Copyright: Copyright © 1997 Autodesk, Inc. [v.u14.0.01]


AutoCAD Release 14 Readme  [Readme]
AutoCAD Release 14 Readme	May 6, 1997

This Readme contains last minute additions and corrections that are not included in the documentation.

For information about ARX, ADSRX, ASE, and other developer issues, see the READDEV Help file.

Topics in this section:

   Compatibility

   Known Limitations

   Installing the Autodesk Symbol Libraries with Release 14

   Sharing Data with 3D Studio

   Documentation Corrections and Additions

   AutoCAD Release 14 Preview, VBA Edition

   Using AutoCAD Bonus Tools

   Installing and Using AutoCAD Learning Assistance


Compatibility  [Readme]
Compatibility

The following topics describe compatibility issues between AutoCAD Release 14, earlier AutoCAD releases, and other software required to run AutoCAD Release 14.

Topics in this section:

   DWF Files

   IMAGE Command: Temporary Swap Files

   Drawing File Format

   Script / AutoLISP Compatibility of Commands, Environment Variables, and System Variables

   Menus

   ACADMAXMEM

   SNAP and GRID in Release 14

   Save As R13 for Leaders with Associated Annotation

   Exporting Raster Files


DWF Files  [Readme]
DWF Files

AutoCAD Release 14 can export DWG files as Drawing Web Format (DWF) files. You can view DWF using the WHIP! Netscape Navigator Plug-in or WHIP! Microsoft Internet Explorer ActiveX Control. DWF files created by AutoCAD Release 14 can only be read by WHIP! Release 2, not WHIP! Release 1. WHIP! Release 1 was distributed as part of the AutoCAD Release 13 Internet Publishing Kit. Similarly, drag-and-drop from the browser to AutoCAD Release 14 is only possible with WHIP! Release 2. Hyperwire users must upgrade to Hyperwire 1.1 to be compatible with Release 2 of WHIP!. WHIP! is available for download from http://www.autodesk.com/products/autocad/whip/whip.htm.


IMAGE Command: Temporary Swap Files  [Readme]
IMAGE Command: Temporary Swap Files

When working with large images, AutoCAD creates a temporary image-data swap file in the Windows temp directory. This file can become quite large depending on the size of images displayed in the drawing. If AutoCAD fails or is improperly terminated, this swap file may not be deleted. If this occurs, search for and delete all files named IEC*.TMP in your Windows temporary directory. To avoid deleting a temp file in use by another instance of AutoCAD, AutoCAD will not remove orphaned IEC*.TMP files.


Drawing File Format  [Readme]
Drawing File Format

AutoCAD Release 14 drawings cannot be directly read by AutoCAD Releases 12 and 13; however, Release 14 can read drawings created in Release 13 and earlier. AutoCAD Release 14 includes Save As R13 and Save As R12 options (accessed through the SAVEAS command), which enable drawings created in Release 14 to be viewed and edited in Release 13 and Release 12. However, Save As R12  involves data conversion and does NOT support round-tripping back to Release 14. This means that drawings saved using the Save As R12 feature will not experience data loss, but the new Release 14 objects will not be preserved when you reopen the drawing in Release 14. Save As R13 DOES support round-tripping back to Release 14.

When you perform a Save As R12 on a Release 14 drawing, external database links are deleted in the converted drawing (they remain intact in the original Release 14 drawing). However, external database links support round-tripping between Release 13 and Release 14. After you open a Release 13 drawing in Release 14, be sure to synchronize the links in the drawing.

The objects that are new in the AutoCAD Release 14 drawing file format are

Hatch objects (compressed storage of hatch patterns)

Polylines (compressed storage of polylines)

Raster images

Clipped external references

All of these objects are converted without data loss, and are automatically converted when brought in from Release 13 when you use Save As R13. For raster images, only the image frame appears in Release 13 when using Save As R13. In the case of clipped external references (xrefs), the entire xref appears in Release 13 when using Save As R13. When the drawings are opened in Release 14, the raster images are intact and the clipped xrefs are also intact.

When Save As R12 is used, many objects are converted to primitive geometry (similar to the SAVEASR12 command in Release 13). For a complete list of all converted objects, see the SAVEASR12 table in the Release 13 AutoCAD User's Guide. In addition to this list, Release 14 also discards raster images and the clipping boundary of xrefs when you use Save As R12. These objects are not converted back to Release 14 objects when opened. Therefore, there is not perfect data compatibility between AutoCAD Release 14 and Release 12.

Note: AutoCAD LT for Windows 95 uses the AutoCAD Release 13 file format.


Script / AutoLISP Compatibility of Commands, Environment Variables, and System Variables  [Readme]
Script / AutoLISP Compatibility of Commands, Environment Variables, and System Variables

Commands that have been dropped or changed in Release 14

Command	Release 14 Status
ALIGN	Prompt change. Now includes an option to scale the object to the alignment points when specifying two destination points.
ATTEDIT	Prompt change. Now uses standard selection method for selecting attributes to edit.  Previously the command would continue immediately after one selection method was chosen (that is, picking a single object, windowing objects, and so on).
BHATCH	Uses CLI when called from a script or AutoLISP.  To force the display of the dialog from AutoLISP, precede the (command "bhatch") function with the (initdia 1) function.
CONFIG	Prompt change.  Now calls Preferences dialog.
DDEMODES	Discontinued command.
DXFIN	Can only run in new drawing. Recommend importing DXF files using the OPEN command.
END	Discontinued command.
FILES	Discontinued command.
FILMROLL	Discontinued command.
GIFIN	Discontinued command.
IGESIN	Discontinued command.
IGESOUT	Discontinued command.
LOGIN	Discontinued command.
MAKEPREVIEW	Discontinued command.
MTEXT	Uses CLI when called from a script or AutoLISP. To force the display of the dialog from AutoLISP, precede the (command "mtext") function with the (initdia 1) function.
NEW	Prompt change. Now prompts for a template name.  You cannot assign a name to new drawings.
PCXIN	Discontinued command.
PURGE	Prompt change. You can now purge all items or named items without verifying each purged item.
RCONFIG	Discontinued command.
RENDERUNLOAD	Discontinued command.
RIASPECT	Discontinued command.
RIBACKG	Discontinued command.
RIEDGE	Discontinued command.
RIGAMUT	Discontinued command.
RIGREY	Discontinued command.
RITHRESH	Discontinued command.
SAVEAS	Prompt change. You must now specify file format before specifying file name.
TIFFIN	Discontinued command.
TYPE	Discontinued command.
UNLOCK	Discontinued command.
VLCONV	Discontinued command.
XREFCLIP	Discontinued command.

Environment and system variables that have been dropped or changed in Release 14

System variable	Release 14 Status
ACADMAXMEM	Discontinued.
ACADMAXOBJMEM	Discontinued.
ACADPREFIX	The ACADPREFIX path is no longer terminated with a double backslash, (for example \\). Release 13 returns a fully qualified path to the directories that is terminated by a double backslash. Release 14 returns a fully qualified path to the directories but no longer ends with a double backslash.
DWGWRITE	Discontinued.
FFLIMIT	Discontinued.
LONGFNAME	Discontinued.
MAXOBJMEM	Discontinued.
RASTERPREVIEW	Values changed 0 = No Preview 1 = BMP only
SAVEIMAGES	Discontinued. Replaced by PROXYGRAPHICS, PROXYSAVE, and PROXYNOTICE system variables
TEXTFILL	Only affects plot.
TEXTQLTY	Only affects printer/plot output. The variable now specifies the DPI resolution for hardcopy output. Previously, it specified a quality range between 0 and 100.


Menus  [Readme]
Menus

The following commands display a dialog box when entered at the command line in Release 14 instead of using the command line interface as in Release 13.

LAYER
LINETYPE
STYLE
XBIND
XREF

To help maintain compatibility with Release 13 menus, these commands continue to use a command line interface in menu files if the command in the menu string is followed by any options. If the command is not followed by options, AutoCAD displays a dialog box. For example, "^C^C_layer_s0" sets the current layer to 0, while "^C^Clayer" displays the Layer dialog box. It is recommended that you use the command line interface version of the command when creating macros in menu files. (For example, use -LAYER instead of LAYER.)


ACADMAXMEM  [Readme]
ACADMAXMEM

In Release 13, ACADMAXMEM enabled you to control whether AutoCAD stored certain data structures in memory or on disk. If you set a low ACADMAXMEM threshold, the graphics refresh file remained mostly on disk. This separate temp file acted as an AutoCAD addition to the system's virtual memory. AutoCAD paged in data from this temp file as needed, just as the operating system pages in virtual memory data from disk into physical RAM.

ACADMAXMEM has been removed in Release 14 because our testing indicated that the operating system could page from virtual memory just as efficiently as AutoCAD paged from the temp file. Furthermore, with the new graphics pipeline, the refresh file no longer exists. Now, the display list, that roughly corresponds to the old refresh file is always in virtual memory.

If you used AutoCAD Release 13 with a low ACADMAXMEM setting, you might need to increase virtual memory settings with Release 14. Virtual memory requirements have increased by an amount roughly equal to the size of the temp file Release 13 created.


SNAP and GRID in Release 14  [Readme]
SNAP and GRID in Release 14

The relationship between SNAP and GRID is different in Release 14. In Release 13 when you set Spacing or Aspect with the SNAP command, the result was automatically reflected in the grid. In Release 14, since the GRIDUNIT system variable default has been changed to .5, .5, any change in the SNAP command won't be reflected on the grid unless you change it with the GRID command.

To match the Release 13 behavior, change the GRIDUNIT system variable setting to 0,0.


Save As R13 for Leaders with Associated Annotation  [Readme]
Save As R13 for Leaders with Associated Annotation

If you use Save As R13 on an AutoCAD Release 14 drawing containing leaders with associated annotation and edit the drawing in Release 13, AutoCAD might crash. Specifically, if you erase a leader with annotation, any subsequent operation that modifies the leader's associated Mtext, Tolerance, or Block Insert annotation object causes AutoCAD to crash.

A Release 13 application to prevent this problem is available for downloading from the Support & Training area of the Autodesk Internet location at http://www.autodesk.com. If you are unable to obtain this application, we recommend the following steps:

Do not erase Release 14 leaders saved to Release 13.

Explode the associated multiline text annotation before editing.

There is no problem with erasing or editing leaders or annotation in Release 14 or Release 12; it is only when saving back to Release 13 that problems occur.


Exporting Raster Files  [Readme]
Exporting Raster Files

Only the following formats are now supported by Raster file export ADI 4.3:

Microsoft Windows Bitmap (.BMP)

TrueVision TGA Format

Z-Soft PCX Format

TIFF (Tag Image File Format)

With the exception of GIF, all the other formats are now obsolete.


Known Limitations  [Readme]
Known Limitations

The following topics describe known limitations of the functionality of this release.

Topics in this section:

   Command and System Variable Limitations

   DWF Limitations

   Menu Customization Issues

   Render Limitations

   Multiline Limitations

   MTEXT Limitations

   Object Snap Limitations

   DXF Limitations

   External Database Issues

   Font Limitations

   Hatch Limitations

   External Reference Limitations

   Application and Installation Issues

   Display and Digitizer Issues

   Printing Issues

   ActiveX Automation

   Solids Modeling Limitations


Command and System Variable Limitations  [Readme]
Command and System Variable Limitations

This topic describes known limitations related to AutoCAD commands. See also Solids Modeling Limitations.

DIMFIT

When you open a Release 12 DWG in Release 14, note that DIMFIT is set to 5 on all linear, radius, diameter, angular, and ordinate dimensions. The dimension retains its exact visual representation in Release 14. The dimension text position might change if the dimension is updated in Release 14.

DIMDLI System Variable

Dimension line spacing (controlled by the DIMDLI system variable) does not work for continued dimensions. You must manually reposition continued dimension lines after placement.

INSERT

If you insert a block with the Explode option selected, a drag image will not be displayed in the drawing window.

LASTPROMPT

The LASTPROMPT system variable stores the last string echoed to the command line. This string is identical to the last line seen at the command line and includes any user input. However, the string in the command line is not stored in the variable unless the end of line character "\n" has been processed by AutoCAD.

LEADER

In Release 14 you can apply user-defined arrowheads to leaders created with the LEADER command. However, any arrowhead other than the default CLOSED type has these limitations:

The arrowhead is not visible when you're running the LEADER command to make the leader object.

The CLOSED arrowhead is always shown during dragging.

User-defined arrowheads always take the color and linetype of the leader, regardless of the settings in the defining arrowhead block.

Release 14 leaders display a hook line only if they are associated with an annotation object. This is a problem when reading in Release 13 drawings containing leaders. The hook lines that were present in Release 13 are missing in Release 14 because Release 13 leaders were not associative. The hook lines on Release 13 leaders are present but they are not associated with anything. When you edit the leader, the hook line disappears.

