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README.DOC for AutoCAD Release 11 c1(386)
February 27, 1991
CONTENTS
General notes ....................................... 2
Plot spooling ....................................... 2
Networking notes .................................... 4
International character (8-bit font) support ........ 5
Manual corrections
AutoCAD Reference Manual ........................ 9
AutoCAD 386 Installation and Performance Guide .. 14
AutoLISP Programmer's Reference ................. 22
ADS Programmer's Reference ...................... 22
AutoCAD Tutorial ................................ 24
Also see the separate Advanced Modeling Extension documentation
update, README.AME
The AME option is not available for the SHOW version of AutoCAD.
See the printed "R11 c1 Update Detail Document" included with the
AutoCAD R11 c1 package for a list identifying the anomalies
addressed in this release.
AC11386RD-2 Page 1 of 24
General notes
-------------
- Release 11 adds the following device support to AutoCAD 386:
- Summagraphics Microgrid digitizer
- Interrupt-driven choice for Summagraphics Microgrid and MM series
digitizers (offering greatly enhanced digitizer performance)
- IBM 8514/A display (integrated driver)
- COMPAQ Portable III plasma display (integrated driver)
- JDL printer plotter model 750
- Canon Laser Beam printer models LBP-8 and LBP-8II
- Enhanced CalComp plotter driver (now sends "beginning of plot" and
"end of plot" records). This driver should now work with CalComp's
electrostatic plotters.
- AutoCAD 386 now writes prompts and progress messages to the screen much
faster than previous releases. Plot to file and Hide are faster as a
result of this improvement.
- A utility program is provided to allow large programs to be run using
AutoCAD 386's Shell. SHROOM.COM and its documentation file SHROOM.DOC
are supplied in the SAMPLE directory.
Plot spooling
-------------
- The ACADPLCMD and ACADPPCMD environment variable hooks for Plot Spooling
have been enabled for all platforms except the DEC VAXstation.
When plotting to a file named "AUTOSPOOL", AutoCAD generates a unique
file name in the configured plot file directory. Then, if the ACADPLCMD
(for Plot) or ACADPPCMD (for Prplot) environment variable exists, it
composes an operating system command using the string defined by that
variable (substituting the plot file name for the first occurrence of
"%s" in the string), and submits the command to the operating system.
The spooler program (supplied by the operating system or a third-party
application vendor) is typically responsible for the following actions,
although it may do other things as well.
- plotting the file as a background task. A simple case would use
the DOS PRINT utility, but this only works for ASCII plot files.
(PRINT must be loaded as a TSR before running AutoCAD, and must be
directed to the parallel port to which the plotter is attached.)
AC11386RD-2 Page 2 of 24
PRINT doesn't support XON/XOFF protocol, so serial ports can't be
used unless the plotter is wired for hardware handshaking.)
- deleting the file upon completion to make way for more plot files.
Those are the typical requirements, although the actual functionality is
not monitored by AutoCAD in any way.
To use a plot spooler with AutoCAD:
A. Configure AutoCAD to use either an internal driver or a P386 ADI
driver that uses AutoCAD's plotter I/O support (see the supporting
documents for your driver). The spooling mechanism is activated
only if the plot is written to a file, so if you want to use
spooling by default, configure the plotter for plot to file.
(Real-mode ADI drivers have their own method for writing plots to a
file, and cannot use AutoCAD's plot spooling facility. See page 53
of the AutoCAD 386 Installation and Performance Guide.)
B. The configured plot spooler directory must exist, and both AutoCAD
and the spooler program need read/write access to it. When
configuring, include the trailing directory delimiter character for
the system, such as "\" for DOS.
C. Configure the default plot file name as "AUTOSPOOL", or enter
"AUTOSPOOL" as the file at plot time.
D. Set the environment variable "ACADPLCMD" to a DOS command string
that invokes the plot spooler, with "%s" where the plot file name
should get filled in.
E. If the operation of the plot spooler command depends on a TSR having
been installed, the TSR must be installed BEFORE you start AutoCAD.
Loading a TSR via execution of ACADPLCMD at plot time (or via the
Shell command) is likely to be fatal to both the TSR and AutoCAD, if
the TSR trashes any of the DOS Extender's interrupt vectors.
For example, if plots are to be processed by a SPOOLPL program on DOS,
the definition of ACADPLCMD might be:
SET ACADPLCMD=SPOOLPL %s
assuming that a plot spooler program named SPOOLPL is present on the
search path and accepts the plot file name as a parameter.
The mechanism is the same for the Prplot command, except the ACADPPCMD
environment variable is used.
NOTE: Placing the definition in AUTOEXEC.BAT is advisable if you intend
to use plot spooling frequently. However, in DOS batch (.BAT)
files, "%" is used to reference parameters. If you set ACADPLCMD
or ACADPPCMD using a .BAT file, remember to use two "%" signs in
a row, as in:
SET ACADPLCMD=PRINT %%s
AC11386RD-2 Page 3 of 24
Networking notes
----------------
AutoCAD Release 11 is designed to operate on a wide variety of networks.
Although several popular networks have been tested, no particular vendors
have been designated as "supported". A few problem areas have been
identified:
- Directory permissions for the 386|VMM swap file location must allow file
creation and read/write operations to occur. If the swap file cannot be
created, 386|VMM prints a message stating "Error creating swap file" and
AutoCAD exits.
