ShareWare OnLine 2/ShareWare OnLine Volume 2 (CMS Software)(1993).iso/network/blts493.zip/ACAD10.TXT

Text File | 1992-08-23 | 12KB | 264 lines

TECHNICAL BULLETIN
09.23.91 AUTOCAD10 MWF (update 08.24.92)
CAD SOFTWARE: AutoCAD 10 (DOS Version), Autodesk, Inc.



Comment:
AutoCAD Release 10 (DOS) is listed as compatible with LANtastic
NOS 2.57, 3.0X and 4.0X. There has been limited testing in-house.
The following information has been compiled from various
resources on using AutoCAD with LANtastic.

Guidelines for using AutoCAD 10 (DOS) with LANtastic:
1. Use AutoCAD 10 Rev. C7, if possible. If a user has AutoCAD
Rev. C2, Autodesk will provide a free upgrade if the user takes
his original disks to the dealer he purchased AutoCAD from.

2. Using an AutoCAD workstation as a server for sharing a plotter
or printer-plotter is not recommended since AutoCAD is a very
processor-time intensive application (and disk intensive if a
RAMDISK isn't used for .EXE and .OVL files - see note 11).
Performance of AutoCAD and/or the network can be severely reduced
by background plotter or printer-plotter despooling (generally
seen as slow or jerky crosshair movement). The ideal AutoCAD
network configuration would include a dedicated server with
harddrive and ports to control the plotter(s) and
printer-plotter(s), thus allowing the AutoCAD workstations to
have 100% of their own processor time available for AutoCAD
functions.

3. Set FCBS=16,8 and FILES=30 in CONFIG.SYS on workstations
running AutoCAD 10 (DOS). Higher values may degrade performance.
If the workstation will be running other DOS applications, FCBS=
and FILES= may need to be higher.

4. Specialty video boards on workstations running AutoCAD may
cause problems. If problems arise with video boards, check to see
which video driver is being used. If the driver was supplied by
the video card manufacturer, change to the video driver supplied
with AutoCAD (after putting the video adapter in the default mode
for EGA or VGA). If the problems disappear, this suggests that
the manufacturer-supplied driver is at fault.

5. Almost all CAD programs have memory resident utilities
available to speed up video display (such as Display List
Drivers). Some video utilities MUST be loaded BEFORE the network
to work correctly (they do disk access like caches). Drivers that
do not overflow to disk have shown excellent results being loaded
after the network, even on a server. Drivers that are removable
from memory after exiting AutoCAD can be a great benefit if the
AutoCAD workstation is also being used for other DOS
applications.

6. AutoCAD files can be corrupted when used on a network since
AutoCAD closes the drawing file once it is loaded into RAM (like
Lotus 2.01 & below) leaving DOS and SHARE unaware another user
has the file in-use. Therefore, users on a multi-station AutoCAD
network that share a common drawing fileserver will have to give
special attention to the issue of file sharing.

7. If using a common drawing fileserver, configure each AutoCAD
workstation to have a unique network node name. From the main
AutoCAD menu, select "5. Configure AutoCAD", "8. Configure
operating parameters", "6. Network node name" and enter a three
character name unique to each workstation. If this is not done,
you may get a system error message from AutoCAD, indicating a
sharing violation.

8. If plotter performance is slow, or pauses intermittently, on
an AutoCAD workstation/server that is sharing a plotter, increase
the CPS to the plotter (using the max of 32767 is OK, but the
tradeoff is poor AutoCAD performance). NOTE: The only way to
eliminate the performance degradation of an AutoCAD workstation
during plotting or printer-plotter despooling is to have the
server not running AutoCAD during the despooling function. See
note 2 on using a dedicated print server.

