function allocates the pathname string. Your program is responsible for freeing the string by calling free() (if result is a static buffer) or ads_relrb() (if result is a dynamically allocated buffer). - "ads_getkword", page 160. In the final paragraph on p. 161, replace the words "RTNONE or RTKWORD (for arbitrary input)" with "RTNONE (if the user enters a null response or arbitrary input)". - "ads_getsym", p. 162. Delete the last sentence of the first paragraph, "It also fails if the symbol is not bound, or is bound to nil.", and replace it with the following sentence: If the symbol not bound or is nil, ads_getsym() returns RTNORM and sets the value argument to NULL. Replace the first sentence of the second paragraph with the following sentence: The ads_getsym() function returns RTNORM if it succeeds; if it fails, ads_getsym() returns RTERROR. - "ads_getsym", page. 162. The ads_getsym() function can access AutoLISP symbols that AutoLISP cannot. (Such symbols can only be created by ads_putsym() calls.) This will cause an error in a future upgrade or release of AutoCAD. Your programs should not rely on this capability. - "ads_grread()", page 165. The text "... ads_grread() returns a type 11 code ..." should be replaced with "... ads_grread() returns a type 6 or type 11 code ...". - "ads_initget() - Keyword Specifications", page 170. The following information should be added to this section: A legal keyword can contain letters, numbers, or hyphens (-). - "ads_putsym", p. 180. An ads_putsym() call can create a new AutoLISP symbol that AutoLISP cannot access -- for example, by including illegal characters in the symbol name, such as "pair(s". An ads_getsym() call can access such symbols, but they will cause an error in a future upgrade or release of AutoCAD. Your programs should not rely on this capability. - "ads_polar", page 180. All references to 'ptres' should be changed to 'result'. - "ads_regfunc", page 182. The following sentence should be added to the ads_regfunc() description: An external function handler registered by ads_regfunc() must have no arguments and must return an integer, one of the application result codes--either RSRSLT or RSERR, as appropriate. Appendix B - "Entity Group Codes", page 255. The group code 40 is missing from the ATTRIB entity group. The following should be added to that section: +-----------+-------+-----------------------------------+ | ATTRIB | 40 | Text height | +-----------+-------+-----------------------------------+ - "Entity Group Codes", page 258. The meaning of Text entity group code 41 should be "Relative X-scale factor (optional; default: 1.0) AutoCAD Extras Manual --------------------- Chapter 2 - "RIEDGE Edge Detection and Extraction", page 35. The third sentence of the first paragraph should be replaced with the following: Specifying values from 1 to 255 set the threshold for RIEDGE detection. Chapter 3 - "Tips and Techniques", page 85-95. This section should include the following subsection: SOLCHP Command While in the SOLCHP command, if you perform any operation that forces the screen to redraw (like entering 'redraw), all of the primitives for the selected solid or region may be displayed. Entering the SOLCHP Instance, Replace, or Delete option while your grid is on will also display all the primitives in some cases. Bonus CD-ROM ============ - The AutoLISP routine mmo_edit.lsp lets you interactively test and edit MODEMACRO strings. It displays six edit boxes for entering text strings but only evaluates the first five. To correct this problem revise the AutoLISP file as shown below. Add `l6' to line #121, (setq mmo (strcat l1 l2 l3 l4 l5)) so it reads (setq mmo (strcat l1 l2 l3 l4 l5 l6)) - AutoCAD Lock Utility (CADLOC) Note In Release 12, there is an additional swap file (DOS386 only) which did not exist in R11 and is therefore not removed by cadloc -c (crash recovery). This file, if it exists following a crash, will normally be located in the root directory of the drive containing the current working directory, or drawing directory. There will be two files of the same name; one with an extension of '.SWR', and the new one - with no extension. CADLOC finds and removes the one with the '.SWR' extension, but the other will need to be deleted manually. The name is a random sequence of letters, which changes each time AutoCAD is run.