- If you plan to execute AutoCAD while your current directory is one that
resides on a remote node, performance will be substantially better if
AutoCAD 386 is configured to place its VMM|386 swap file on a local disk
drive using the "-swapdir" switch documented on pages 76 and 170 of the
AutoCAD 386 Installation and Performance Guide (I&PG).
Furthermore, placing the swap directory on local storage is a workaround
for an apparent problem on Novell Netware 386, where running with a
current directory residing on a remote node often causes AutoCAD to exit
immediately after being called from the DOS command prompt.
- If you plan to run AutoCAD frequently from a drive mounted on a remote
node, you should also consider setting the "-nopgexp" switch to reduce
network traffic when paging program code. This switch is documented on
pages 43 and 169 of the AutoCAD 386 I&PG.
- AutoCAD's file locking, and AutoCAD itself, will not run properly on
Novell Netware 286 if read-only directories are used. There is no known
fix at this time.
- Novell NetWare 386 3.1 allows programs to open read-only files in
read-write mode if you have "READ ONLY COMPATIBILITY = On" in your
SHELL.CFG file, but reports an error when you try to write to the file.
In general, we recommend that you do not turn on this mode. However, if
this mode is required by another software application that you use, you
will need to obtain the "FIXOPEN" NLM patch available from Novell, or
AutoCAD will not function properly when editing read-only files.
- SunOS 4.0 lacks the DOS file sharing support required for proper
operation of AutoCAD on PC-NFS networks. Operation of AutoCAD in this
environment can result in bad data transfers. You can work around the
problem by using the /SHARE option on the NET USE command when mounting
any network drives used to store drawing files. (See your PC-NFS manual
for further information on the /SHARE option.) SunOS 4.0.1 and later
releases fix the problem.
- On 3Com networks, library/support files such as ACAD.DWG, ACAD.MNX, and
TXT.SHX must be read-only in order to be shared by multiple users. This
is also true of any other files to be shared on 3Com networks. In
particular, the ACAD.PWD login file shared by users must be read-only.
However, the copy of ACAD.PWD in the server's temporary files directory
must be read-write-createable, as this file keeps track of the number of
users currently using AutoCAD.
AC11386RD-2 Page 4 of 24
- AutoCAD holds the ACAD.MNX compiled menu file and any running or paused
script file open while you're in the drawing editor. Thus, if you've
loaded the DOS SHARE utility and you use Shell to run a DOS command such
as COPY or DEL on any of these open files, you'll receive a Sharing
violation and be given an opportunity to abort the command.
International character (8-bit font) support
--------------------------------------------
The International versions of AutoCAD 386 Release 11 support 8-bit ASCII
text characters for the benefit of languages that require them (provided
that the host system, the supplied shape files, and the display drivers
support them as well). 8-bit ASCII support means that 8-bit ASCII text
characters can be displayed in AUI and on the text screen, as well as in
Text, Attribute, and Dimension entity strings. There are no commands
specific to using 8-bit ASCII text; when an International version is
installed and configured with the proper display driver, more characters
become available.
The domestic (North American) version of AutoCAD 386 continues to support
only 7-bit fonts for AUI and text-screen characters. (AUI dialogue boxes
use character number 128 as the "check" mark.) If a text character with a
value greater than 128 is output to the display driver (in text mode or
through the AUI menus, dialog boxes, command line, etc), it is replaced
with a "?" character. However, entity text strings can contain 8-bit
characters (shape numbers 32 through 255).
The following is a fairly complete technical description of AutoCAD's
8-bit ASCII support. Drawings created with 8-bit and 7-bit versions of
AutoCAD are compatible with both versions of AutoCAD, with exceptions
noted in a later section.
I. The features of the 8-bit ASCII (International) version of AutoCAD are
listed here. Behavior of the 7-bit version for the same circumstances
is also listed when appropriate.
1. Built-in display drivers
In the 7-bit version of AutoCAD, built-in display drivers treat
character code 128 as the AUI "check" mark, and display "?" when
sent ASCII codes greater than 128.
In the 8-bit version of AutoCAD, built-in display drivers treat
character code 255 as the AUI "check" mark, and can display ASCII
codes greater than 127 for AUI text (such as dialogue boxes), the
command line, menus, and the text screen. The text "glyphs" are
obtained from the active DOS code page, as described in DOS
reference manuals.
NOTE: The Swedish version of AutoCAD is 8-bit, but may use yet
another value for the check mark, as both 128 and 255 are
used for ordinary characters by some Swedish platforms.
AC11386RD-2 Page 5 of 24
2. ADI display drivers
ADI 4.1 protected- and real-mode display drivers now perform
additional communication with AutoCAD to determine:
- whether they are talking to a 7-bit or 8-bit version of AutoCAD,
and:
- If an 8-bit version of AutoCAD is in use, which character code is
used for the AUI "check" mark.
ADI 4.1 display drivers also tell AutoCAD whether they support
8-bit characters. The 7-bit version of AutoCAD assumes that the
driver operates in 7-bit mode. 8-bit versions of AutoCAD can work
with either 7-bit or 8-bit drivers, but a 7-bit driver forces an
8-bit AutoCAD to operate in 7-bit mode. All display drivers
written for ADI 4.0 and earlier operate in 7-bit mode. See the ADI
4.1 Driver Development Kit manual for more information.
3. Special codes for dimensioning symbols
The 8-bit and 7-bit versions of AutoCAD use different integer codes
for the characters representing the three special dimensioning
symbols. The table below shows the names of these symbols, their
generic text control sequences, and their version-dependent integer
values.