A workaround is found in the Bonus application leaderex.arx and its command: QLATTACHSET.  This command will scan a Release 13 drawing for leaders and try to attach them to the annotation they were created with in Release 13.

Thumbnail Preview Images Saved with Wblocks

AutoCAD allows you to create drawings by writing new or existing block definitions to disk using the WBLOCK command. A thumbnail preview is created with the drawing only if you specify a selection set when defining the wblock. If you specify an existing block name at the Block Name prompt, the new drawing created will not contain a thumbnail preview until it is opened and saved in AutoCAD.

Using MSLIDE on Drawings with Bitmaps

In AutoCAD Release 14, you can insert image (bitmap) data into DWG files. The slide data format used in the MSLIDE/VSLIDE commands is a vector-based format. When an MSLIDE command is issued for a drawing that contains bitmap data, AutoCAD Release 14 represents the bitmap data using very small vectors (which can result in a very large slide file). Although this works adequately for most situations, the fact that a vector format is being used to represent bitmap data can lead to unusual artifacts. In some cases a slide file will not look as good as its originating drawing. This is most noticeable on picture-type stretched images where colors change frequently along a horizontal line.

Tracking

Tracking is intended for use only in the current UCS, relative to the X and Y axis, but not to the Z axis. To locate points in 3D, use the .x, .y, and .z point filters.

Tracking does not work within the same pline when PLINETYPE= 0.  Tracking works when PLINETYPE =1.

3DSIN

If you are using 3DSIN with 3DS MAX 1.2 scenes exported as 3DS files, please refer to the 3DS MAX Readme for information regarding known limitations. In particular, note the following information:

Composite and procedural maps don't export.

Fog is not exported.

Ray-traced shadows appear as shadow maps.

Object instances are saved as keyframer instances and therefore do not translate into AutoCAD when using 3DSIN. Consider exporting MAX files as DWG instead of 3DS to retain geometry when MAX files contain a lot of object instances.

Note: DWG files exported from MAX do not retain material mapping.

See http://www.ktx.com for an updated version of the 3DS Exporter.

For more information, see Sharing Data with 3D Studio.

MaxArray and MaxHatch Settings

AutoCAD will not allow an array that creates over 100000 objects. The limit is set by the MaxArray setting in the registry. This limit can be reset to any value between 100 and 10000000. The value can be changed by changing the setting with the AutoLISP setenv function. For example, to increase the value to 150000, you would enter the following at the command line:

(setenv "MaxArray" "150000")

AutoCAD will not create a hatch pattern that consists of over 10000 segments. The limit is set by the MaxHatch setting in the registry. This limit can be reset to any value between 100 and 10000000. The value can be changed changing the setting with the setenv function. For example, to decrease the value to 8000, you would type the following at the command line:

(setenv "MaxHatch" "8000")

Note: The AutoLISP setenv function is case-sensitive so MaxArray and MaxHatch must be entered as shown in the examples.

Drawing Tangents from Spline Curves

Drawing a tangent from an Ellipse object does not work. Instead, a seemingly arbitrary point on the ellipse is chosen. This point is actually tangential to the last point drawn. The same applies to the perpendicular object snap.

Using Copyclip and Cutclip with Raster Images in AutoCAD

When performing copyclip and cutclip operations on raster objects in AutoCAD, you may experience slow processing due to excessive memory requirements. When copied or cut to the clipboard, raster images require large amounts of memory to ensure that they contain enough resolution to be useful in other applications. If you experience performance degradation while performing clipboard operations with raster images, turn off the raster image (image or layer containing the image) and perform the clipboard operation. You can then use WMFOUT to export the raster object to the system clipboard where it will be available to other applications.

Editing Release 13 Drawings with Raster Images

If you do multiple copyclips on raster or proxy images in Release 14 drawings that are saved as Release 13 drawings, you might see a Fatal Error for Release 13. If both Release 14 and Release 13 are currently running, both versions might terminate, and a loss of data may occur.

Using Xref Files and DRAWORDER

If you reference a drawing that has an attached image or other objects that have been edited with the DRAWORDER command, the draw order within the xref will not be in the correct draw order even after regenerating the drawing. To correct this problem, use the following procedure:

1. Open the xref file.

2. Use the DRAWORDER command to set up the xref drawing.

3. Use the WBLOCK command to create a new drawing from the xref file. Enter all when prompted to select objects.

4. Use the XATTACH command to attach the file created using WBLOCK in step 2.

Preferences and Network Permissions

It is possible for a network administrator to "lock out" a user from making changes to their user profile (which is saved in the system registry under HKEY_CURRENT_USER). If a user cannot write to their own profile, AutoCAD cannot update the profile, and changes will be lost from session to session. All changes made in the current session will be stored in memory and lost the next time you start AutoCAD. If you wish to retain changes between sessions, the network administrator must grant you the ability to save changes back to the registry.

Realtime PAN and ZOOM

If you experience a degradation in performance using Realtime Pan and ZOOM with a drawing that contains TrueType text, check the following variable settings to improve performance. These settings are located in the Text Style dialog box.

Width scale	1.0
Oblique Angle	0.0
Backwards Text	off
Upsidedown Text	off

Release 13 Linetypes

Drawings made in Release 13 with the linetypes ZIGZAG or BATTING will look different in Release 14 unless you do one of the following:

Add the LTYPESHX file from Release 13 to the Support File Search Path in Preferences.

Reload the linetypes ZIGZAG and BATTING.


DWF Limitations  [Readme]
DWF Limitations

The DWFOUT command does not automatically export xlines. If you require xlines in your DWF file, use the external reference Attach option to attach your drawing to another drawing. Then use the DWFOUT command.

Only named views whose Normal is parallel to the Normal of the current view (view direction) will be written out with the DWF file.


Menu Customization Issues  [Readme]
Menu Customization Issues

Customization of accelerator keys does not recognize special menu characters such as the pause character "\".

To map accelerator keys to execution strings with special characters in the menu, define the execution string with an ID string and assign the ID string to the desired accelerator key in the accelerator key section.

For example, to create an accelerator for drawing an Arc with options Center and End, define the following executing string:

ID_ArcStCeEn   [&Start, Center, End]^C^C_arc \_c >

To map that execution string to a Ctrl-Y accelerator key, add the following to the ***ACCELERATORS section of the menu:

ID_ArcStCeEn   [CONTROL+"Y"]


Render Limitations  [Readme]
Render Limitations

This topic describes known limitations related to Render.

Render Texture Maps

If you use texture-mapped materials or landscape objects, there is a minimal set of available material library texture maps (and landscape library objects) because the 12MB of Render Texture Maps do not get installed during a Typical installation of AutoCAD. To obtain the full Texture Maps, you must do a Full install or a Custom install and select Texture Maps.


Multiline Limitations  [Readme]
Multiline Limitations

This topic describes known limitations related to multilines.

When inserting a drawing that contains a multiline style definition that has an identical name in the current drawing, and the inserted drawing is exploded, the duplicate style will be renamed by appending a number to the end of the style name.

If you use MLSTYLE to create a multiline style without saving it, and then select another style or create another style, the first MLSTYLE properties are lost. Make sure you save each multiline style to an MLN file before creating a new one. If you don't want to save the new styles in the drawing to an MLN file, choose OK to close the Multiline Styles dialog box after creating each new style.

It is possible to overwrite an existing multiline style name if you save it to an MLN file that already contains a style with that name.

MLSTYLE

If a linetype included in a style is not found when loading the style, the invalid linetype will automatically switch to Continuous.


MTEXT Limitations  [Readme]
MTEXT Limitations

This topic describes known limitations related to MTEXT (multiline text).

Display of MTEXT

When a word within a multiline text object is longer than the specified width of the multiline text object itself, lines for the multiline text object are extended so that the entire word is displayed on a single line in the drawing. However, when displayed in the Multiline text editor, the word is forced to wrap to the next line when its characters extend beyond the multiline text object's width (extents). For example, a multiline text object has a width of 1, and the words "Elevator Control Room" are entered into the Multiline Text Editor. If the words "Elevator" and "Control" both have a width greater than 1, and the word "Room" has a width less than 1, the words appear onscreen as

Elevator
Control
Room

but are displayed in the  Multiline Text Editor as

Eleva
tor
Contr
ol
Room


Object Snap Limitations  [Readme]
Object Snap Limitations

You might experience a decline in performance when you use AutoSnaps over TrueType-based text.

The Object Snap feature does not work for positioning a Zoom Window.

Some Object Snaps (Intersection, Perpendicular, and Nearest) do not work on the new lightweight polylines in nonuniformly scaled blocks or xrefs. They do work on mirrored blocks or xrefs.


DXF Limitations  [Readme]
DXF Limitations

This topic describes known limitations related to DXF files.

Saving 3D Solids to DXF Files

3D Solids do not get converted to wireframe objects when written out to Release 12 DXF format. This is in contrast to Save As R12 where 3D Solids get converted to a wireframe representation. However, you could manually explode them if needed prior to using DXFOUT to Release 12 format.

Importing DXF Files

You can import Release 12 DXF files into the current drawing (it doesn't have to be a new drawing) using the DXFIN command.

You must import DXF files created in Release 13 or Release 14 into a new drawing. (It is recommended that you use the OPEN command.)

Creating Release 12 DXF Files

Autodesk has removed the header variables DWGCODEPAGE, TREEDEPTH and PINSBASE in Release 12 DXF output. If you need these variables, you can edit ATLAST.DXT to restore them.

DXFOUT in Release 14

You might notice that DXFOUT is slower in Release 14 than it was in Release 13. This is because the function now uses a modified version of DXFIX to complete the operation.


External Database Issues  [Readme]
External Database Issues

This topic describes known limitations related to external databases.

Supported Database Drivers

In AutoCAD Release 14, the following database drivers are supported:

DBASE3

Oracle 7

ODBC

Support for the other direct drivers supported in Release 13 has been discontinued. You can access these databases with the ODBC driver.

Switching to a New Database Driver

If you were using a driver that is no longer supported, you can use the ASEUPD.LSP utility to update your link path name to the new driver. ASEUPD.LSP switches the environment of an LPN in your drawing.

To update your drawing

Before you begin, make a backup of your drawing.

1. Configure your new database environment.

2. Load your drawing into AutoCAD Release 14.

3. Connect to your new environment.

4. From the Tools menu, choose Load Application and load ASEUPD.LSP, which is located in your support directory.

5. Enter ASEUPD and specify the LPN you want to update.

6. Specify the new Environment, Catalog, Schema, and Table settings. Choose Update.

Note: Depending on the driver, Catalog and Schema might not be supported. If these are not supported, leave these settings blank.

7. Repeat the above steps for each LPN you want to update.

8. Synchronize the Links using the ASEADMIN command.

9. Save the drawing.

External Database Commands in the System Registry

If the settings in the System Registry are lost or damaged you can reset them by running SETUP.EXE again and choosing the Reset Registry option.

ASE and ASI API Files

The External Database command API files have been removed from AutoCAD and placed in ObjectARX. The ObjectARX SDK is available to members of the Autodesk Developer Network (ADN), or you can download the SDK from the Autodesk web site. For the cost of materials and shipping, you may also order the SDK with printed documentation by calling 1-800 435 7771.

Accessing dBASE3 Files in a Root Directory

If you have DBF files in the root directory and want to access them with the dBASE3 driver, you must place a period (.) in the Schema Path box in the External Database Configuration Editor.

Using the SQL Server ODBC Driver with Multiple Catalogs

If you are using the Microsoft ODBC driver for SQL Server 4.2, you might encounter a limitation. The SQL statements SET CATALOG and SET SCHEMA do not work for this driver. You will see this problem when using ASESQLED to specify another CATALOG or SCHEMA (other than the default CATALOG or SCHEMA that was configured for your user account in SQL Server.)

To access tables in other catalogs or schemas you must enter the fully qualified table name. This includes CATALOG.SCHEMA.TABLE. If the catalog or schema are Delimited Identifiers, enclose them in double quotes. For example: Select * from "pubs"."guests"."authors".

Using ODBC Drivers

The AutoCAD External Database commands and API have been tested with the following ODBC drivers:

Access 7.0	Microsoft Access Driver 3.40.2829

FoxPro (dbf)	Microsoft FoxPro Driver 3.40.2829
Intersolv 3.00 32-bit dBASEFile 3.00.0000

FoxPro (dbc)	Intersolv 3.00 32-bit FoxPro 3.0 Database 3.00.0000
Microsoft Visual FoxPro Driver 5.00.00344

The connection to the Microsoft Visual FoxPro Driver 5.00.00344 was not tested due to a bug in this driver. The driver returns the wrong SQL_IDENTIFIER_QUOTE_CHAR rendering the driver unable to retrieve data. Because AutoCAD is a general ODBC application, there is no workaround for this bug.

