In certain drawings, I've noticed hitting the esc key will revert the drawing back to the time of the last save, sometimes even before that. There is no rhyme or reason when and if it will happen, it just does.
The command line and input history remains consistent with the work completed although the work itself is gone. Usually when this happens I'll do a purge and then an audit. Sometimes this helps, oftentimes it does not. Has this ever happened to anyone else? Is my computer/AutoCAD possessed? Is there a fix for this. Please help. Thanks in advance for any suggestions... short of throwing the thing out the window.
has the esc key been changed to another function? i know this about the esc key; using it can be a problem, especially when trying to "cancel" a command, so be careful. this point was told to me by autodesk...
someone can change the alias of a command, i used to do it to piss people off. use return key. the other thing; make sure your save percentage [in the options] is set to 0, this will perform a "fullsave" whereas the quick save only compounds errors, the fullsave writes over the file. the quicksave is an incremental thing.
aliases are in the PGP file (or is it in the mnu or both? I keep forgetting) which is attached to a profile.
I've been trying to replicate your problem, but I'm having no luck.
I've been using the esc key in ACAD for over 12 years now and I've yet to run into any issues with it…sometimes the techs you get a hold of don't actually know what they're talking about
esc key is not a real function in autocad, apparently interrupting a process in that fashion could, could present problems. PGP is one place to start. make sure your IT guys have upgraded all service packs.
When we told our IT guy about the problem he just looked at us like we had three heads. I'll see if he's updated all the service packs. I've never heard of PGP until today, but I'll look into that too. Thanks for your all help.
Threshold - I honestly have no recollection, as it seems completely random. Yesterday it kept happening after I hatched something and then proceeded to get into another command. I'll try to make a note of what command I am in the middle of if it happens again, prior to screaming obscenities and pulling out all my hair.
melt, one thing i just noticed in your comment above. are you hatching something - an area, a wall, something - that has an xref in the file? if you are, [STOP!!!] don't do that anymore. if you must do that, do not use associate hatch and create a polyline around the object you are hatching.
Yes I am hatching in a drawing that has an xref, but I always draw a polyline said xref it, isolate that layer and then put in the hatch. Let me also add that everything seemed to go haywire after I unisolated the layers. Is that what's doing it? It doesn't make any sense considering I'm not actually hatching the xref I'm hatching the polyline that outlines the xref.
I assume you've purged the drawings and done an audit on them (as well as any of their xrefs)? Sometimes things get screwy if a particular drawing is corrupted, or contains objects that AutoCAD doesn't know how to deal with (such as certain Architectural Desktop objects).
Vado - if only that really happened. I could so use a some time on tropical island.
Yes I purged AND audited. Usually that takes care of the problem, but the other day it kept on happening in a certain drawing no matter how many times I repeated the purging and auditing. This only leads me to believe that the drawings are possessed.
Would a drawing with a wipeout layer cause something like this to happen?
melt, the problem is the hatch/regen/xref combination, everytime the xref file changes, the hatch is recalculating the xrefs/object/dwg changes and compounding the errors. if you use non-associative hatch, you begin to eliminate the problem.
Even though it's the polyline that is used for the boundary line? Interesting. Thanks so much beta, I'll definitely remember to switch to non-associative hatch in these cases and let everyone else know. This will hopefully prevent a lot of headaches and save people from wanting to throw their computers out of the windows.
I asked about Multiple Entity Stretch (and possibly EXTRIM) because we had that same problem a while back. I have not seen it happen with recent releases of Acad but it was a non-reproducible occurrence back in 2000i though 2004. It would happen on occasion to people at our office and it has happened to me first hand more than once where after using EXTRIM or MSTRETCH and then hitting ESC you revert back to the last full save version with no way of recovering the lost work.
Since both tools we unsupported Express Tools we were never able to get an answer/solution from Autodesk and discussions on the acad newsgroup didn’t bring a solution either.
Luckily I have not seen it happen since we moved to Acad2008.
If you're using a polyline as your hatch boundary (usually a good idea), make sure you create the hatch using the "Select objects" option, rather than "Pick points". Seems to make things go a lot smoother.
I'm still not sure that explains the behavior of the ESC key, though... That's just plain bizarre. I recommend consulting an exorcist.
You'd think Express Tools would simply have been absorbed into AutoCAD and fully supported by Autodesk now. I'm convinced that Autodesk is the General Motors and/or Microsoft of the CAD world.
beta - as far as your ealier post, you're referring to the incremental save percentage right? I hate making assumptions.
threshold - I use 2006 and one of the other people who it happened to uses 2007, so I guess the issue hasn't been quite fixed. Glad to hear though you don't have the issue any longer.
i wonder if you have a slightly stuck key on the keyboard perhaps and it's occasionally sending a command? try swapping a keyboard for a bit??? perhaps the mouse may be doing the same too???