Symbol Control 7-Bit 8-Bit
Name Sequence Value Value
--------------- -------- ----- -----
Degrees %%d 127 248
Plus-Minus %%p 128 241
Circle Diameter %%c 129 237
Although it is possible to use the integer values for these symbols
directly in a text control sequence (as in %%127), or to enter them
using the ALT key (as in ALT + 1-2-7), these approaches don't
account for the differing values in the 7-bit and 8-bit versions of
AutoCAD. Therefore, we recommend against using them if you want
your special symbols to be compatible with both 7-bit and 8-bit
versions of AutoCAD.
4. AutoCAD dimension strings
In previous versions of AutoCAD, the dimensioning commands used the
control sequences "%%127", "%%128" and "%%129" to generate the above
special symbols. In both the 7-bit and 8-bit versions of Release
11, these commands now use the "%%d", "%%p" and "%%c" sequences.
Thus, drawings created in one version can be loaded and displayed
without error in the other version.
AC11386RD-2 Page 6 of 24
5. Automatic conversion of Dimension entity strings in older drawings
When a pre-Release-11 drawing is loaded into Release 11's drawing
editor (from the Main Menu, or via an Insert, Xref, or Dxfin
command), its Dimensions may have text strings containing "%%127",
"%%128", and "%%129" control sequences for the three special
dimensioning symbols. If any are found, they are translated
automatically to "%%d", "%%p", and "%%c", respectively. Once you
End, Save, or Wblock the drawing, the new control sequences will be
permanently stored. This conversion is not performed on Release 11
drawings.
6. Automatic symbol mapping
When an 8-bit AutoCAD loads a font file and determines that it has
no entry for code 248, 241, or 237 (but that it does have an entry
for the corresponding 127, 128, or 129 code), the 127-129 shape
definitions are copied into their corresponding 8-bit codes. In
this manner, existing drawings and 7-bit font files can be used with
the 8-bit version of AutoCAD without difficulty.
7. Differing alphabetic character sets for different languages
Different sets of ASCII characters make up the alphabet in different
languages. However, to ensure that drawings will be compatible
across different language versions of AutoCAD, symbol table (e.g.,
layer, linetype, text style) entries must use a common subset of the
available characters. Currently, this subset is the upper-case
Roman letters "A" through "Z", the digits "0" through "9", and the
characters "$", "_" and "-".
8. Command option keyword abbreviations
The 8-bit ASCII versions of AutoCAD support abbreviations for
command option keywords that begin after the first letter of the
keyword, when the allowed abbreviation is represented by the first
contiguous string of capitalized alphabetic characters shown in the
prompt.
For example, the keyword "nanTUCKet" could be specified by the
string "TUCK".
The 7-bit ASCII version of AutoCAD continues to require
abbreviations of command option keywords to begin at the start of
the keyword. (Certain keywords, such as "eXit", are exceptions to
this rule. In the 8-bit ASCII versions, this is typical.)
II. Where 8-bit ASCII characters are defined
1. The DOS Code Page facility is used to change the "glyphs" of all
ASCII characters in text mode (and for AUI text on most display
drivers). Instructions for the use of Code Pages can be found in
the DOS Reference Manual.
AC11386RD-2 Page 7 of 24
2. The AutoCAD font files contain symbol definitions for the characters
in Text, Attribute, and Dimension entity text strings. Entries for
ASCII character codes 32 through 255 have always been supported, but
many of the font files shipped with AutoCAD have only their first
129 characters defined. There are exceptions, usually denoted by an
"8" at the end of their font name, such as ISO8.SHP/SHX. So, if you
intend to use a full 8-bit ASCII character set, you may have to
extend some of the font files yourself, or obtain 8-bit font files
from other sources. Defining the 8-bit characters is done in the
same manner as the existing 7-bit characters, and they can be added
to existing font files with no harm done.
III. Compatibility notes and exceptions
1. A drawing created in an 8-bit AutoCAD can be edited with a 7-bit
AutoCAD. However, if the drawing has the character code 128 in
entity text strings, AUI dialogue boxes that display the text (such
as for Ddatte or Ddedit) will display a "check" mark in place of the
desired character. (The AUI "check" mark is two character cells
wide, so it will obscure the following character as well.) This is
harmless, but looks ugly. Other ASCII codes greater than 128 are
replaced by "?" marks in AUI text strings; this is also harmless.
2. KANJI (Japanese) AutoCAD uses 7-bit codes, but certain codes are
interpreted as the first byte of a two-byte (16-bit) KANJI code.
Therefore, KANJI AutoCAD drawings will not display correctly on
8-bit ASCII AutoCAD, because all characters will be interpreted as
8-bit ASCII characters.
Conversely, 8-bit ASCII strings can be confused for KANJI 16-bit
characters in a 7-bit AutoCAD, although this is far less likely,
since the code must be defined in a BIGFONT shape file, etc.
3. Drawings that reference font files containing definitions for
character codes 248, 241, and 237, when loaded into 8-bit AutoCAD,
will use those codes for the degree, plus/minus, and diameter
symbols when the AutoCAD dimensioning commands or other commands
enter the "%%d", "%%p", and "%%c" control sequences into drawing
entity text strings.