9. To share a plotter or printer-plotter, AutoCAD must output to
file. The important item to keep in mind is that AutoCAD never
communicates with the plotter (or printer-plotter), instead, it
outputs to a file on disk. All communication with the plotter or
printer-plotter device(s) is handled by the network. Configure
AutoCAD to plot to a file, set the filename to the name of the
printer port that is redirected to @PLOTTER (the shared resource
plotter). Set the LPT TIMEOUT to 0 (zero), and AutoCAD will close
the plotjob when it has completed writing the plot file to disk.

    Example: NET USE LPT1 \\SERVER\@PLOTTER and plot to a file
named "LPT1".

NOTE: Printer-plotting is much more complex than pen-plotting
because a pen plotter can start the plot at any X,Y point on the
paper and finish at any X,Y point. A printer-plot must process
the top line before the second line, the second before the third
and so on until the bottom of the page. The rasterization of the
printer-plot requires more time from AutoCAD to process the data
and the higher the resolution of the printer-plot, the larger the
file becomes. For high-resolution printer-plots, it is
recommended to plot to a file, shell from AutoCAD and use the NET
PRINT command to copy the printer-plot file to the network
spooler, i.e.:

  1.   Plot to a file named MWF (or any other filename not
       already in use). Give a full path name.
  2.   Enter "SHELL" from the drawing editor and press the
       <ENTER> key twice.
  3.   CD\ to the directory where the plot file is located
       (given in Step 1).
  4.   Enter "NET PRINT/BINARY MWF.PLT LPT1". Printer-plots must
       be copied in BINARY format or the printed output may be
       cut off, distorted and/or spread out over multiple pages.
  5.   After the printer-plot is completed, be sure to delete
       the file from disk.

The recommended serial communication protocol for the network to
the plotter is 9600, 8, 1, N, using XON/XOFF flow control. Some
plotters that will only accept HARDWARE flow control require a
HARDWARE cable - a straight-thru serial cable will not allow
HARDWARE flow control communications. The next best protocol is
9600, 7, 1, E, XON/XOFF. If the plotter and @PLOTTER shared
resource are not configured exactly the same, plotting will not
be successful.

NOTE: If the plotter does not automatically go OFF-LINE at the
completion of a plot, it is recommended to edit the SETUP STRING
for @PLOTTER (located in NET_MGR, Shared Resources Management) to
include the ASCII or <ESC> codes needed to take the plotter
off-line at the start of a plot to allow for paper changes. If
this is not done, it will be possible for multiple plot jobs in
the spooler to be plotted over the same sheet of paper. If the
plotter has an automatic paper feeder/cutter, this may not be
necessary.

10. If you get an error when trying to load the NET MENU when
SHELL'ing out of AutoCAD such as "ERROR: The memory limit has
been exceeded, can't load NET MENU module.", edit the following
line in the ACAD.PGP file (in the C:\ACAD directory):

     SHELL,,220000,*DOS Command: ,0

this will allocate 220K memory, which is enough to run the NET
MENU program.

11. Using a cache, and/or a RAMDISK, with AutoCAD will improve
performance. On a computer having 4 Meg RAM, try a cache size of
512K leaving 2.5 Meg of extended or expanded memory available for
AutoCAD.

DOS Notes:
1. If you are saving drawing files across the network (to a
redirected drive) and using DOS 4.01 or higher, AND using a
REDIR.EXE earlier than 4.10, you must load FCB.EXE after the
REDIR command line. (This file is available on the Artisoft BBS
or by calling Technical Support.)  FCB.EXE is not used with NOS
4.10.

2. If using DOS 4.01, SHARE.EXE must be loaded if extended DOS
partitions are used on the harddrive (partitions greater than 32
Meg). Set FCBS=48,8 in CONFIG.SYS.

3. If using MS-DOS 5.0, SHARE.EXE is not required for large disk
partitions.

NOS Notes:
A new feature in NOS 4.10, called IMMEDIATE DESPOOLING, can
reduce printing and plotting time. To enable this new feature,
run NET_MGR, select "Shared Resources Management" and enable
"Immediate Despooling". Set "Despool Timeout" to 0 (which will
display as "DISABLED"). It is important to set the despool
timeout to zero for plotters and postscript printers. This must
be set individually for each postscript printer or plotter device
under "Shared Resources Management.