Paradox	Microsoft Paradox Driver 3.40.2829
Intersolv 3.00 32-bit ParadoxFile  3.00.0000

Excel	Microsoft Excel Driver 3.40.2829

SQL Server 4.2	SQL Server 2.65.0201

SQL Server 6.5	SQL Server 2.65.02001
Intersolv 3.00 32-bit SQLServer 3.00.0000

dBASEIV	Microsoft dBase Driver 3.40.2829
Intersolv 3.00 32-bit dBASEFile 3.00.0000

You can obtain Intersolv drivers from http://www.intersolv.com or by calling (800) 547-4000.

The following are extra notes about the above drivers.

All Intersolv 3.00 drivers now support Updatable Cursors.

All Microsoft drivers listed above do not support Updatable Cursors.

Microsoft Access Driver 3.40.2829

Updatable Cursors are not supported.

Date fields are SQL Timestamp data type. Use the following syntax in SQL statements:

Timestamp’yyyy-mm-dd hh:mm:ss’

where yyyy is the year, mm is the month, dd is the day, hh is the hour, mm is the minute and ss is the second. You can use 00:00:00 if you don’t want the time.

For example:	CREATE TABLE TEST (DT DATE)
INSERT INTO TABLE TEST VALUES (TIMESTAMP’1997-04-25 00:00:00’)

Alternatively, in the SQL Editor dialog box, choose Native, and enter (#1997/04/25#)

Microsoft FoxPro Driver 3.40.2829

Updatable Cursors are not supported.

SUM(DISTINCT) and COUNT(DISTINCT) fail.

Microsoft Paradox Driver 3.40.2829

During CREATE TABLE operations the following Datatype translations are made:

INTEGER creates AutoIncrement

Tables created through SQL Create Table syntax will not allow insertions until a Primary Key is designated using PARADOX.

SUM(DISTINCT) and COUNT(DISTINCT) fail.

Intersolv 3.00 32-bit Paradox File  3.00.0000

Creating Primary Indexes, can only be done in ASESQLED using the NATIVE commands, or in the API by executing NATIVE commands.  See the Intersolv ODBC help file for syntax.

Intersolv 3.00 32-bit SQL Server 3.00.0000

As stated in the Intersolv ODBC help file, one connection is used for each SQL Statement.  In the External Configuration Editor, Autocommit will not achieve the desired results of using one connection.  Keep Autocommit OFF.  In ASESQLED check the Autocommit check box.  If you get an error message that there are no more connections, exit the dialog and then execute the command again.  Exiting the dialog issues a commit, which will free a connection.

Intersolv 3.00 32-bit dBASE File 3.00.0000

Data Types Integer, Smallint, Real, Bit, Bit Varying, & Double Precision are not supported.

Using Oracle 7.0

If you install the Oracle ODBC driver from Intersolv and are using Oracle 7.0, you might get an error using the Oracle Direct driver during connection. The error, ORA1019, states that the driver cannot allocate memory on the client side. This is because ORA73.DLL is installed in your System32 directory. Remove this DLL file and the Oracle direct driver will function properly.

If you are using Oracle 7.3 no errors are expected.

Unloading ASE.ARX

If you unload then reload ASE.ARX while you have a drawing open that references drawings containing links, the links in the referenced drawings are not restored. You must reopen the drawing with ASE.ARX loaded.

Drawings with ASE Links

Using XBIND BLOCK of a block that contains ASE Links will not properly store the links if the drawing is saved. As a workaround WBLOCK the block with ASE Links, and Insert it.

Performing Undo or Redo after XBIND of a drawing that has ASE Links results in the ASE Links not being contained in the drawing. To avoid problems do not use Undo or Redo in this scenario.

Perfoming Undo or Redo after XBIND of a drawing when ASE is loaded might result in an ASE Warning Dialog stating that the Block was not found in the block hierarchy. If no ASE Link data is associated with the block, then no problems will occur. If ASE Links are associated with the Block, then see the above item.


Font Limitations  [Readme]
Font Limitations

This topic describes known limitations related to fonts.

Text Color Changes When Using TrueType Fonts in Windows 95

When running AutoCAD on Windows 95, the color of text objects defined with TrueType fonts may appear to change if the text is rotated or if its size exceeds a certain percentage of screen size. This is only a display anomaly and is not persistent in the drawing nor does it affect printer or plotter output. The text will highlight in the correct color when selected, and report the correct color when listed with the LIST command. This behavior does not occur in Windows NT.

The source of this behavior is being investigated by Autodesk and Microsoft and may be corrected in a future release of Windows 95. In the meantime, you can prevent the color change by setting the WIN95_COLOR_WORKAROUND environment variable to any value. However, doing this will cause the performance of AutoCAD to suffer. The speed of TrueType text in Release 14 has dramatically improved. When the WIN95_COLOR_WORKAROUND environment variable is set, AutoCAD must use its own textfill algorithms to fill the text without help from the operating system. This slows down performance and may result in a coarser appearance of TrueType text in the Drawing Editor.

The environment variable is read at start-up so to take effect, the variable must be set before AutoCAD is launched. The environment variable can be set by adding a set statement to the autoexec.bat file.

Updating TrueType Fonts

If you have TrueType fonts that were installed with an earlier version of AutoCAD Release 14, a later version of AutoCAD will not install newer versions of the font. To install the newest versions of TrueType fonts, uninstall the older versions by removing them from the Registry. For more information, see your Microsoft documentation.

TrueType fonts installed with AutoCAD

BGOTHL.TTF	MONOSI.TTF	SWISSBO.TTF
CITYB___.TTF	MONOTXT_.TTF	SWISSC.TTF
COMPI.TTF	MTPROXY1.TTF	SWISSCB.TTF
COMPLEX_.TTF	MTPROXY2.TTF	SWISSCBI.TTF
COMSC.TTF	MTPROXY3.TTF	SWISSCBO.TTF
COUNB___.TTF	MTPROXY4.TTF	SWISSCI.TTF
DUTCH.TTF	MTPROXY5.TTF	SWISSCK.TTF
DUTCHB.TTF	MTPROXY6.TTF	SWISSCKI.TTF
DUTCHBI.TTF	MTPROXY7.TTF	SWISSCL.TTF
DUTCHEB.TTF	MTPROXY8.TTF	SWISSCLI.TTF
DUTCHI.TTF	MTPROXY9.TTF	SWISSE.TTF
EURR____.TTF	PANROMAN.TTF	SWISSEB.TTF
EURRO___.TTF	ROMAB___.TTF	SWISSEK.TTF
GDT_____.TTF	ROMAI___.TTF	SWISSEL.TTF
GOTHICE_.TTF	ROMANC__.TTF	SWISSI.TTF
GOTHICG_.TTF	ROMAND__.TTF	SWISSK.TTF
GOTHICI_.TTF	ROMANS__.TTF	SWISSKI.TTF
GREEKC__.TTF	ROMANT__.TTF	SWISSKO.TTF
GREEKS__.TTF	ROMANTIC.TTF	SWISSL.TTF
ISOCP___.TTF	SANSS___.TTF	SWISSLI.TTF
ISOCP2__.TTF	SANSSB__.TTF	SYASTRO_.TTF
ISOCP3__.TTF	SANSSBO_.TTF	SYMAP___.TTF
ISOCT___.TTF	SANSSO__.TTF	SYMATH__.TTF
ISOCT2__.TTF	SCRIPTC_.TTF	SYMETEO_.TTF
ISOCT3__.TTF	SCRIPTS_.TTF	SYMUSIC_.TTF
ITALIC__.TTF	SIMPLEX_.TTF	TECHB___.TTF
ITALICC_.TTF	STYLU.TTF	TECHL___.TTF
ITALICT_.TTF	SUPEF___.TTF	TECHNIC_.TTF
MONOS.TTF	SWISS.TTF	TXT_____.TTF
MONOSB.TTF	SWISSB.TTF	UMATH.TTF
MONOSBI.TTF	SWISSBI.TTF	VINET.TTF
Unsupported Font Characters

Some fonts do not support all characters in a given character set. For example, Microsoft PGothic shows a blank instead of a double-byte underscore; you might find it necessary to switch to another font under these circumstances.

Style Dialog Box

If a font is not found for a text style, AutoCAD substitutes the font with the font specified by the FONTALT system variable (or prompts for a substitute font is FONTALT is not set). When selecting a text style in the Style dialog, if the font was not found, the Font list control will display the name of the originally defined font and the Preview will be disabled.


Hatch Limitations  [Readme]
Hatch Limitations

This topic describes known limitations related to working with hatches.

Editing Release 14 Hatch Boundaries Saved in Release 12 and Release 13 Drawings

If you edit the boundary of a solid hatch created in Release 14 while in Release 12 or Release 13, the solid hatch does not update because these releases do not support solid associative hatches. However, the associativity is not removed. Solid updating occurs when you edit the boundary in Release 14.

Release 14 Hatches in DXF Files

AutoCAD does not automatically convert hatches or polylines that are saved to Release 13 format using DXFOUT when the file is imported in Release 14. Use the CONVERT command to turn these objects back into their Release 14 state.

Release 13 Hatches

If you create a hatch in Release 13 using multiple seed points (internal pick points), only the information on the first seed point is saved. The information on the additional seed points is not saved, thus, the converted hatch in Release 14 might not look like the one in Release 13.

BHATCH and Proxy Objects

BHATCH will not function with Proxy objects.

BHATCH Pattern Filling

 BHATCH pattern filling is inaccurate when you perform hatching far from the UCS origin. The solution to this is to reset your current UCS close to the area that will be hatched.

BHATCH Pattern Density

When editing the boundary of an associative hatch in Release 13 that was created in Release 14 (while the measurement variable was set to 1 using Metric Start from Scratch, or metric templates), the hatch will update with a denser pattern. The pattern scale appears smaller. This happens because Release 14 uses the pattern definitions stored in acadiso.pat which are 25.4 times larger than their counterparts in acad.pat.

Hatch Boundaries

If the bounding box of text or attribute text is coincident with the inside hatch boundary, you might get unexpected results.

Solid Fill Boundaries

Boundaries for solid fills might appear jagged in plots to the system printer. This is caused by having a solid fill boundary of a different color than the solid fill. To fix this problem, use the DRAWORDER command to send the boundary to Back.


External Reference Limitations  [Readme]
External Reference Limitations

If you save a drawing in Release 13 format and the drawing references a drawing in Release 14 format, Release 13 might fail when it tries to resolve the xref. The solution is to save the xref drawing in Release 13 format as well.

If you modify the xref-dependent layer visibility, color, and linetype settings, XBIND those layers, save and reopen the current drawing, the layer settings are lost, even if VISRETAIN is set to 1. The layer visibility, linetype, and color information as defined in the reference drawing is restored.

If you open a drawing that has a lot of attached images and the memory is not enough to load all the images, they will be attached with the status "Unloaded".

Using XCLIP on true type text contained within blocks or xrefs in Windows 95 causes the text to apparently shift to the right. This is a text display problem only, the text plots correctly without the shift.


Application and Installation Issues  [Readme]
Application and Installation Issues

This topic describes general application issues and issues related to installation.

Network Deployments

Network administrators creating network deployments should make sure that a full installation of AutoCAD is run on the server to which network deployments point. If this is not done, user workstation icons will be created for nonexistent applications such as Batch Plotting, Quick Tour, and What's New. It is recommended that you always use the Full installation option when installing the network version of AutoCAD.

Using the Internet Utilities

AutoCAD requires MSIE 3.0 or later or NETSCAPE 3.0 or later to use the Internet utilities.

AutoCAD and Microsoft Excel

If an AutoCAD drawing is Paste Linked into Microsoft Excel with Automatic Updates set to On, AutoCAD can't close until Excel has been closed. With Excel in this mode, a session of AutoCAD is launched every time you close or quit. You can avoid this situation by changing the Links options in Excel to Manual Updates.

A common problem encountered when pasting spreadsheets into AutoCAD is that large sheets are sometimes truncated. Microsoft Excel limits the size of its metafiles on the clipboard to 12 1/2 inches. This limitation is based on spreadsheet size, not number of rows or columns. To work around this problem, reduce row height and/or column width, and font. Another workaround is to choose Paste Special from the AutoCAD Edit menu and select Image Entity.

Multiple Versions of AutoCAD

You cannot run multiple versions of AutoCAD Release 14 at the same time. (But you can run multiple sessions of the same version.)