4. The text control sequences "%%127", "%%128", and "%%129" are
converted to "%%d", "%%p", and "%%c" if found within Dimension
entities in a pre-Release-11 drawing. Only Dimension entities are
converted, however. Therefore, if such a drawing is loaded into an
8-bit AutoCAD, any non-Dimension entities containing these control
sequences may no longer display the desired symbols. There should
be no problem in the 7-bit version of AutoCAD, however.
5. At this writing, it is not clear that all languages can be
restricted to use of upper-case Roman letters for symbol table
entries, and thus be compatible with each other.
AC11386RD-2 Page 8 of 24
AutoCAD Reference Manual corrections
------------------------------------
Chapter 2
- "Entity Selection". In the description of the "Previous" option on page
62, the last sentence in the Note should read:
AutoCAD remembers the space (model or paper) in which each
selection-set is obtained; the "previous" selection-set is also
cleared if you switch spaces and attempt to use it in the other
space.
Chapter 4
- "Text Command", pages 129-134. The description of the new text
alignment modes is incorrect, and should be changed as follows:
Page 129. The last paragraph should read:
You can align text using any combination of
top/middle/baseline/bottom and left/center/right alignment modes.
Baseline refers to the line along which the bases of the capital
letters lie. If you imagine a box surrounding the text, then
letters with descenders (such as p, g, and y) dip below the
baseline to the bottom of the box, and capital letters reach the
top of the box. The middle position is halfway between the
baseline and the top. The following figure shows the text
alignment positions.
Page 130. The "middle" indicator in the figure should be halfway
between the baseline and the top.
Page 134, "Text M - Fully Centered Text". The Note at the top of the
page should read:
The difference between this option and MCenter is that rather than
using the halfway point between the baseline and the top, Middle
uses the midpoint of an imaginary box surrounding the text string.
Therefore, its effect differs depending on whether the text string
has descenders or any characters that reach the top.
Page 134. In Table 4-2, the notation "(same as M)" should be removed
from the MC entry.
Chapter 5
- "Entity Selection". In the third paragraph on page 146, it should be
noted that UCSes whose extrusion directions are directly opposite each
other are not considered "parallel".
AC11386RD-2 Page 9 of 24
- "Filleting Two Straight Lines", page 172. The first paragraph's second
sentence is incorrect and should read:
It then trims the lines (retaining the "picked" segments if they
cross) and creates a fillet arc with the current fillet radius.
- "Undo - Notes and Interactions", page 201. The following should be added:
Undo does not undo changes made to the CVPORT system variable by the
SETVAR command (or the equivalent AutoLISP/ADS functions).
Chapter 7
- "Color Numbers", page 260. At the end of the fourth paragraph, "Mslide
command" should be replaced by "Vslide command".
- "Entity Handles", page 262. The following should be appended to the
first paragraph:
Entity handles are often, but not always, assigned sequentially.
- "Which Operations Change Handles?". The "Wblock *" command now retains
entity handles, so the last paragraph on page 263 should begin:
With the exception of "Wblock *", all forms ...
- "Ddlmodes Command". Append the following to the first paragraph on page
283:
(Hatch blocks, Dimensions, and Blocks whose entities use color "by
block" won't adapt to transparent color changes until the next
regen, although no alert will appear.)
Chapter 8
- "Axis Command", page 291. In addition to the restrictions noted in the
second paragraph, the Axis command works only when TILEMODE is on.
- "Object Snap Modes", page 307. Add the following to the description of
"Nearest" mode:
Use of this mode with Circles and Arcs requires that their extrusion
direction be parallel to the Z axis of the current UCS.
AC11386RD-2 Page 10 of 24
Chapter 9
- "Wblock Command". The "*" form of the Wblock command now retains entity
handles, as well as all named views, User Coordinate Systems, and
viewport configurations. The first paragraph on page 331 should now
read:
The entire drawing is written. This is similar to the Save command
("Save Command - Updating Without Exit" on page 68), except that
unreferenced symbols (Block Definitions, layers, linetypes, text
styles, and dimension styles) are not written. AutoCAD writes model
space entities to model space in the new drawing, and paper space
entities to paper space.
and the third paragraph on page 331 should now read:
With the exception of the "*" form of the command, Wblock sets the
output file's HANDLES system variable to 0 (disabled) and does not
write entity handles to the output file.
- "Using an Xref's Dependent Symbols", page 347. In the second paragraph,
replace "though any changes" with "but if the VISRETAIN system variable
is set to 0 (the default) any changes". Following the second paragraph,
add:
When VISRETAIN is set to 1, the current drawing's On/Off and
Freeze/Thaw settings for Xref-dependent layers take precedence.
They are saved with the drawing and are preserved during Xref reload
operations.
Color and linetype settings for Xref-dependent layers are not
affected by VISRETAIN, but are always reset upon reload of the Xref.
Chapter 10
- "Diameter Dimensioning", page 375. In the paragraph beginning "The
third style ...", the last two sentences are incorrect and should be
deleted.
Chapter 11
- "Variables and Expressions". Note #2 at the bottom of page 414 is
incorrect. TEXTEVAL does not affect the Dtext command.
Chapter 13
- New "Processing entity: nnn" messages may appear during plotting if many
entities have been processed without generating plot vectors. The new
message is simply meant to let you know that something's happening.
