AutoCAD R12 C4 for Windows Questions and Answers ------------------------------------------------- The purpose of this Question and Answer summary is to provide information about AutoCAD R12 c4 for Windows. The summary is organized as follows: Q1: What is AutoCAD R12 c4 for Windows? Q2: What's new in R12 c4 for Windows? Q3: What bugs are fixed in R12 c4? Q4: How will AutoCAD R12 c4 be delivered to customers? Q5: How easy is the patch to use? Q6: What versions of AutoCAD does the patch work on? Q7: What technology did Autodesk use to create these patches? Q8: How reliable is this patch technology? Q9: What if I have customized pieces of AutoCAD? Q10: What about authorization codes? Q11: Will I need to reconfigure AutoCAD? Q1: What is AutoCAD R12 c4 for Windows? AutoCAD R12 c4 for Windows fixes a few bugs that were found after releasing C3 which was the first major maintenance release of AutoCAD Release 12 for Windows. There is no c4 bugfix for R12 DOS. Q2: What's new in R12 c4 for Windows? There are no new features in AutoCAD R12 c4, it only includes fixes made to c3. Q3: What bugs are fixed in R12 c4? AutoCAD Release 12 c4 for Windows includes all the fixes that were included in R12 c3, plus several new fixes. The following lists all the changes from c3 to c4: Selecting the F1 key while the cursor is positioned over a sidebar (screen) menu item will now display the correct help topic (if it exists). Issuing a (done_dialog) callback from a popup list in a programmable dialog box will no longer cause a General Protection Fault. Running the setup routine after Disk 1 has been personalized will now correctly prompt you for installation options. Restoring plotter device defaults for the system printer from a PCP file will now correctly update the pen parameter table. Canceling a Copyembed or Copylink command will no longer cause a General Protection Fault when attempting another Copyembed/Copylink. When overwriting a plot file, the plot information will now be written to the correct file. The "Restore From ACAD.INI" selection in the Preferences dialog now works correctly. When plotting to an AutoSpool directory, AutoCAD now checks to see if the Plotting environment variable (ACADPLCMD) is set before attempting to execute the command that it specifies. The GDI Bypass option of the Windows Accelerated Display driver now draws all vectors with the correct colors. Q4: How will AutoCAD R12 c4 be delivered to customers? English language versions of AutoCAD R12 c4 for Windows are currently being shipped in all new product going out of production in the US, Canada and Asia Pacific. Existing AutoCAD for Windows customers using R12c1, R12c1a, R12c1c and R12c3 will be able to request a full set of patch disks to update their version to R12c4. Patch disks will be available through dealers or through Customer Service by calling (800) 538-6401. These full patches will also be available electronically via CompuServe, Internet and the Global Village. The full c4 patch will replace the c3 patch which was formerly available. For the convenience of our users who have already run the c3 patch, we are providing a mini patch which will take their AutoCAD version from R12 c3 to c4 and does not require reconfiguration. This mini patch is available via Compuserve, Internet and the Global village. Q5: How easy is the patch to use? We've provided a very simple batch file which automates the whole process. The procedure takes approximately 15 minutes or less. If you are downloading the file electronicaly, you will need to download the following files: Currently using the R12 c3 version (US and Canada): c3c4.exe Currently using the R12 c3 version (international): c3c4i.exe Currently using R12c1, c1a, or c1c (US and Canada): c4w1.exe, c4w2.exe, c4w3.exe, c4w4.exe Currently using R12c1, c1a, or c1c (international): c4wi1.exe, c4w2.exe, c4w3.exe, c4w4.exe To install the Windows patch: Assuming you have installed your AutoCAD for Windows on drive C in the acadwin directory and your floppy disk is in drive a: (or your archive files were expanded in the patch directory), to run the patch perform the following steps: a. From a DOS prompt (preferably not within Windows), type in c: cd \acadwin b. If you are installing from floppy disks, insert disk 1 in drive a and type in a:install a: c. If you are installing from a single directory, type in c:\patch\install c:\patch and follow the instructions on the screen. Note: If you are using the c3c4 or c3c4i patch, you should substitute "install4" for "install" in the above instructions. To install the Windows patch you will need at least 6MB free hard disk space. We recommend backing up your current AutoCAD installation prior to installing the patch. Q6: What versions of AutoCAD does the patch work on? For AutoCAD R12 for Windows the patch will update R12 c1, R12 c1a and R12 c1c and R12 c3 to R12 c4 including versions already patched with fixc1hlp.exe and winc1c.exe. Effectively the patch works on the US English language locked and unlocked versions of AutoCAD R12 for Windows. Q7: What technology did Autodesk use to create these patches? We used RTPatch from PocketSoft and PKZIP from PKWARE. Q8: How reliable is this patch technology? When creating the patch, the patch builder program creates a checksum of the original file. The patch apply program will only work on a version of the file with an identical checksum. Therefore, there is no risk to inadvertently patching the wrong file. Q9: What if I have customized pieces of AutoCAD? The update process performs binary patches on executable files only. Files such as acad.mnu will be replaced in full. Therefore, if the user has customized acad.mnu it will be necessary to manually bring forward such changes. For a complete list of files changed in the c4 update, consult the readme.doc that ships on the patch disks. Q10: What about authorization codes? Since the serial number for AutoCAD remains the same, your existing AME, Designer, AutoVision or network usage authorization codes are still valid. Q11: Will I need to reconfigure AutoCAD? Yes, after installing the patch AutoCAD will automatically prompt you for reconfiguration.