If you have installed more than one version of AutoCAD, one of them will be the "primary" version. The primary AutoCAD is the last version installed or launched. If you launch AutoCAD using OLE on an object in another application, the primary AutoCAD will launch.

Each installed version of AutoCAD with external database functionality must be configured separately using the External Database Configuration Editor for that version of AutoCAD. You must run the External Database Configuration Editor from the same subdirectory as the ACAD.EXE for which you are configuring. This configures ASE for that version of AutoCAD.

Each installed AutoCAD has its own separate database configuration. The configuration cannot be shared; however, each installation can be configured to the same databases.

Upgrading ADI Drivers

If you upgrade an existing, configured driver without deleting the previously configured driver, the next time you start AutoCAD it will fail to start due to an invalid CFG file.

Before you upgrade any drivers, start AutoCAD and delete the earlier driver. This will remove the driver from the CFG file. Then upgrade the driver, restart AutoCAD, and reconfigure it for the new driver.

If you have already upgraded the driver and are now getting a message about a corrupt CFG file, you have the following options:

Remove CFG file and reconfigure everything.

Restore the old driver, start AutoCAD, and delete the old driver. Then upgrade the driver.

Make a backup copy of the CFG file and edit it to manually remove the driver. This should be considered as a last resort because it can easily be done incorrectly. If this fails, then you must remove the CFG file and reconfigure.

Uninstaller Issues

Each time InstallShield does ANY type of installation it creates a file called DEISL1.ISU. (In this file the number 1 is incremented each time you install the same product.) For example, if you install Release 14, you create DEISL1.ISU. If you then decide to add a component, it creates a second file called DEISL2.ISU. This file is the log of files installed for that particular run of the setup application. The uninstaller only calls the latest one of these files (in the example above DEISL2.ISU).The uninstaller will only remove what was installed during that run (in this case the component and any registry entries that were added, leaving the base AutoCAD installation intact). However, the uninstall icon is gone and there is no way to remove all of the files associated with DEISL2.ISU.

If you uninstall and reinstall AutoCAD without restarting the computer, AutoCAD might fail to run after you reboot the computer. The error message references a missing HEIDI3.DLL file. To correct this problem, copy HEIDI3.DLL from the System directory at the root of the AutoCAD CD to the Windows System directory. Under Windows 95, the system directory is called System. Under NT, copy the files to the System32 directory. After coping the file, restart AutoCAD. It is not necessary to reinstall AutoCAD.

If you are uninstalling the hardware locked version of AutoCAD Release 14 in Windows NT, the system hardware lock driver is also uninstalled. You must reboot the system to properly shut down the system service. Otherwise, unexpected errors might occur. This is especially true if you plan to reinstall AutoCAD.

If you have multiple versions of AutoCAD Release 14 installed, (for example, French and German) the hardware lock system drivers are uninstalled for the last AutoCAD to be removed.

Distributed File Services

Microsoft's Distributed File Services (DFS) is not supported in AutoCAD Release 14.

Microsoft supports DFS, a relatively new distributed file system capability for Windows 95 and Windows NT 4.0. This is not installed by default; the network has to be explicitly configured for it. We do not expect the majority of our customers to have DFS installed on their Windows 95 and Windows NT 4.0 networks.

In Windows 95 you might observe the following problems if you attempt to run AutoCAD using DFS:

In the OPEN dialog box, the system locks up if you select the root of the DFS directory tree.

In the OPEN dialog box, the system locks up if you use the "Up one level" button in a DFS share.

Performing a SAVEAS operation to a DFS drive might cause the following error to be displayed:

"Unable to load the specified HEIDI driver module gdi3.hdi"

If you choose OK, the following message is displayed:

"FATAL ERROR:  Unhandled Access Violation Exception at <address>"

At this point, attempting to restart AutoCAD by double-clicking on the AutoCAD icon will fail. You must reboot your system before restarting AutoCAD.

We expect to support DFS in a future release of AutoCAD.

NonAutodesk Files Distributed with AutoCAD

AutoCAD installation includes files created and distributed by other manufacturers including hardcopy output printing and plotting vendors. These files are typically installed in your Windows\system (95) or system32 (NT) directories. Autodesk has permission to distribute these files because they are needed for AutoCAD operation and because they often are not installed during Microsoft Product installation (supplemental files).

Microsoft might update these files as part of their operating system updates and releases. This might create a version mismatch between Microsoft files distributed with AutoCAD and later versions distributed or installed with a Microsoft product. If older versions of these files are installed already, the AutoCAD Installer will install newer versions. If newer versions are installed already, the AutoCAD installer should leave the newer versions untouched.

Some files that must be updated might be in use by other programs or the operating system itself. When this occurs, the operating system flags them for replacement upon restarting Windows. Upon completion of installation, if any file is flagged for replacement by the operating system, the installer provides a reboot warning message. It is strongly recommended that you restart your system before running AutoCAD.

Files required for AutoCAD

From Microsoft Visual C++ Development Product (or other operating system files):

mfc42.dl
msvcrt.dll
msvcirt.dll
msvcrt40.dll
stdole2.tlb
oleaut32.dll

AutoCAD files installed to system directory:

acadficn.dll
adresc.dll
gdifont3.hdi
adi3.hdi
regacad.dll
AutoCAD TrueType Font files installed to Windows FONT directory

Microsoft Files required for Batch Plotting:

olepro32.dll
comdlg32.ocx
comctl32.ocx
mfc40.dll
vb40032.dll
msvcrt20.dll
ven2232.olb

Microsoft files required for Internet component:

msvcrt20.dll
olepro32.dll
inloader.dll
schannel.dll
wininet.dll

Files required for OLE Printing through ADI:

All (system directory)
adimon.dll
heidi3.dll

From Windows 95 (to printer driver directory):

hpplot.drv
hpplot.hlp

From Windows NT 3.51 (to printer driver directory):

pgl2pen.pcd
plotter.dll
plotui.dll
plotui.hlp

Windows NT 4.0 (to printer driver directory):

hpg12pen.pcd
plotter.dll
plotui.dll
plotui.hlp

Note: Administrative privileges are required by the operating system to correctly install and configure the Internet component and printing OLE through ADI. The installer detects and reports inadequate privileges at the time of installation.

Menu Load Failed for INET.MNU

You will see an error message the first time you run AutoCAD from a client workstation under the following conditions:

AutoCAD is installed on a network and the setup option you selected was Typical, Compact, or Custom without the Internet component.

AutoCAD was installed on the client workstation using a network deployment.

AutoCAD displays the following error message:

Menu load failed. File not found:

\\servername\sharename\<path>\support\inet.(mnu/mns/mnc)

This error is harmless and will not been seen the next time you start AutoCAD.

Editing CFG and PC2 Files

If you edit a CFG or PC2 file incorrectly, the file could become corrupt and cause AutoCAD to fail. To avoid problems, do not manually edit CFG or PC2 files.

Folder Names

In Windows NT 3.51 if you use square brackets or parentheses in the folder name during installation, some icons might not be created.

Custom Installation and Fonts

If you clear the Fonts checkbox when you perform a Custom installation, SIMPLEX.SHX is not installed. This is the default font for the FONTALT system variable. When you start AutoCAD, the "Specify Font for FONTALT" dialog box is displayed. You will have to specify another font for the FONTALT system variable.

This problem can only occur during a Custom installation because the Fonts component is automatically installed as part of a Compact, Typical, or Full installation.


Display and Digitizer Issues  [Readme]
Display and Digitizer Issues

This topic describes display and digitizer issues.

Windows 95 and Compaq Qvision Display Cards

In Windows 95 when the display is configured for 256 colors, the crosshairs may leave ghost images on the screen with older Compaq Qvision drivers. The crosshairs, UCS icon, and AutoCAD objects may also change colors. To fix this problem, upgrade to the latest Compaq Qvision display driver. Currently, the latest version is 1.51 and it is available from Compaq's Web site.

Matrox Millennium Display Card

If you are experiencing random operating system lock-ups while using AutoCAD in Windows 95 with a Matrox Millennium driver version older than 3.22.059, please contact Matrox for a newer display driver. The Matrox Internet location is:

http://www.matrox.com/mgaweb/ftp_mill.htm

If you are using an HP Vectra XU 6/200 computer with a Matrox MGA Millennium video driver for the NEC MultiSync XP21 monitor, you must obtain the latest upgrade for that video driver to avoid problems using Release 14. For example, you might encounter problems such as vectors left on the desktop after quitting AutoCAD or changing desktop fonts.

Display Problems in Release 12

If you experience difficulty displaying Release 14 drawings in Release 12, change the Release 12 display driver to the Windows driver.

Digitizers

Problems may be associated with configuring or using the manufacturer-supplied WinTab driver. If you experience problems, you may want to contact your manufacturer for an updated driver.

The Kurta IS/ONE is not functional in Windows NT 4.0 using the latest WinTab driver.


Printing Issues  [Readme]
Printing Issues

This topic describes known issues related to printing and plotting.

Batch Plotting

Batch Plotting might not use the ACADSERVER environment variable until the system is rebooted. If you set ACADSERVER and start the Batch Plot Utility, you may encounter the following messages:

"FATAL ERROR:  No licenses file found for feature."

"The Batch Plot Utility requires AutoCAD Release 14. Please make sure that AutoCAD Release 14 has been properly installed using the AutoCAD setup utility."

To correct this problem, verify that ACADSERVER is set to the computer running the license manager, and reboot your computer.

Note: If the Autodesk License Manager is running on the local subnet, the Batch Plot Utility will begin using that License Manager, which might be different from the ACADSERVER setting. For more information on setting the ACADSERVER variable see the Installation Guide.

Raster Plotting Support

Raster objects should not be output or defined as OLE objects.

Nonrotated and nonclipped bitonal images with transparency turned off always plot black. Turning transparency on corrects this problem. Another workaround is to create a polygonal clipping boundary for the image using the IMAGECLIP command and select the four corners of the image for the clipping boundary.

Hewlett Packard DesignJet 650C, 220, and 200

The Hewlett Packard DesignJet models 650C, 220, and 200 do not support SuperFlow mode. Therefore, in certain cases where a drawing contains large amounts of raster and vector data, the output will overflow the device's memory, resulting in data loss on the final hardcopy (paper). When memory is full on these devices, they print all vector and raster data received so far. All HPGL/2 objects (vectors) that are subsequently received are discarded. All HP RTL objects are printed as they arrive. To solve this problem, do one of the following:

Add more memory to the device.

Use the System Printer driver.

Multiple Plots

You might see a Windows warning message when executing multiple plots in series and when more than one printer device is connected to the same printer port through Windows Control Panel. It might be necessary to increase the transmission retry setting from the default setting of 45 (please refer to your Windows systems documentation) to a higher value.

Using the HP LaserJet 4si

You might experience inaccurate output when printing with the HP LaserJet 4si. Microsoft's UNIDRIVER 4.0-based LaserJet 4 drivers have two graphics modes: vector and raster. When running in vector graphics modes, dithered output doesn't output correctly resulting in incorrect plots. To solve this problem, configure the driver for raster-graphics mode rather than vector-graphics mode.

To configure the driver

1. From the Win95 desktop, double-click the My Computer icon.

2. Double-click the Printers folder in the My Computer window.

3. Right-click the desired driver in the Printers window.

4. Choose Properties.

6. Choose the Graphics tab.

7. Select Use Raster Graphics.

8. Choose OK.

OLE/ADI Printing

Until Release 14, embedded OLE objects only printed on Windows system printers not on ADI plotters. Release 14 supports printing of embedded OLE objects with ADI drivers. Note that OLE printing on ADI drivers inherits the existing limitations of OLE printing with Windows system printers-the major limitation being that OLE objects don't rotate when AutoCAD plot rotation is applied. For best results, leave AutoCAD's plot rotation set to 0 degrees if you have embedded OLE objects.

Plotting OLE objects using ADI drivers other than the system printer driver in Windows NT 3.51 requires service pack 2 or later. If you are using NT 3.51 and your computer hangs when you plot an OLE object to an ADI driver, be sure to install the NT 3.51 service pack 2 or later.

Configuring OLE/ADI printing

OLE-ADI printing is not part of a Typical install. It is necessary to do either a Full install or a Custom install and select the OLE/ADI printing feature.

Upon installation, AutoCAD configures a system printer named Phantom AutoCAD OLE/ADI Printer that is required for plotting OLE objects through ADI drivers. Do not make changes to the Phantom AutoCAD OLE/ADI Printer settings. Changing or deleting this device will prevent plotting of OLE objects through ADI drivers from AutoCAD and might cause AutoCAD to crash during plotting.

Full or Custom install sometimes sets the OLE Phantom driver as the default Windows System printer without notice. If this happens, change the default printer manually. If a user prints to the Phantom OLE printer from outside AutoCAD, the print job is deleted from the print queue.