AC11386RD-2 Page 11 of 24
Appendix A
- "Standard Prototype Drawing", pages 446-447. The object selection
pickbox size is shown as being stored in both the prototype drawing and
AutoCAD's configuration file. It is actually stored in the
configuration file only.
- "Modify Pull-down Menu", page 451. The "Mirror" description incorrectly
states that Auto selection mode is used.
- "Options Pull-down Menu", page 453. The "Donut Diameters" description
should read:
Invokes the Donut command, allowing you to set the inside and
outside diameters.
- "System Variables", pages 467-475. The following new system variables
should be added to Table A-1.
DIASTAT (integer, not saved)
Dialogue box exit status. If 0, the most recent dialogue box
was exited via "CANCEL". If 1, exit was via "OK". (read-only)
PLATFORM (string, not saved, read-only)
Indicates which version of AutoCAD is in use. This is a string
such as one of the following:
DOS Sun4/SPARCstation
386 DOS Extender DECstation
Apple Macintosh Apollo Domain
Sun 386i XENIX 386
Sun 3 OS/2
VISRETAIN (integer, saved with drawing)
If set to 0 (the default value), On/Off and Freeze/Thaw settings
for Xref-dependent layers are reset to their state in the
referenced drawing upon each reload. When set to 1, the current
drawing's settings are preserved.
Appendix B
- "Extended and Expanded Memory Usage", page 481. This section applies
only to the 640K DOS version of AutoCAD. Use of expanded memory with
AutoCAD 386 requires a memory manager that conforms to the VCPI
interface standard. See the AutoCAD 386 I&PG for further information.
- "Menu Bar and Pull-down Menus". Two changes should be made to page 489.
The following should be appended to the second paragraph:
If the titles won't all fit in the menu bar, AutoCAD truncates
characters one by one from the longest title (checking each time to
see which is now longest), until they all fit. This can result in
some silly-looking titles, so you should attempt to fit everything
in 80 columns if possible.
AC11386RD-2 Page 12 of 24
and the last paragraph should be changed to read:
Each pull-down menu ordinarily appears directly beneath its menu bar
title. However, the rightmost menus shift to the left to
accommodate long menu items. The maximum number of items in a
pull-down menu is governed by the display device, and may be as low
as 21; be sure to consider this when designing custom menus.
- "Extended big-font", page 512. The first two lines of the bigfont
format description should be replaced by:
*0, 5, font name
character height, character depth, modes, character width, 0
- "Command Aliases and Abbreviations", page 523. The following note
should be added at the bottom of the page:
Aliases cannot be used in a command script. Use of aliases in menu
files is not recommended.
Appendix C
- "HEADER Section", page 536. $VISRETAIN should be added to the list of
DXF header variables (type 70; 1 = retain Xref-dependent visibility
settings, 0 = don't retain).
- "DIMSTYLE", page 537. Delete the phrase "some or all of". Add to the
listing: 146 (dimtfac), and 147 (dimgap). Also, dimclrd, dimclre, and
dimclrt should be groups 176, 177, and 178 (not 67, 68, and 69).
- "LAYER", page 538. Replace Table C-3 (LAYER group 70 codes) with:
Flag bit value Meaning
-------------- --------------------------------------------------
0 Layer is On and Thawed.
1 Layer is Frozen.
2 If set, layer is frozen by default in new Viewports.
4 Unused
8 Unused
16 if set, layer is externally dependent.
32 if this bit and bit 16 are both set, this externally
dependent layer has been successfully resolved.
Xref-dependent layers are output during Dxfout. For such layers, the
associated linetype name in the DXF file is always CONTINUOUS.
- "VIEW", page 538. Add to the VIEW group code listing: If the first bit
(1) is set in the 70 group flags, this is a paper space view.
- "ENTITES Section", page 539. Entities in the BLOCKS section can now
have handles, so the exception in the first paragraph should be deleted.
- "Block", page 541. Group 3 (Block name) should be removed from the list.
- "Attdef" and "Attrib", pages 542-543. Groups 72, 74 are the horizontal
and vertical text justification modes, respectively. Groups 11, 21, 31
(allgnment point) appear if group 72 or 74 is present and nonzero.
AC11386RD-2 Page 13 of 24
- "Viewport", pages 545-547. Group 68 value -1 should read "On, but fully
off-screen...". In Table C-13, the first 1070 group should be described
as an integer whose value is 16 for Release 11. Also, the "1003..."
entry near the end of the table should read:
The names of layers frozen in this Viewport. This list may include
Xref-dependent layers. Any number of 1003 groups may appear here.
- "Organization of Extended Entity Data", page 554. The "World space
displacement" and "World direction" descriptions should read as follows:
World space (1012, 1022, 1032). Also a 3D point that is scaled,
displacement rotated, and mirrored along with the parent (but not
moved or stretched).
World direction (1013, 1023, 1033). Also a 3D point that is rotated
and mirrored along with the parent (but not moved,
scaled, or stretched).
- "DXB File Format". Byte code 255 should be removed from Table C-15 on
page 560. It is valid for Binary DXF, but not for DXB.
Appendix D
- "Command Differences". Add the following to Table D-3, pages 571-572:
Dim The Radius and Diameter subcommands now issue an additional
prompt in some situations. This may cause failure of some
old scripts and AutoLISP programs that use these commands.
Dxfin All non-baseline/left justified Text, Attrib, and Attdef
entities read from the DXF file are now rejustified.