Melt, any time I had crazy, un explainable acad issues, I was to copy everything, and paste it into a new, blank file. It always seemed to work. Seems silly, I know, but hey, if the other stuff didn't work, maybe that is worth a shot.
Oh, and about the esc key, I know that if you're in the middle of command that automatically switches things like snaps on or off, and esc before completing the task, it screws your snaps up, but thats just annoying, not devestating.
Here are some other things that make AutoCAD get all wonky:
-exploded hatches
-drawings from another Architect/consultant/?, especially if they trigger missing .shx files or generate proxy objects (civil and landscape drawings are the big culprits here)
-geometry that is far away from the origin
-multiple xclipped and copied xrefs
-working with the layers palette on if using AutoCAD2009
-hundreds of layers and layer states (if the window pulldown no longer displays the layer list in alphabetical but in the order of creation--you have too many layers)
also: have you guys contacted Autodesk about this?
"Autocad and the escape key" I hit and nothing happens. I keep looking but all I see is myself still sitting in the chair infront of the computer. Think I'm going to Sue...I hit the key and yet I can't Escape.....to blue ocean sandy beaches. It is a boomer!
Now I know Sketchup is screwed: This annoucement today:
Yahoo said Tuesday that it had named Carol Bartz, the chairman and former chief executive of the software maker AutoDesk, as its new leader, succeeding its co-founder Jerry Yang.
Wait a second.....maybe Sketchup will survive....now that she is taking over yahoo.....Google owns Sketchup... yahoo will now have to come up with its own 3-d freebee...."Draw_Down"
Jan 13, 09 5:34 pm ·
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AutoCAD and the ESC key
In certain drawings, I've noticed hitting the esc key will revert the drawing back to the time of the last save, sometimes even before that. There is no rhyme or reason when and if it will happen, it just does.
The command line and input history remains consistent with the work completed although the work itself is gone. Usually when this happens I'll do a purge and then an audit. Sometimes this helps, oftentimes it does not. Has this ever happened to anyone else? Is my computer/AutoCAD possessed? Is there a fix for this. Please help. Thanks in advance for any suggestions... short of throwing the thing out the window.
has the esc key been changed to another function? i know this about the esc key; using it can be a problem, especially when trying to "cancel" a command, so be careful. this point was told to me by autodesk...
Unless one can change the function of a key on a file by file (drawing by drawing) basis... no.
OK, dumb question, but how SHOULD one cancel a command other than using the ESC key? That's always how I've done it.
someone can change the alias of a command, i used to do it to piss people off. use return key. the other thing; make sure your save percentage [in the options] is set to 0, this will perform a "fullsave" whereas the quick save only compounds errors, the fullsave writes over the file. the quicksave is an incremental thing.
But that's in your profile right? This whole issue above is only happening in certain drawings and even at that it's random.
aliases are in the PGP file (or is it in the mnu or both? I keep forgetting) which is attached to a profile.
I've been trying to replicate your problem, but I'm having no luck.
I've been using the esc key in ACAD for over 12 years now and I've yet to run into any issues with it…sometimes the techs you get a hold of don't actually know what they're talking about
esc key is not a real function in autocad, apparently interrupting a process in that fashion could, could present problems. PGP is one place to start. make sure your IT guys have upgraded all service packs.
When we told our IT guy about the problem he just looked at us like we had three heads. I'll see if he's updated all the service packs. I've never heard of PGP until today, but I'll look into that too. Thanks for your all help.
By chance, were you using the Express Tool “Multiple Entity Stretch” right before hitting ESC and experiencing the drawing revert?
Threshold - I honestly have no recollection, as it seems completely random. Yesterday it kept happening after I hatched something and then proceeded to get into another command. I'll try to make a note of what command I am in the middle of if it happens again, prior to screaming obscenities and pulling out all my hair.
melt, one thing i just noticed in your comment above. are you hatching something - an area, a wall, something - that has an xref in the file? if you are, [STOP!!!] don't do that anymore. if you must do that, do not use associate hatch and create a polyline around the object you are hatching.
I agree with beta... All sorts of bad weirdness can happen if one of your hatch boundaries is an xref.
Yes I am hatching in a drawing that has an xref, but I always draw a polyline said xref it, isolate that layer and then put in the hatch. Let me also add that everything seemed to go haywire after I unisolated the layers. Is that what's doing it? It doesn't make any sense considering I'm not actually hatching the xref I'm hatching the polyline that outlines the xref.
hit the esc button and be transported to a tropical island with lots of sun water and drinks with umbrellas i them...
I assume you've purged the drawings and done an audit on them (as well as any of their xrefs)? Sometimes things get screwy if a particular drawing is corrupted, or contains objects that AutoCAD doesn't know how to deal with (such as certain Architectural Desktop objects).
lig......AutoCad doesn't know how to deal with Architects in General....not only Architectural Desktop objects.