Configuring an Alternate Font on Windows 95

The font used to print OLE text in Windows 95 is usually automatically selected. It is also usually the same font used for icons. You can set the environment variable OLEPRINTFONT to the name of the desired font. Use the name of the font (e.g., “Arial” or “Arial Bold”), and not the file name of the font.

Limitations: OLE Applications

Our testing focused on Microsoft Excel and Word. Although other applications might work, the results might vary.

Limitations: Colors

The OLE/ADI hardcopy solution currently is limited to plotting with no more than 8 colors for the OLE objects. By default OLE applications automatically assign colors for the object. With this small selection of colors, the results might be unexpected. Most Windows applications allow you to override this automatic color assignment and manually assign colors. The method for doing this varies for each OLE program; for Excel with a chart object, you can right-click on the item to get its properties and then set the color. See your OLE application's documentation for color setting information.

The OLE/ADI hardcopy solution currently tells Windows that it is plotting to a pen plotter, regardless of the device you are actually using. This causes Windows applications to substitute the use of colors for shading or patterned area fills. Thus, if you create an Excel spreadsheet that has some cells filled with a shaded pattern, the shading won't plot, but the gridlines around the shaded cells will be drawn in a contrasting color.

The palette of available colors is

Black
Red
Blue
Green
Yellow
Orange
Cyan
Magenta

Limitation: Drawing Order

OLE objects plot in the order in which they are drawn on system printers. However, with ADI drivers, all nonOLE objects are plotted first. OLE objects are plotted last.

Limitations: Hidden Surface Removal

The OLE/ADI hardcopy solution does not support hidden surface removal. Thus, if you format an Excel spreadsheet so that text spans several cells, although it may look correct on the display, the ADI plot will have gridlines through the text. This is a limitation of the pen plotter emulation we are using.

Limitations: Fonts

On Windows 95, all OLE text is plotted by ADI drivers in Arial. Some characters might show up different on your hardcopy than on your screen. Try using the Arial font in the OLE application to get the closest correspondence between screen and hardcopy.

Limitations: Rasters

OLE embedded raster objects will not print with ADI drivers. Use the Windows System Printer driver or embed the object as a metafile.

Limitations: Nested OLE Objects

Nested OLE objects (for example, an Excel spreadsheet embedded in a Word document) are potentially troublesome. They might be converted to raster by the outermost OLE container, resulting in a failure to plot. For best results, avoid nesting.

Limitations: Timeouts

When plotting a drawing containing OLE objects, AutoCAD plots all the non-OLE objects first. Then it asks the OLE application for the OLE objects, processes and plots them. There might be a lengthy pause between the initial output of AutoCAD objects and the final output of OLE objects.

Some plotters will "timeout" during this pause. The effect of the timeout is device dependent. Depending on your plotter's timeout behavior, an extra page might be ejected, an incomplete plot might be produced, or the plot might be blank. The solution is to use the plotter's control panel to change its timeout setting to a longer value.

Limitations: Inserting Excel Objects Through OLE

OLE objects can be inserted into AutoCAD drawings using one of two methods: Insert/OLE Object or copy and paste from the OLE application such as Microsoft Word or Excel.

There is an operating system size limitation on the object to be pasted or inserted. For Excel the limitation is 40 rows by 15 columns. Spreadsheets pasted that are larger either in number of rows or number of columns will produce inconsistent results.

Inserted OLE objects that are larger than the operating system limits will have their data truncated.

Printing of inserted OLE objects is best performed using the plot/display option on the plot dialog. Using plot/extents or plot/limits might produce inconsistent results.

Using Océ Printers

Océ printers require current firmware to work with the AutoCAD Release 14 ADI driver. For more information, contact your Océ representative.


ActiveX Automation  [Readme]
ActiveX Automation

This topic describes issues relating to the use of ActiveX Automation in AutoCAD.

Known Limitations

1. If you use copy, array, mirror, and so on any object, while iterating through a collection using the For Each mechanism, you will see the error message "Object was open for read."

For example, the following case will fail with the error "Object was open for read."

Dim entry
for each entry in acad.activeDocument.modelSpace
    entry.copy
next

You should workaround the above problem as follows:

Dim entry
Dim noOfEnt as Long
noOfEnt = acad.activeDocument.modelSpace.count
ReDim ents(0 to noOfEnt-1) as Object
Dim  i as integer
for each entry in acad.activeDocument.modelSpace
    set ents(i) = entry
    i = i + 1
next

for i = 0 to noOfEnts -1
    ents(i).copy
next

2. Adding an object in model space or paper space, or adding a record in symbol tables using AutoCAD commands while a Visual Basic application is iterating through that collection using the For Each mechanism is NOT recommended.

3. If the early binding scheme is used, Visual Basic might return an error such as "Function marked as restricted or uses an OLE type not supported in Visual Basic" during compilation.

The workaround is to use the late binding scheme.

Early Binding Example

Dim app As Object
Set app = GetObject(, "Autocad.Application")
Dim line As IAcadLine
Dim mspace As IAcadModelSpace
Set mspace = app.activeDocument.Modelspace
Dim stPnt(0 To 2) As Double
Dim enPnt(0 To 2) As Double
Set line = mspace.AddLine(stPnt, enPnt)

Late Binding Example

Dim app As Object
Set app = GetObject(, "Autocad.Application")
Dim line As Object
Dim mspace As Object
Set mspace = app.activeDocument.Modelspace
Dim stPnt(0 To 2) As Double
Dim enPnt(0 To 2) As Double
Set line = mspace.AddLine(stPnt, enPnt)

4. Unlike Visual Basic, Borland Delphi does not accept arrays as parameters for automation methods. Instead all parameters in Delphi are passed to automation methods as variants. Therefore, Delphi cannot be used with AutoCAD ActiveX Automation methods that require arrays as input.

5. Use Plot Rotation instead of Plot Orientation to change the orientation of the plot on the paper.


Solids Modeling Limitations  [Readme]
Solids Modeling Limitations

If you make use of the solids modeling features, you should review the following items.

Canceling modeling operations

Memory leaks are known to occur when you cancel solid and region modeling operations by pressing CTRL+C or ESC. If you cancel several modeling operations in one AutoCAD session, AutoCAD might use up all available memory and fail.

Solids with poles

Solids with poles can lead to failures during Boolean operations, mass property computations, sectioning, slicing, interference checking, and so on.

Such solids result mostly from the TORUS command, where the major and minor radii are equal, and from the REVOLVE command, where the region being revolved touches the axis of revolution.

Boolean operations

Boolean operations between solids with nearly tangent faces don't work reliably. Eliminating the tangency or making the faces exactly tangent should help.

Revolved solids

If the axis of revolution touches the region being revolved, further operations on the solid being created could fail. Some possible alternatives include

Making sure that the region isn't tangential to the axis at the points of contact.

Making sure the edges that touch the axis are as simple as possible. If an edge touching the axis is a spline curve, replacing a small portion of that curve near the point of contact with a line or a circular/elliptical arc may prevent the problem.

Tapered extrusions

Extruding a region with a taper angle can result in a self-intersecting solid. Further operations on such a solid won't work reliably. The EXTRUDE command doesn't catch and report self-intersections in the solid that is created. Self-intersections can be eliminated by reducing the extrusion height or the taper angle.

Section and slice through rolling ball fillets

Sectioning or slicing a solid through rolling-ball fillet faces doesn't work reliably. This problem occurs more frequently when the plane passes through the edge where the fillet face meets the neighboring face.

Nonmanifold edges and vertices

Nonmanifold edges and vertices may cause problems during Boolean operations, particularly when the two solids intersect at these nonmanifold objects.

Coincident faces, edges, and vertices

Coincident or almost coincident faces, edges, vertices, and other singular cases may cause problems during Boolean operations.

Using FILLET and CHAMFER with 3D Solids

The following are issues to watch while using the FILLET or CHAMFER commands for 3D Solids.

Filleting is a local operation so if the fillet data causes the new fillet geometry to interfere with nonadjacent edges or faces, the result could be failure of the FILLET command or an invalid solid.

Filleting a mixed-convexity edge case quite often has problems especially if one of the three edges at a vertex has a different convexity than the other two. It might fail. One alternative is to fillet the odd convexity edge separately, then select the smooth sequence of three edges created.

If all the edges incident at a vertex have their tangents lying in the same plane and it's desired to fillet them, and simultaneous selecting of them fails, try selecting (and blending) them singly.

Filleting an edge results in a new blend surface. Often this surface needs to be "capped" by extending nearby surfaces, so that the blend surface is properly restricted to define a valid resulting solid. ACIS has problems when the capping operation requires the extension of spline surfaces. This isn't currently supported.

In general, operations involving spline curve and surface geometry are more prone to fail than other operations. This will continue to improve with subsequent releases of ACIS.

In some situations, single edge filleting, where the edge is C1 continuous with an adjacent edge, is not possible. This mainly happens when one of the two edges is a spline curve. Typically, single edge filleting works where one of the edges is a line and the other is an arc.

An edge whose two adjacent faces are C1 continuous throughout can't be filleted. In general, if ACIS isn't able to fillet an edge because it's invalid or it's a current ACIS limitation, the message "Cannot blend this edge" is displayed.

Chamfer of a single edge that has at least one adjacent tangent edge isn't well handled in ACIS currently, and isn't being allowed.

Only chamfers of line and circle-arc edges are permitted.

Chamfering is a local operation so if the chamfer data causes the new chamfer geometry to interfere with nonadjacent edges or faces, the result can be the failure of the CHAMFER command or an invalid solid.

Occasionally, ACIS has problems handling simultaneous selection of mixed convexity adjacent edges and fails to chamfer the selected edges. In such cases, chamfering each edge individually often provides the desired results.

Section planes

The SECTION command indicates that the section plane does not intersect the solid even though the plane may be passing through an edge or a vertex of the solid. If there is a common area shared between the solid and the section plane, a region enclosing that area will result. Otherwise, the SECTION command will indicate that there is no intersection between the section plane and the solid.

Effects on objects using ACISOUT to ACISIN

Some AcDb3dSolid objects become AcDbBody objects when they're written out through ACISOUT and read back in through ACISIN. All nonmanifold ACIS bodies are converted to AcDbBody objects during ACISIN. Some of these ACIS bodies could qualify as AcDb3dSolid objects even though they are nonmanifold. But there's no reliable way to check if an ACIS body is a valid (manifold or nonmanifold) solid.

Effect of offset operation on higher order splines

Offset operation on higher order splines may not be successful. Also, multiple offset operations on splines, that is, offset of an offset spline, has the potential of splitting the resulting spline into multiple small segments resulting in a curve that might not be very useful for future operations. For example, you might not want to use such a spline as a path to extrude along because it will end up creating a large number of sweep sections.

Extruding profiles along a path

While extruding profiles along a path, avoid creating profile and path combinations that could result in self-intersecting solids. For example, this could happen in extruding larger profiles along paths that have high areas of curvature, that is, tight corners.

How ACISOUT saves ACIS bodies

The ACISOUT command saves the ACIS bodies using the api_save_entity_list() call. To read these bodies, api_restore_entity_list() must be used.

Effect of DISPSILH with HIDE

If the DISPSILH variable is ON, the HIDE command will display AcDb3dSolid objects with silhouette edges only. It won't show the internal edges produced by facetting the object.

Cancelling HIDE or SHADE Commands

After you cancel the HIDE or SHADE commands, you might find that the next time you use them they do not display correctly. If you have display problems with the HIDE command, save your drawing, reopen it, and do the HIDE operation again. When you open a new drawing, the utility that creates facets is reinitialized.

Facetting for HIDE As Compared to PLOT

The amount of tessellation on solids is dependent on the FACETRES system variable, the FACETRATIO system variable and whether you are facetting to the display using the HIDE command or to an output device using the PLOT command. The facet resolutions are higher for plots because the plotting device is of higher resolution than the display. If the facet resolution were the same, the plot would look too coarse (especially if DISPLAYSILH was set to 1).

The FACETRES system variable has an effect on plot preview enabling you to reduce the plot resolution.

If you want the same quality for PLOT as you get for display with the HIDE command, lower the FACETRES setting before doing a plot. A setting of approximately 1/5 of the FACETRES you use for HIDE generates about the same quality for PLOT. For example, if you do a HIDE at FACETRES of 10.0, and a PLOT PREVIEW at FACETRES of 2.0, you will get about the same number of output facets. Output results vary with the output device.

The image tessellation is cached as long as the FACETRES or FACETRATIO values do not change or you do not switch between facetting to the display and to an output device. If you make one of these changes, drawing objects are re-faceted with an impact on performance.