Fillet When filleting two Lines that cross, AutoCAD now retains
the "picked" line segments. In previous versions, the
shorter ends were trimmed, no matter what points you used
to select the Lines.
Osnap Running Osnap modes are now ignored during entity selection.
Also add the following to the "Wblock" entry on page 572:
The "*" form of the Wblock command now retains all entity
handles, named views, UCSes, and viewport configurations.
- "System Variable Differences". Add the following to Table D-4, page 573:
CECOLOR In Release 10, this string contained "BYLAYER", "BYBLOCK",
a color number (e.g., "15"), or a standard color number and
name (as in "1 (red)"). The last form has been dropped, so
applications no longer need to cope with its embedded
blank. The standard colors now appear simply as "1" - "7".
OSMODE Running Osnap modes are now ignored during entity selection.
AC11386RD-2 Page 14 of 24
AutoCAD 386 Installation and Performance Guide corrections
----------------------------------------------------------
- "Network Compatibility," bulleted item on page 2. Add this paragraph:
The International version of AutoCAD does not support server
authorization, which allows a single copy of AutoCAD to be shared
over a network by concurrent users. Instead, networking is
accomplished by installing and configuring a single-user copy on
each network node. The International version supports all other
networking-related features such as file locking and plot spooling.
- "AutoCAD 386 and Memory Managers", page 3. Add to this section:
"HIMEM.SYS does not conform to the VCPI specification, and is not
compatible with AutoCAD 386."
- "Essential Hardware and Software". In the second paragraph on page 8,
"8.7 megabytes" should be changed to "9.5 megabytes". Also, it should be
noted that additional free disk space is needed by AutoCAD 386's virtual
memory system, especially when editing large drawings.
- "Solving the 80386 Chip Problem", The following replaces the entire
section on pages 8 - 9:
The "B Step" 80386 chips used in early 16-MHz, 20-MHz, and some 25-
MHz machines have bugs that appear only when executing 80387 (math
coprocessor) instructions while paging is enabled. This bug is in
the 80386 chip itself, not in the math chip. Please consult your
dealer to find out if you have this or any other problem associated
with the 80386/80387 chip set.
Technical background: These bugs are known as the Intel 80386
Erratum #17 and Erratum #21. The problems can occur while you use
AutoCAD and may result in the system locking. If you suspect you
have one of these problems, please consult your dealer. Your dealer
should check the 80386 CPU chip itself for one of the following
markings.
16-MHz chips affected: A80386-16 or A80386-16
S40343 S40344
20-MHz chips affected: A80386-20
S40362
25-MHz chips affected: A80386-25
SX050
The only known solution is to replace a bad 80386 CPU chip with a
good one. Contact the hardware manufacturer of your computer for a
BUG-FREE 80386 CPU chip.
- "Supported Peripherals", pages 9 - 11. The following peripherals are
either not supported or are obsolete:
- Under "Digitizers", Houston Instrument tablets, HIPAD DT11AA and
True Grid 8000 Series, (described on page 112) are not supported.
AC11386RD-2 Page 15 of 24
- Under "Plotters", the Alpha Merics Alphaplot (described on page 130)
is not supported. In the Houston Instrument DMP Series (described on
page 136), DMP-7, DMP-8, and DMP-29 are not supported.
- Under "Printer Plotters", the Okidata Printer Plotters, 84 Step 2
and 93 (described on pages 156 - 157), are obsolete. This means that
they will not be supported in future releases.
- "1.2 Megabyte Release Format" and "720K Release Format", pages 13-18.
The acad.pwd login file is not supplied on the release disks; it is
created during initial configuration. Also, the ADS disk for AutoCAD
386 does not include a DDE directory.
- "Installation Steps", The second paragraph on page 24 (a bullet
concerning acadcfg.old) is incorrect and should be deleted.
- "Server Setup Before Installation", page 25. In the first paragraph,
the location of the temporary files is incorrect. The second sentence
should read: "By default, AutoCAD writes these temporary files in the
root directory of the drive containing the active AutoCAD executable,
acad.exe."
- "Reconfiguring AutoCAD", page 27. Add the following:
Never swap ACAD.CFG configuration files (via a Shell or Files
command) while AutoCAD is running; doing so may cause unpredictable
behavior of AutoCAD. In some cases AutoCAD will prematurely reach
the limit of concurrent users and can even fail to run at all.
- "Files Not Subject to File Locking", page 37. This section should
include files output through AME commands.
- "Configure for Authorized Maximum Only". This is a new section
that would follow "Server Authorization Code" on page 38:
You should not configure AutoCAD for fewer users than the
authorized maximum of your network license. For example, you
have installed AutoCAD with a license for ten users but only
six users are currently on the network. Configure AutoCAD for
your authorized maximum -- 10 in this example:
Enter the maximum number of users for this package <1>: 10
The configuration routine accepts any number of users without
checking. However, the server authorization code is derived
from this number and the serial number. If the number of users
is different from your network license, AutoCAD displays an
error message when you try to open a drawing. Be sure to enter
the correct number of users to avoid reconfiguring.
- "Network Configuration Steps", page 38. These are changes and
additions to individual steps:
- Page 39, step 5, at end of step: "If server authorization is
already configured, you should accept the default established
during server configuration. Continue to accept defaults to
the end of configuration."