Vado - if only that really happened. I could so use a some time on tropical island.
Yes I purged AND audited. Usually that takes care of the problem, but the other day it kept on happening in a certain drawing no matter how many times I repeated the purging and auditing. This only leads me to believe that the drawings are possessed.
Would a drawing with a wipeout layer cause something like this to happen?
melt, the problem is the hatch/regen/xref combination, everytime the xref file changes, the hatch is recalculating the xrefs/object/dwg changes and compounding the errors. if you use non-associative hatch, you begin to eliminate the problem.
Even though it's the polyline that is used for the boundary line? Interesting. Thanks so much beta, I'll definitely remember to switch to non-associative hatch in these cases and let everyone else know. This will hopefully prevent a lot of headaches and save people from wanting to throw their computers out of the windows.
I asked about Multiple Entity Stretch (and possibly EXTRIM) because we had that same problem a while back. I have not seen it happen with recent releases of Acad but it was a non-reproducible occurrence back in 2000i though 2004. It would happen on occasion to people at our office and it has happened to me first hand more than once where after using EXTRIM or MSTRETCH and then hitting ESC you revert back to the last full save version with no way of recovering the lost work.
Since both tools we unsupported Express Tools we were never able to get an answer/solution from Autodesk and discussions on the acad newsgroup didn’t bring a solution either.
Luckily I have not seen it happen since we moved to Acad2008.
If you're using a polyline as your hatch boundary (usually a good idea), make sure you create the hatch using the "Select objects" option, rather than "Pick points". Seems to make things go a lot smoother.
I'm still not sure that explains the behavior of the ESC key, though... That's just plain bizarre. I recommend consulting an exorcist.
yeah, no prob, it's a lesson i had to learn....
You'd think Express Tools would simply have been absorbed into AutoCAD and fully supported by Autodesk now. I'm convinced that Autodesk is the General Motors and/or Microsoft of the CAD world.
beta - as far as your ealier post, you're referring to the incremental save percentage right? I hate making assumptions.
threshold - I use 2006 and one of the other people who it happened to uses 2007, so I guess the issue hasn't been quite fixed. Glad to hear though you don't have the issue any longer.
yep, incremental save % should be 0, and your autosave is whatever you feel comfortable with.
SHWEET!!! Thanks again
The Senior Executive was part of Bushes inner Circle.....no wonder the fricking software is so bad.
but she did do so much for the environment... Bartz
is that her kid?
ARGH!!!!! The problem is occurring again and I've done everything that was suggested above. If anyone has any more suggestions, let me know. Thanks.
i wonder if you have a slightly stuck key on the keyboard perhaps and it's occasionally sending a command? try swapping a keyboard for a bit??? perhaps the mouse may be doing the same too???
reinstall.....
Melt, any time I had crazy, un explainable acad issues, I was to copy everything, and paste it into a new, blank file. It always seemed to work. Seems silly, I know, but hey, if the other stuff didn't work, maybe that is worth a shot.
Oh, and about the esc key, I know that if you're in the middle of command that automatically switches things like snaps on or off, and esc before completing the task, it screws your snaps up, but thats just annoying, not devestating.
el jeffe - I don't think it's a stuck key as it seems to happen only on large drawings for a specific project.
cb - Re-installing isn't the issue either, as it's happened to others in my office as well. All are working on the same project.
SH - I may have to try that as copy/pasting as a last resort. For now, I'm just trying to avoid hitting the esc key when I'm in the large drawings.
Thanks everyone for your suggestions.
Here are some other things that make AutoCAD get all wonky:
-exploded hatches
-drawings from another Architect/consultant/?, especially if they trigger missing .shx files or generate proxy objects (civil and landscape drawings are the big culprits here)
-geometry that is far away from the origin
-multiple xclipped and copied xrefs
-working with the layers palette on if using AutoCAD2009
-hundreds of layers and layer states (if the window pulldown no longer displays the layer list in alphabetical but in the order of creation--you have too many layers)
also: have you guys contacted Autodesk about this?
"Autocad and the escape key" I hit and nothing happens. I keep looking but all I see is myself still sitting in the chair infront of the computer. Think I'm going to Sue...I hit the key and yet I can't Escape.....to blue ocean sandy beaches. It is a boomer!
Now I know Sketchup is screwed: This annoucement today:
Yahoo said Tuesday that it had named Carol Bartz, the chairman and former chief executive of the software maker AutoDesk, as its new leader, succeeding its co-founder Jerry Yang.
Wait a second.....maybe Sketchup will survive....now that she is taking over yahoo.....Google owns Sketchup... yahoo will now have to come up with its own 3-d freebee...."Draw_Down"
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