HIDE and PLOT of Conical and Cylindrical Surfaces

If you perform a HIDE or PLOT on a cone or cylindrical surface with a high value for the FACETRES, and the FACETRATIO value set to 0, the objects will not be displayed correctly. You can change the FACETRATIO value to 1 to improve the display.

Memory Issues with HIDE and PLOT

The HIDE and PLOT commands on solids might use a lot of memory. Setting the HIDEPRECISION and FACETRATIO system variables to 0 uses the minimum amount of memory for HIDE and PLOT. A lower value for the FACETRES system variable also uses less memory. If you still run out of memory, increase your virtual memory. For more information, see "Managing Memory for Performance" in the online help.


Installing the Autodesk Symbol Libraries with Release 14  [Readme]
Installing the Autodesk Symbol Libraries with Release 14

The following topics describe the installation of the Autodesk Symbol Libraries.

Topics in this section:

   Upgrade Symbol Library Installation

   New Symbol Library Installation


Upgrade Symbol Library Installation  [Readme]
Upgrade Symbol Library Installation

If you are upgrading AutoCAD Release 13 to Release 14, you will be required to install AutoCAD Release 14 in a new, separate directory. After you install Release 14, there are a few steps you must take to make the symbols operate.

To upgrade symbol libraries

1. Start AutoCAD.

2. Choose Tools > Preferences > Files tab and add the symbols directory location to the Support File Search Path.

If you performed a Compact install, the symbols are not installed on your computer. Instead, you access them from the CD. In this case, add the CD-ROM drive letter when specifying the symbols directory location.

3. At the command prompt, enter MENULOAD or select Tools > Customize Menus.

Using Browse, specify the symbols directory on your local drive, and the associated MNS file. For example: C:\LTMECH\LTMECH13.MNS. Do NOT select the MNS file on the CD. Selecting the MNS file on the CD will result in Menu errors when launching AutoCAD without the Symbols CD in the CD-ROM drive.

4. Select LTxxx13.mns. (Replace xxx with the associated library: mech, arch, or elec).

5. Choose Open. Then choose Load.

6. Choose the Menu Bar tab and insert the new menu. (Mechanical Symbols must be placed in position #6 of your menus.)

7. Restart AutoCAD.

The Symbol menu appears automatically. Once the menu is loaded it will always appear in your AutoCAD session.


New Symbol Library Installation  [Readme]
New Symbol Library Installation

The following procedure describes how to install symbol libraries for the first time.

To install symbol libraries

1. Insert the Symbols CD, run setup, and follow the instructions displayed.

2. When prompted for a version of AutoCAD, Release 14 will show up as Release 13, this is expected. (If you are upgrading, you might have more than one Release 13 choice. Select the AutoCAD Release 13 that indicates the new Release 14 directory location.)

3. After installation is complete, start AutoCAD. You will see the following message:

Menu Load Failed:

File not found:

 (filename)

Ignore the message and choose OK. Then press ESC.

4. Choose Tools>Preferences>Files tab and add the symbols directory location to the Support File Search Path.

If you performed a Compact install, the symbols are not installed on your computer. Instead, you access them from the Symbols CD. In this case, add the CD-ROM drive letter when specifying the symbols directory location.

5. At the command prompt enter MENULOAD or select Tools > Customize Menus.

Using Browse, specify the symbols directory on your local drive, and the associated MNS file. For example: C:\LTMECH\LTMECH13.MNS. Do NOT select the MNS file on the CD. Selecting the MNS file on the CD will result in Menu errors when launching AutoCAD without the Symbols CD in the CD-ROM drive.

6. Select LTxxx13.mns. (Replace xxx with the associated library: mech, arch, or elec).

7. Choose Open, then choose Load.

8. Choose the Menu Bar tab and insert the new menu. (Mechanical Symbols must be placed in position #6 of your menus.)

9. Restart AutoCAD.

The Symbol menu should automatically appear. Once the menu is loaded it will always appear in your AutoCAD session.


Sharing Data with 3D Studio  [Readme]
Sharing Data with 3D Studio

AutoCAD can share data with the 3D Studio software, given some differences between the two applications. This information only summarizes 3D Studio characteristics; for more details, refer to the 3D Studio documentation.

The standard 3D Studio unit of geometry is the object, which is made up of vertices, triangular faces, edges, and one or more elements. Elements are subunits of objects. An AutoCAD object roughly corresponds to a 3D Studio object, but cannot be subdivided into elements.

When you export geometry with AutoCAD, you convert AutoCAD objects into 3D Studio elements or objects.

In 3D Studio, materials can be assigned by element-in AutoCAD, mapping materials can be assigned only by object or AutoCAD Color Index (ACI)-but only objects, not elements, can be independently animated in the 3D Studio Keyframer.

The following table summarizes the difference between the information used for rendering purposes in the two software packages.

Geometry & Rendering Support	AutoCAD Characteristics	3D Studio Characteristics
Faces and Face Normals	Depends on how face was drawn	Directly controllable
Smoothing	Fixed smoothing angle, approximately 45 degrees; global application	Smoothing angle is adjustable; application by controllable smoothing groups
Materials	Stored in AutoCAD drawing or in MLI file	Stored in 3D Studio file or in MLI file
	Procedural materials in one product not compatible with the other AutoCAD rendering doesn't support the following 3D Studio materials: two-sided, self-illuminating, face-mapped, wireframe, materials with multiple texture maps
Mapping	Texture, opacity, reflection, and bump maps	Texture, opacity, reflection  (reflection maps can be cubic or automatic) , and bitmaps; also specular, shininess, and self illumination maps, which have no AutoCAD counterpart
Lights	Ambient (white-only) Point Distant (with sun calculator) Spot	Ambient (with color) Omni (no shadows) (No distant lights-simulated by a spotlight) Spot
Views/Cameras	Views defined by AutoCAD named view and AutoCAD scene	Views defined by camera objects


Documentation Corrections and Additions  [Readme]
Documentation Corrections and Additions

This section includes updates and corrections to the current AutoCAD documentation set. For updates to the  ADSRX Developer's Guide  and the ASE Developer's Guide  see the READDEV Help file.

Topics in this section:

   General

   Command Reference

   User's Guide

   Installation Guide

   Customization Guide

   Using ActiveX Automation with AutoCAD

   External Database Help Files


General  [Readme]
General

This topic describes documentation issues that relate to all AutoCAD books.

Dialog Box Changes

There are procedures in the AutoCAD documentation prompting you to "Choose OK" when there is actually an Open or Save button that is displayed. In Windows NT 3.51, the dialog boxes still have an OK button.

FONTMAP

In several places in the documentation this statement is made: "FONTMAP specifies the font mapping file that AutoCAD uses when the specified font cannot be located." This is not correct. When the FONTMAP system variable is set, the fonts specified in the fontmap file are substituted, regardless of whether or not the original fonts can be located.

The FONTMAP system variable allows users to substitute one font for another in AutoCAD drawings. It temporarily overrides the font defined in the text style definition. The FONTMAP system variable points to a file that lists which fonts to be replaced by other fonts. The FONTMAP system variable is set to acad.fmp by default. For example, if a customer wanted text styles that use txt.shx to be displayed with simplex.shx, they would place the following line in the specified fontmap file.

txt.shx;simplex.shx

Font mapping can be used to help enforce company standards when plotting or allow AutoCAD users to work with faster, simplified fonts until a final plot is needed.

FONTMAP should not be confused with the FONTALT system variable. FONTALT specifies a font to be used if the font originally defined in the text style cannot be found.

FONTALT

If the font specified by the FONTALT system variable cannot be found, the Specify Font for FONTALT dialog box will be displayed. Select an available font for FONTALT. (FONTALT specifies the alternate font to be used when the specified font file cannot be located. The fonts available must reside on the AutoCAD search path.)

The initial value for FONTALT is SIMPLEX.SHX, not ARIAL.TTF.

REG Files

The documentation states that exported profiles are saved in REG files. This is no longer true. Exported profiles are ARG files with the extension .ARG.

Batch Plotting Documentation

The Extended Batch Plot Utility (EBATCHP) completely replaces the previous Batch Plot Utility (BATCHPLT). On-line helpfile information regarding BATCHPLT should be ignored in favor of information regarding the Extended Batch Plot Utility. See the EBATCHP Help file located in the Help subdirectory.

The Extended Batch Plot Utility provides additional features over the previous batch plot utility. These features include the ability to control layer, plot area and space, logging, and plot stamping information in batch plots.

Loading Modeler.dll

The documentation does not provide the necessary information for loading Modeler.dll. Modeler.dll is a dynamically linked library that references ACIS for solid modeling. The modeler.dll file is not loaded until the first time solid modeling is referenced in an AutoCAD session. Once modeler.dll is loaded, whenever the command NEW is issued or a new drawing is opened, the modeler.dll is unloaded to free up memory and then reloaded. This is indicated in the status bar. (The solid modeling commands are BOX, SPHERE, CYLINDER, CONE, WEDGE, TORUS, EXTRUDE, REVOLVE, SLICE, SECTION, INTERFERE, UNION, SUBTRACT, INTERSECT, REGION, AMECONVERT, ACISIN, ACISOUT, MASSPROP, STLOUT, SOLVIEW, SOLDRAW, SOLPROF.)

Controlling the Display of Hatch Objects

The documentation does not mention the fact that the display of hatches is affected by the FILL command and the FILLMODE system variable.

Hatch display can be turned off and on with the FILL command and the FILLMODE system variable. When FILL is turned off (or FILLMODE is set to 0), hatch objects are not displayed. You must regenerate before the hatch objects disappear from screen.

Release 12 and Release 13 hatch objects are not affected by the FILL command and FILLMODE variable.

Reloading AutoLISP Between Drawings

The context-sensitive help for the Reload AutoLISP Between Drawings checkbox on the Compatibility tab in Preferences is incorrect. The correct text is:

Specifies whether AutoLISP-defined functions and variables are preserved when you open a new drawing or whether they are valid in the current drawing only. A checkmark will turn persistent AutoLISP OFF and the user will have to reload LISP applications in between drawing sessions. This option is controlled by the LISPINIT system variable.


Command Reference  [Readme]
Command Reference

This topic describes documentation issues that relate to the Command Reference.

MLSTYLE Command

The Command Reference describes the Name field in the Multiline Styles dialog box as follows:

"Name

Creates a new multiline style or renames one. Establish a multiline style by defining the element and multiline properties in the dialog boxes. Then enter a name and choose Save. AutoCAD saves the definition in the multiline library (MLN) file you specify. If you specify an MLN file that already exists, the new style definition is added to the file--existing definitions are not erased. The default file name is acad.mln."

The correct text is:

"Name

Creates a new multiline style or renames one. The element and multiline properties are unavailable until you enter a new name and make it current by selecting Add. Enter a name and choose Add, then Save the multiline style to an MLN file. AutoCAD saves the definition in the multiline library (MLN) file you specify. If you specify an MLN file that already exists, the new style definition is added to the file--existing definitions are not erased. The default file name is acad.mln."

BROWSER Command

The BROWSER command no longer appends "http://" to Web locations. This enables you to pass an ftp or file location to your default web browser.

XCLIP Command

The Command Reference incorrectly describes XCLIP as follows, "If the polyline is fit-curved or has arcs, the clip boundary is displayed as if the polyline had been decurved prior to being used as a clip boundary." The correct text is:

"If the polyline has arcs, the clip boundary is created as if it had been decurved prior to being used as a clip boundary. If the polyline is fit-curved, the clip boundary is created as a straight-edged representation of the fit-curved polyline."

MTEXT Command

In the multiline text editor, the diameter symbol, when selected from the symbol menu, is displayed as "%%c" in the multiline text editor instead of the actual diameter symbol.

DIMBLK System Variable

The following table lists the built-in arrow block names.

DDIM Arrow  Type Name	Invariant  Block Name	Localized Block  Name, US Localization
None	_NONE	NONE
Closed	_CLOSED	CLOSED
Dot	_DOT	DOT
Closed Filled	""	""
Closed Blank	_CLOSEDBLANK	CLOSEDBLANK
Oblique	_OBLIQUE	OBLIQUE
Architectural Tick	_ARCHTICK	ARCHTICK
Open	_OPEN	OPEN
Origin Indication	_ORIGIN	ORIGIN
Right-Angle	_OPEN90	OPEN90
Open 30	_OPEN30	OPEN30
Dot Blanked	_DOTBLANK	DOTBLANK
Dot Small	_DOTSMALL	DOTSMALL
Box Filled	_BOXFILLED	BOXFILLED
Box	_BOXBLANK	BOXBLANK
Datum Triangle Filled	_DATUMFILLED	DATUMFILLED
Datum Triangle	_DATUMBLANK	DATUMBLANK
Integral	_INTEGRAL	INTEGRAL
Note: If these names are used in an application you should use the invariant block name rather than the localized block name. The invariant names will work in any locale, while the localized names will only work in the "native" locale.