AC11386RD-2 Page 16 of 24
- Page 39, step 7, after prompt at end of step: "The path
specification you enter must indicate the same physical file
for all nodes."
- Page 39, step 8. Replace the last paragraph (on page 40) with
this text: "If the password is lost or forgotten, you can
either delete the acad.pwd file in the executable directory
and reconfigure Server Authorization or reinstall AutoCAD."
- "Changing the Login Name", page 41. First paragraph, first sentence,
should read: "The login name is stored in the acad.pwd file."
Additional paragraphs:
The login name is case-sensitive: this means that "william"
and "William" are different login names. The login name must
be at least one character in length and begin with a nonblank
character; spaces are permitted between characters.
The login name identifies owners of locked files. Each login
name must be unique during concurrent AutoCAD sessions. In
other words, avoid having two people log in as "maryb" at the
same time; this defeats the purpose of clear identification
of locked files.
- "The Acad.pwd File", page 42. The two paragraphs in this section are
incorrect and should be replaced by the following:
Acad.pwd is the "login file" that contains encrypted authorization
data essential to running AutoCAD on both stand-alone and networked
machines. AutoCAD creates the acad.pwd file during the server
authorization phase of the configuration process. If the file
becomes corrupted, AutoCAD forces a reconfiguration and rebuilds it.
- "The Acad.pwd File on 3Com". This is a new section that would
appear on page 42.
You might want to keep a backup copy of the original acad.pwd
on your hard disk to use for future reconfiguration. For
example, copy it to another filename such as acadpwd.saf. If
acad.pwd becomes inoperable, follow these steps:
1. Delete the acad.cfg file (the configuration file) from the
network node's directory specified by the ACADCFG environment
variable.
2. Link to the read-write directory containing the executables
("execadmn", for example). Delete acad.pwd from that
directory.
3. Delete any copy of acad.pwd from the directory containing
server temporary files.
4. Copy the uncorrupted acad.pwd (acadpwd.saf in this example) to
the read-write "execadmn" sharename directory. Be sure to
rename acadpwd.saf to acad.pwd.
5. Start AutoCAD and follow the configuration procedure. This
creates a new acad.cfg and updates acad.pwd.
6. After you have completed and saved your configuration, link
the sharename "exec" for read-only access by concurrent
multiple users to the AutoCAD executables.
AC11386RD-2 Page 17 of 24
- "The Ame.pwd File on 3Com". This is a new section that would
appear on page 42.
Follow these steps when you load the Advanced Modeling
Extension (AME) for the first time:
1. Change the permissions on the main AutoCAD directory to READ-
WRITE.
2. Follow the directions in "Loading AME the First Time" on page
35. This creates the ame.pwd file in the AutoCAD directory.
3. After ame.pwd is created, return the permissions of the
AutoCAD directory to READ-ONLY.
If ame.pwd becomes corrupted, repeat these steps to recreate
the ame.pwd file.
- "File Locking on Single-User Node", page 42.
- Add to the Important note (second paragraph): "With this kind
of network configuration, we STRONGLY recommend that you
enable file locking."
- Add this sentence: "When file locking is off, AutoCAD still
honors locks but does not create them."
The Ame.pwd File
----------------
This is a new section that would appear on page 42 of the existing IPG.
Like acad.pwd, ame.pwd is a "login file" that contains
encrypted authorization data essential to running the
Advanced Modeling Extension (AME) on both stand-alone and
networked machines. AutoCAD creates the ame.pwd file when you
load AME the first time. If the file becomes corrupted,
AutoCAD forces a reconfiguration and recreates it.
The ame.pwd file stores the authorization number and number
of users. It is functionally identical to acad.pwd.
- "Plot Spooler Directory", page 53. When you enter the filename
AUTOSPOOL during configuration, use all capital letters: "AUTOSPOOL".
- "AutoLISP Feature", page 55. Add this note: "AutoLISP must be enabled
to run the Advanced Modeling Extension (AME)."
- "Calculating RAM Requirements for AutoCAD 386". This is a new
section that would appear on page 57.
To run AutoCAD 386 Release 11, your computer must be equipped with
at least 2 megabytes of physical memory (RAM), of which at least one
megabyte must be extended memory reserved for AutoCAD 386. The
AutoCAD 386 executable, acad.exe, uses most of the extended memory
requirement.
AC11386RD-2 Page 18 of 24
When all available RAM is used, AutoCAD 386 begins to page unused
executable code and data to disk. The installation of more RAM will
improve performance by reducing the need for AutoCAD to utilize
virtual memory (page to disk). Most customers find that 4 megabytes
is the minimum needed for satisfactory performance in design and
production work. We recommend adding additional RAM as the single
most effective means of "tuning" your system for improved
performance.
Virtual memory is the sum of available physical RAM and the free
disk space on the partition containing the swap file. The total
amount of virtual memory required by AutoCAD 386 Release 11 cannot
be calculated precisely because it is dependent on the following:
the size and type of drawing being edited; the size of the
additional application programs (such as ADS and AutoLISP programs)
that are loaded and executed.