Memory Managers:
1. AutoCAD can be configured to use Extended memory, Expanded
memory or a combination of both memory types. Expanded memory
must be VCPI compliant (QEMM or 386 to the MAX are VCPI compliant
memory managers that are compatible with LANtastic). HIMEM.SYS
that comes with MS-DOS 5.0 creates XMS which is not VCPI
compliant and should not be used with AutoCAD without also
loading EMM386.EXE, which converts XMS into EMS.

2. Most of the network drivers can be successfully loaded into
high memory using utilities that come with the above listed
memory managers.

Sample BATCH files:
AUTOEXEC.BAT:
PATH=C:\;C:\DOS;\BATCH;C:\UTILITY;C:\LANTASTI
AEX                             :REM Load the netbios drivers.
                                Can be loaded high.
AILANBIO
REDIR ALEX1 LOGINS=5               :REM Can be loaded high.
LANCACHE CACHE_SIZE=512 TYPE=EMS   :REM 512K cache. Can be loaded
                                   high.
SERVER                             :REM Server is optional. Can
                                   be loaded high.
NET LOGIN \\ALEX1 ALEX1              :REM Login to servers as
                                     needed.
NET USE LPT1 \\ALEX1\@PRINTER      :REM Redirect LPT1 to the
                                   shared printer-plotter.
NET USE COM2 \\ALEX1\@PLOTTER      :REM Redirect COM2 to the
                                   shared plotter.
NET LPT TIMEOUT 10
NET QUEUE HALT \\ALEX1 COM1          :REM If a server, halt
                                     QUEUE for mouse/digitizer
                                     port.
PROMPT=$P$G
MENU

LOADACAD.BAT:
PATH=C:\;C:\DOS;C:\BATCH;C:\UTILITY;C:\LANTASTI;C:\ACAD
NET LPT TIMEOUT 0                    :REM Set LPT TIMEOUT to
                                     zero.
CD\ACAD\DWG
REM Set the environments.
SET DLDCFG=C:\ET4\
SET ACADLIMEM=220
SET ACAD=C:\ACAD
SET LISPHEAP=nnn                   :REM Set "nnn" according to
                                   application.
SET LISPSTACK=ppp                  :REM Set "ppp" according to
                                   application.
SET ACADFREERAM=30
C:\ET4\DLDVG256                    :REM Real-mode Display List
                                   Driver.
ACAD
C:\ET4\DLDVG256 -U                 :REM Unload the DLD from
                                   memory.
REM Clear all environment settings.
PATH=C:\;C:\DOS;C:\BATCH;C:\UTILITY;C:\LANTASTI
SET DLDCFG=
SET ACADLIMEM=
SET ACAD=
SET LISPHEAP=
SET LISPSTACK=
SET ACADFREERAM=
NET LPT TIMEOUT 10
CD\

FINAL NOTE:
This document has been designed to provide a guideline for con-
figuring AutoCAD 10 (DOS version) with LANtastic. Additional
configuration may be necessary to accommodate your specific
network setup. If a unique problem arises which we are unable to
resolve either through phone contact with our technical support
or through this bulletin, a problem report can be filed through
our technical support staff.

ARTISOFT, Inc. makes no warranties as to the completeness or
accuracy of this document. LANtastic is a trademark of ARTISOFT,
Inc. Brand names and products are trademarks or registered
trademarks of their respective companies.

Any questions or suggestions on this bulletin may be mailed to
our offices:
Artisoft, Inc.
691 East River Road,Tucson, AZ 85704
ATTN: Compatibility Department / AutoCAD Support

Vendor Info:
Autodesk, Inc.
[phone]
(Contact your Autodesk dealer for questions concerning AutoCAD.)