The DIMBLK1 and DIMBLK2 system variables descriptions should reference this list of arrow block names.

WRITESTAT System Variable

The read-only WRITESTAT system variable was added to Release 14 after the documentation was finalized. This system variable indicates whether a drawing file is read-only or can be written to. Developers need a way to determine write status through AutoLISP. Previously, developers used the DWGWRITE system variable for this purpose even though it was not intended for this use and was not necessarily correct.

If WRITESTAT is set to 1, writing to the drawing is allowed.

If WRITESTAT is set to 0, writing to the drawing is not allowed.

MTEXTED System Variable

The following text replaces the existing documentation for the MTEXTED system variable.

The MTEXTED system variable sets the primary and secondary text editors to use for multiline text objects. The default setting is Internal, which calls the internal MTEXT editor.

Setting a primary and secondary editor allows you to use a small Edit MTEXT dialog box on multiline text objects up to 80 characters long that require no special formatting. For multiline text objects larger than 80 characters long you can specify the internal editor or a third party editor.

You can also specify an AutoLISP function that has been designed for editing text. This can be any function that accepts a single string argument. The function will be called only if the multiline text object contains less than 80 characters. The function should return one of the three values:

A string of less than 256 characters. This string will then replace the current multiline text contents.

An integer, 0. This will cancel the editing operation.

An integer, -1. This will cause the operation to use the secondary editor.

The MTEXTED syntax is as follows:

:<AutoLISP function name>#<editor name>

where:

:	Is the AutoLISP indicator

<lisp function name>	Is the primary editor (an AutoLISP function designed for editing text)

#	Is the separator between the primary and secondary text editors

<editor name>	Is the secondary editor

Some valid values are:

blank	MTEXT internal editor

Internal	MTEXT internal editor

Notepad	Windows Notepad editor

lisped	Built-in AutoLISP function for editing small multiline text objects with the small Edit MTEXT dialog box

<function name>	AutoLISP function name designed for editing text

<editor name>	External text editor

Examples

:lisped	Use the AutoLISP function, lisped as the primary editor if the MTEXT object is less than 80 characters long. If the multiline text object is greater than 80 characters long, the default editor is used (for example, Internal).

:Lisped#internal	Use the AutoLISP function, lisped, as the primary text editor if the multiline text object is less than 80 characters long. Use the internal MTEXT dialog box as the secondary text editor if the multiline text object is greater than 80 characters long.

<editor name>	Use the external editor named <editor name>.

:lisped#<editor name>	Use the AutoLISP function, lisped, as the primary editor if the multiline text object is less than 80 characters long. If the multiline text object is greater than 80 characters long, the external editor <editor name> is used.

:<function name>	Same as :lisped above, but uses the AutoLISP function <function name> instead.

Note: MTEXT support for an AutoLISP function name might be discontinued in the future.

HIDEPRECISION System Variable

The HIDEPRECISION system variable has been added to control the accuracy of hides and shades. Release 14 can calculate hides in double precision or single precision. Setting HIDEPRECISION to 1 will produce more accurate hides because it uses double precision, but it also uses more memory, which can affect performance (especially when hiding solids).

Type: Integer

Not saved

Initial Value: 0

1  Double precision, uses more memory

0  Single precision, uses less memory

FACETRATIO System Variable

The FACETRATIO system variable has been added to control the aspect ratio of faceting for cylindrical and conic ACIS solids. A setting of 1 increases the density of the mesh which can improve the quality of rendered and shaded models.

Type: Integer

Not saved

Initial Value: 0

0: creates an N by 1 mesh for cylindrical and conic ACIS solids

1: creates an N by M mesh for cylindrical and conic ACIS solids

REGENAUTO Command

If a command requires a regeneration to update the drawing, and the REGENAUTO command is turned off, AutoCAD displays a "Regen queued" message instead of prompting the user to regenerate the drawing. The documentation implies that the "Regen queued" message appears only for transparent commands.

OSMODE System Variable

An extra bit has been added to the OSMODE system variable. When object snaps are switched off using the Osnap button on the status bar, a value of 16384 (0x4000) is returned in addition to the normal value of OSMODE. The extra bit was added so developers writing applications for AutoCAD can tell when object snaps have been turned off with the Osnap button on the status bar as opposed to turning object snaps off using the Osnap Setting dialog box. Setting this bit toggles running osnap off. Specifying an OSMODE value with this bit off toggles running osnap on.

MEASUREINIT System Variable

The MEASUREINIT system variable is not documented. The following information describes the MEASUREINIT system variable.

Type: Integer

Saved in: Registry

Initial value: varies by country

Sets initial drawing units as English or metric. Specifically, MEASUREINIT controls which hatch pattern and linetype file an existing drawing uses when it is opened. It also controls which template is used.

0	English; AutoCAD uses the hatch pattern file and linetype file designated by the ANSIHatch and ANSILinetype registry settings.

1	Metric; AutoCAD uses the hatch pattern file and linetype file designated by the ISOHatch and ISOLinetype registry settings.

MEASUREMENT System Variable

The Command Reference should explain that the MEASUREMENT system variable setting affects the current drawing only.

VISRETAIN System Variable

The Command Reference description of the VISRETAIN system variable should be replaced with the following text.

VISRETAIN

Type: Integer

Save In: Drawing

Initial Value: 1

Controls visibility, color, and linetype of xref-dependent layers and specifies whether nested xref path changes are saved.

0	The layer table, as stored in the reference drawing (xref) takes precedence. Changes made to xref-dependent layers in the current drawing are valid in the current session only but are not saved with the drawing. When the current drawing is reopened, the layer table is reloaded from the reference drawing and the current drawing reflects those settings. The layer settings affected are: On/Off, Freeze/Thaw, Color, and Linetype. This setting also specifies that changes made to the paths of nested xrefs are for the current session only and are not saved with the drawing.

1	Xref-dependent layer changes made in the current drawing take precedence.  Layer settings are saved with the current drawing's layer table and persist from session to session.  Nested xref path changes are saved with the current drawing and persist from session to session.


User's Guide  [Readme]
User's Guide

This topic describes documentation issues that relate to the User's Guide.

Open Dialog Box, Locate Button

The Locate button has been added to the Open dialog box. Choosing Locate after a drawing file name has been entered in the File Name box enables AutoCAD to search the support paths specified by the AutoCAD environment variable or in the Preferences dialog box. If the file is located, the File dialog box displays the directory that contains the file.

PostScript Fonts

In Appendix C, "Using Other File Formats" of the AutoCAD User's Guide, there is an incorrect reference to Type 1 fonts supplied with AutoCAD. Type 1 fonts are not supplied with AutoCAD. Navigate to "Using Files Created in Other Formats", "Using PostScript Files," and then, "Using Font Mapping When Importing PostScript Files." The correct text is:

The FONTMAP.PS file references a set of Type 1 fonts, as well as the fonts distributed with the Adobe Type Manager for Windows, Adobe Plus Pack, and Adobe Font Pack 1. If you've purchased additional fonts, you can edit the font map file and declare them the same way the existing fonts are declared.

Substituting Fonts

In chapter 9 of the User's Guide, in the section "Substituting Fonts," the paragraph incorrectly reads:

"AutoCAD comes with a default font mapping table. You can edit this file using any ASCII text editor. You also can specify a different font mapping table file in the Preferences dialog box, or you can specify the font mapping file using the FONTMAP system variable."

The correct text is:

"AutoCAD comes with a default font mapping table in the file ACAD.FMP in the Support directory. You can edit this file using any ASCII text editor. You also can specify a different font mapping table file in the Preferences dialog box, or you can specify the font mapping file using the FONTMAP system variable."

Working with Xref Files

If you are migrating to Release 14 and find you are locked out of your externally referenced drawings, check the setting of XLOADCTL in the AutoCAD sessions referencing those drawings. The default of XLOADCTL is 1 (demand loading enabled) and it locks reference drawings for demand loading. Setting XLOADCTL to 0 will revert to Release 13 behavior (demand loading disabled) and will leave the reference drawing unlocked. Setting XLOADCTL to 2 will create a temporary copy of the reference drawing and demand load from the copy. This also leaves the original drawing free for editing by another AutoCAD session. XLOADCTL is a system setting, therefore you will only need to set it once.

In chapter 11 "Using Blocks, Attributes, and Xrefs", under "Using External References, under "Changing Nested Xref Paths, the documentation states, "If AutoCAD cannot save a changed nested xref path with the current drawing, the following message is displayed.

Warning VISRETAIN must be On to save nested Xref path"

This is correct if the path change is made using -XREF PATH, not if the user uses the XREF dialog box to make the path changes.

Fitting Text within Extension Lines

The following sentence should be added to the first paragraph in the topic titled "Fitting Text within Extension Lines," in chapter 10, Dimensioning and Tolerancing:

User positioned text, including text positioned with grip editing, may also be subject to these factors.

Working with Slides

There is an error in "Appendix C -- Using Other File Formats", "Working with Slides", "Viewing Slide Libraries".

The procedure "To view a slide in a library" is incorrect. The procedure should read as follows:

1. At the Command prompt, enter filedia, then enter 0.

The display of all file open dialogs (including Select Slide File) is suppressed. Input is accepted only at the Command line.

2. At the Command prompt, enter vslide

3. On the command line, enter library(slidename) to specify the slide.

For example, enter acad(torus) to open the torus slide, which is stored in the acad.slb library file.

4. To remove the slide from the display, redraw the screen by choosing

Redraw from the View menu.

5. At the Command prompt, enter filedia, then enter 1.

The display of file open dialog boxes is re-enabled.


Installation Guide  [Readme]
Installation Guide

This topic describes documentation issues relating to the Installation Guide.

Default Installation Location

In Windows 95 and Windows NT 4.0 the default installation location is c:\Program Files\AutoCAD R14. For Windows NT 3.51 it remains c:\ACADR14.

Recovering Data from Backup Files

The following information should be added to the Installation Guide.

When you save a named drawing for the first time, AutoCAD creates a backup copy of the drawing, using the .BAK file extension. Each time you use the SAVE or SAVEAS command with the current drawing name, AutoCAD updates the backup file.

If your program terminates unexpectedly, AutoCAD tries to rename the backup file to prevent the corrupted file from replacing the existing backup file. AutoCAD renames the BAK file to .bk1 if that file does not exist. If that backup file exists, AutoCAD generates new file types in the sequence .bk2-.bk9, .bka-.bkz … .bzz until it finds a unique file name.

If your system fails and the BAK file contains the previous version of the drawing file, copy it to a safe place in case you need to revert to that version. To use the backup copy of the drawing, rename the file with a .dwg extension.

Network Deployment Location

In NT 3.51 under service pack 2 or less, if you use a path that is too deep when using the Network Setup Wizard to create deployment directories, you might get the error, "Cannot find file". For example, \\pc12345\dir1\ dir2\ dir3\ dir4\dir5 is a very deep path. To correct the problem, reduce the depth of the path.

ADI Printer Drivers

The version numbers of ADI printer drivers listed in chapter 7, Configuring Plotters and Printers might not be current. The latest available printer drivers are listed in the Add a Printer dialog box, available through the New button on the Printer tab of the PREFERENCES command.

CalComp Configuration

In Chapter 7, Configuring Plotters and Printers, under Specific Plotter Configuration Information, CalComp Plotters, Configuration Questions, the following text is incorrect:

"Select the serial port for your plotter."

You are not limited to a serial port. You can choose Serial, Parallel or Network.

ACADDRV Environment Variable

The behavior of the ACADDRV environment variable has been modified. The ACADDRV environment variable path list is appended to the Device Driver File Search Path list on the Files tab in Preferences when you start AutoCAD for the first time. The previous behavior substituted the Device Driver File Search Path list with the ACADDRV value.

Log File Default Location

The default location for the AutoCAD log file is the directory that was the current working directory when you started AutoCAD. If you choose Reset on the Profiles tab, the log file location will reset to this location.

Elan Network License Utilities

The AdLM WinAdmin network license utility has been changed to incorporate the display of product feature codes and license counts on the local license server. It scans the assigned key directory on the machine the program is executing on for any existing license files (LIC) and extracts the product feature codes and license counts. If no license files are found, as may be the case when first creating a license pool, the following message is displayed, "No feature licenses found."

The display format of this is <product feature code number> : <license count>. The product name may also be displayed in parentheses as shown in the following example.

140 : 10 (AutoCAD)

The product feature code list box is updated only at the time the AutoCAD is run. You must rerun the AutoCAD to see any current changes. The main purpose for this feature is to provide additional license information when authorizing a product license.

The ADLM network license management system requires that the client requesting a license from the license server machine have matching system clock dates (date on client machine must be the same as the license server machine). If this requirement is not met, the client (AutoCAD) will be denied a license. A Security Device error message will be displayed.

Drawing Order

The statement in the Installation Guide regarding the compatibility with Release 13 should be modified slightly.

In Appendix A, Compatibility Issues, under Compatibility with Release 13, Drawing Order, it should state that upon reading the Release 13 drawing back into Release 14 and regenerating the drawing, the drawing order created earlier using Release 14 is reinstated.

Compatibility with Release 13: MSLIDE

In Appendix A, Compatibility Issues, under Compatibility with Release 13, MSLIDE, the following text is inaccurate:

"If you want to create slides in Release 14, you can create a DWF file with DWFOUT and then use DWF2SLD to convert the drawing file to a slide."

You can use MSLIDE to create slides in Release 14. The DWF2SLD command does not exist.

Uninstalling AutoCAD

When uninstalling AutoCAD, you might be prompted to remove some shared DLL files that were installed with the application. If you have no other copies of AutoCAD, and are sure that no other applications of your own are using these DLL files, you should remove these from your system.

Using Command Line Switches

There is an error in the Installation Guide Chapter 4, "Setting Up the AutoCAD System Environment", in the section "Using Command Line Switches". In the table, "Old and new command line switch syntax", the "new long filename syntax" incorrectly states that a "drawing file" parameter can be used with the /t switch to create a new drawing based on a template or prototype drawing. AutoCAD will report "Drawing file not found" if this parameter specifies a drawing that does not already exist. If the "drawing file" parameter specifies a drawing that does exist, that drawing will be opened and the template file specification will be ignored.

There is another error in this section under, "The /t switch".

The second sentence of this section incorrectly suggests that a new drawing named "widget" can be created by using the "/t" switch with the name of the template to be used.

Supported Printers and Plotters

The list of supported printers and plotters shown in the table "Printers and plotters supported by AutoCAD ADI drivers" in Chapter 7, "Configuring Plotters and Printers" contains some errors. All CalComp printers and plotters should show NR in the R/NR column. The Hewlett Packard HP-GL plotter (plphplp.dll) should be listed as ADI version 4.2 instead of 4.3.

IGESIN and IGESOUT

Appendix A, "Compatibility Issues", under "Compatibility with Release 12" does not mention that IGESIN and IGESOUT have been removed from AutoCAD.


Customization Guide  [Readme]
Customization Guide

This topic describes documentation issues that relate to the Customization Guide.

initdia -- New AutoLISP Function

The following AutoLISP function should be added to chapter 13 of the Customization Guide.

initdia

Forces the display of the next command's dialog box.

(initdia [<dialogflag>])

The <dialogflag> argument is an integer. If this argument is not present or is present and nonzero, the next use (and next use only) of a command will display that command's dialog box rather than its command line prompts. Currently, the only commands to make use of the initdia function are BHATCH, LAYER, IMAGE, IMAGEADJUST, LINETYPE, MTEXT, PLOT, STYLE, and TOOLBAR.

If the <dialogflag> argument is zero, then any previous call to this function is cleared, which restores the default behavior of presenting the command line interface.

This function returns no value.

This function is defined by the acadapp ARX application.

fontmap.ps

The following paragraph should replace the third paragraph in the topic titled "The AutoCAD Font Map File--fontmap.ps," in chapter 3, "Shapes, Fonts, and PostScript Support":

As shipped, fontmap.ps references a set of Type 1 fonts that were supplied with AutoCAD in Releases 12 and 13, as well as the fonts distributed with the Adobe Type Manager for Windows, Adobe Plus Pack, and Adobe Font Pack 1. If you've purchased additional fonts, you can edit the font map file and declare them the same way the existing fonts are declared.

LIGHT Command

In Chapter 14 "Accessing Externally Defined Commands and System Variables", under the LIGHT command, the syntax for the ND--New Distant Light option of the LIGHT command is shown as follows:

(c:light "ND" name [intensity [from [to [color ]]]])

It should be changed to:

(c:light "ND" name [intensity [from [to [color [shadowmapsize
[nil [nil [shadowsoftness [shadow [month [day [hour [minute
[daylightsavings [latitude [longitude [timezone [attenuation
[shadowobjects]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]])

SETENV and GETENV

The setenv and getenv AutoLISP functions are not documented in the Customization Guide. The instructions are as follows.

Setenv sets a system environment variable to a specified value.

(setenv variable-name value)

The variable-name argument is a string specifying the name of the environment variable to be set. You must enclose the variable name and value in quotation marks. Environment variable names must be spelled and cased exactly as they are stored in the system registry. Changes to settings might not take effect until the next time AutoCAD is started.

Example: (setenv "MaxArray" "10000")

Getenv returns the string value assigned to a system environment variable.

(getenv variable-name)

The variable-name argument is a string specifying the name of the variable to be read. If the variable does not exist, getenv returns nil. You must enclose the variable name in quotation marks. Environment variable names must be spelled and cased exactly as they are stored in the system registry.

Example: (getenv "MaxArray")     returns  "10000"


Using ActiveX Automation with AutoCAD  [Readme]
Using ActiveX Automation with AutoCAD

The following information should be added to the topic titled "Creating Graphical Objects in the AutoCAD Drawing":

The point required by the TextPostition property of a dimension object (DimAligned, DimAngular, DimDiametric, DimOrdinate, DimRadial, and DimRotated) is used as a starting point for AutoCAD to determine the appropriate text placement. The resulting text position might not be identical to that specified. The same caveat applies to the various set methods for dimension line points in the dimension objects.


External Database Help Files  [Readme]
External Database Help Files

This topic describes documentation issues that relate to the External Database Help files and the External Database Configuration Editor online help.

Connecting to an SQL Server

There are some errors in the topic "ODBC 2.0 Driver Information", under "Setting Up Your ODBC Driver", "Using SQL Server with ODBC", "Creating an SQL Server Information Schema".

Step 9 under "To create an INFORMATION_SCHEMA login ID" currently reads:

9 Leave the Password box empty.

The correct text is:

9 Leave the Password box empty or enter a password and make a note of it.

Step 2 under "To create the views" currently reads:

2 In the Login ID box, enter sa.

The correct text is:

2 In the Login ID box, enter INFORMATION_SCHEMA.

In the same procedure in step 4, you are incorrectly instructed to enter the following text:

create view SCHEMATA ( CATALOG_NAME, SCHEMA_NAME, SCHEMA_OWNER ) as select 'current_database_name', name, name from sysusers where uid != gid;

create view TABLES ( TABLE_CATALOG, TABLE_SCHEMA, TABLE_NAME, TABLE_TYPE )as select 'current_database_name', u.name, o.name, o.typefrom sysusers u, sysobjects owhere u.uid = o.uid and u.name != ‘information_schema’and (o.type = 's' or o.type = 'u' or o.type = 'v');

The correct text is:

create view SCHEMATA ( CATALOG_NAME, SCHEMA_NAME, SCHEMA_OWNER ) as select 'current_database_name', name, name from sysusers where uid != gid;

create view TABLES ( TABLE_CATALOG, TABLE_SCHEMA, TABLE_NAME, TABLE_TYPE )as select 'current_database_name', u.name, o.name, o.typefrom sysusers u, sysobjects owhere u.uid = o.uid and u.name != ‘INFORMATION_SCHEMA (o.type = 'U' or o.type = 'V');

The text "current_database_name" should be replaced with the name of the database you are using.

In the last line above, "INFORMATION_SCHEMA", "U", and "V" must all be uppercase.

In the dBASE III Driver Information, "Data Type Mapping" section, the following should be changed.

Incorrect:

dBASE III PLUS Data Type	SQL2 Data Type

Numeric (p,0) 	DECIMAL (p-1,0)

Numeric (p,s) 	DECIMAL (p-2,s)

Correct:

dBASE III PLUS Data Type	SQL2 Data Type

Numeric (p,0) 	DECIMAL (p,0)

Numeric (p,s) 	DECIMAL (p,s)

Configuring Microsoft Access with ODBC

There are some errors in the topic "ODBC 2.0 Driver Information", under "Setting Up Your ODBC Driver", "Using Microsoft Access with ODBC", "Configuring Microsoft Access with ODBC".

Step 6 under "To specify a data source and reference file" currently reads:

6 Choose Select Database. Then select the database you want to access.

This database should be one you created in MS Access 7.0. In the example, you can select c:\msoffice\access\infsch.mdb.

The correct text is:

6 Choose Select Database. Then select the database you want to access.

This database should be one you created in MS Access 7.0. In the example, you can select c:\msoffice\access\data1.mdb.

Step 8 under "To use the External Database Configuration Utility to set up Microsoft Access" currently reads:

8 Next to Default Catalog, Default Schema, and Autocommit, leave the fields blank.

The correct text is:

8 Leave the Default Catalog and Autocommit fields blank. For Default Schema, enter your default schema. (This is the same as the database connection you specified in the previous procedure.)

Connecting to a FoxPro DBC Database

The following is additional information on using the ASIODBC driver to connect to the FoxPro DBC database.

(The ODBC driver tested is the INTERSOLV 3.00 32-BIT FoxPro 3.0 Database (*.dbc) driver.)

To connect to a FoxPro DBC database

1. Configure a new data source using the ODBC Data Source Administrator.

2. Configure a new Environment in the External Database Configuration Editor. The Environment name will be the same name as in the ODBC Data Source Administrator.

3. Set Schema to NOT SUPPORTED.

4. Leave Information Schema blank.

5. For Default Schema, enter the full path to the DBC file you want to connect to. Enter double quotes around the string. For example “d:\temp\FoxDBC\data1.dbc”.

6. Choose the Schemas and Tables Tab.

7. Enter the same you specified under Default Schema, including the double quotes around the string.

8. Enter the table names associated with that database container.


AutoCAD Release 14 Preview, VBA Edition  [Readme]
AutoCAD Release 14 Preview, VBA Edition

Autodesk has included a "Preview Edition" of our implementation of Microsoft(R) Visual Basic, Applications Edition (VBA). For information on how to install and use the AutoCAD Release 14 Preview, VBA Edition, please refer to the README.TXT file located in the VBAINST directory on the CD.


Using AutoCAD Bonus Tools  [Readme]
Using AutoCAD Bonus Tools

Although we put a great deal of effort into making sure the Bonus Tools are free of problems, they are not officially supported by Autodesk. We do not guarantee that the results are 100% error free.

To use the bonus tools, choose the Full installation option or select Bonus and Batch Plotting during a custom installation. The installation program places the bonus files in the BONUS\CADTOOLS directory and puts that directory in the Support File Search Path. The installation program also appends your ACADR14.LSP and ACAD.MNL files to ensure the proper loading of the bonus support file AC_BONUS.LSP and menu file AC_BONUS.MNU.

Note: You must select both Bonus and Batch Plotting to install the DLL files necessary for all bonus routines to function. If you select Bonus but not Batch Plotting, alias.exe and bconvert.exe will not function because VB40032.DLL will not be installed.

If you uninstall an installation of AutoCAD that included the bonus material, and reinstall AutoCAD and the bonus material to the same directory, the bonus menu and toolbars do not automatically load. You must enter bonusmenu at the command prompt to load them. The reason for this is that the AutoCAD installer does not make registry entries for the bonus menu. The menu is loaded by a LISP program which is designed to load the menu once by placing a flag in the ACADR14.CFG file. Once the menu is loaded, the registry entries are made, and subsequent sessions have the menu. Since the altered ACADR14.CFG file is not removed by the uninstall process, the next installation sees the flag and does not attempt to load the bonus menu.


Installing and Using AutoCAD Learning Assistance  [Readme]
Installing and Using AutoCAD Learning Assistance

To install AutoCAD Learning Assistance, please follow the instructions below. These instructions assume that you've already installed AutoCAD Release 14.

For more information, refer to the Release Notes document that is installed with Learning Assistance.

Installing AutoCAD Learning Assistance

If you are running Windows NT 4.0 or Windows 95, Autorun begins the installation process as soon as you insert the CD.

If you are running Windows NT 3.51 perform the following steps:

1	From File menu, choose Run.

2	Enter the CD-ROM drive letter followed by setup (for example, d:\setup).

3	Follow the instructions displayed to complete the installation.

Running AutoCAD Learning Assistance

Choose one of the following depending on your operating system:

Windows NT 3.51:	Choose Learning Assistance from the Learning Assistance program group.

Windows 95 or NT 4.0:	From the AutoCAD Help menu, choose Learning Assistance or from the Start Menu choose Programs. Then choose AutoCAD Learning Assistance.

Note: You must have the AutoCAD Learning Assistance CD in the drive to run the application.