As a rule of thumb, the virtual memory used by AutoCAD 386 will be
at least three times the size of the drawing file being edited plus
the size of any executable code loaded by the 386|DOS-Extender. For
example, a one-megabyte (MB) drawing will require at least 4.9
megabytes of memory:
3 x 1MB + 1.8MB + 0.1MB = 4.9MB
(3 x .dwg file) (AutoCAD 386) (AutoLISP) (minimum virtual memory)
These figures show the amount of virtual memory needed to enter the
AutoCAD drawing editor. Memory requirements can grow with
subsequent editing operations up to one or two megabytes. Disk
requirements can increase if the drawing file contains External
References, since these are stored in the drawing file in a compact
form and expand during an editing session.
If you are using AME, you need an additional 1.1 megabytes. ADI
drivers used in conjunction with AutoCAD 386 may also increase the
total memory required, since these are actually executable programs
competing for memory with AutoCAD.
- "The AutoCAD Shell Command". The following should be added after the
fourth paragraph on page 63:
A utility program called SHROOM.COM is provided to allow very large
programs to be run via AutoCAD 386's Shell. [ For details, see the
separate file SHROOM.DOC. SHROOM.COM and SHROOM.DOC are supplied in
the SAMPLE directory. ] Before running SHROOM.COM, load any TSR
programs (such as DOS PRINT) that you plan to use from the Shell
command.
AC11386RD-2 Page 19 of 24
- "What To Do If AutoCAD Crashes", page 82. This replaces the original
section on page 82, including the subsection "Network Node Crash".
A "crash" is any abnormal termination of AutoCAD. The
possible reasons include the following: power failure;
program error; rebooting your computer before you exit
AutoCAD.
After a crash, a few files are left on disk. They include the
swap file and its associated swap reserve file. By default,
AutoCAD places these files in the root directory of the drive
where you started AutoCAD. See "Swapdefdisk Switch" on page 76 for
further details.
The swap file has an 8-character name with no extension; the reserve
file has the same name with a .SWR extension. Use the DOS DIR
command to list these files. This is a representative example:
0F2B265F 397313 9-9-90 3:44p
0F2B265F.SWR 100000 9-9-90 3:43p
Other temporary files may be left in the drawing directory or the
temporary file directory, if one is configured. These have
extensions like .AC$ (for temporary files) and .ACK (the
lock file for .AC$), and possibly .ACL (the lockfile for .ACK).
Ordinarily AutoCAD erases the swap files when you exit from the Main
menu and deletes temporary files when they are no longer needed. If
the time stamp is not recent, you can safely delete them. If disk
space is not an issue, or if the files may still be in use by other
active sessions, you can also leave them in place. In general it's a
good idea to delete any old swap or temporary files you find, but
only after verifying that they are not part of any active editing
session.
Network caution: Before deleting these or any other temporary files
on a network, be sure all other users are logged off. Otherwise you
might delete files that belong to a session someone is currently
working on.
- Network Node Crash
After a crash occurs on a network node, you must execute AutoCAD
again using the same configuration file (acad.cfg) you used before
the crash. Usually this means running it from the same network node.
AutoCAD can then safely detect the crash and correctly update its
list of concurrent users. By the time you see the Main menu, the
acad.pwd file has been cleared, and you can continue editing or exit
AutoCAD.
If the configuration file is accidentally deleted, you need to do
the following: delete the acad.pwd file; reconfigure server
authorization. See "Revising Server Authorization" on page 40.
- "Special Instructions for the IBM CGA", page 89. The second prompt
should read: "C> dscga -v79"
AC11386RD-2 Page 20 of 24
- "IBM Enhanced Graphics Display", page 92. Append the following to the
first paragraph:
EGA cards with less than 256K video memory are not supported. A
"semi" dual-screen mode occurs if you are using two video displays,
and the EGA is not the current display. In "semi" dual-screen mode,
AutoCAD uses the EGA to display the drawing, the status line, the
menus, the dialogue boxes, and the command prompts, and uses the
other display for the text screen. (In true dual-screen mode, the
other display is also used for the command prompts.)
- "Color Numbering Scheme for 1024 x 768 16-Color Mode", page 98. The
next-to-last paragraph should read as follows:
To each hue number, adding 0, 1, 2, or 3 will have no effect on
brightness. Adding 4, 5, 6, or 7 will make the color a dark hue.
Adding 8 or 9 to the number will make the color display as dark
gray. For example, colors 10 to 13 are bright red, colors 14 to 17
are dark red, and colors 18 and 19 are dark gray.
- "Configuration" for ADI Interface for Plotter Drivers, page 127.
The paragraph and prompt for plotter steps should read as follows:
These parameters are real numbers, used to compute the
plotter size in plotter steps. The calculated step count
cannot exceed 65535 (or 32767 for DXB files). If the
specifications exceed the limit, the following message
appears (after you specify the steps per inch):
** Error: Plot size multiplied by steps per inch cannot
exceed 65535. Specifications resulted in ?????.
- "Houston Instrument DMP Series", page 136. The number of pens supported
on the DMP-62MP plotter has been increased from 6 to 8.
- "PostScript Laser Printers", page 138. Replace the first paragraph with
the following:
AutoCAD 386 supports PostScript laser printers and plotters using
either a Centronics-type parallel I/O port or an RS-232C serial I/O
port. If a serial port is used, set the printer for 9600 baud, even
parity, 7 data bits, 1 stop bit, and XON/XOFF protocol (some have a
choice of XON/XOFF or DTR). See your hardware documentation for
specific installation instructions.
- "PostScript Laser Printers", page 138. Add this note to the end
of the section:
Note: PostScript now supports a variety of sizes. To obtain
correct plots on 8.5-by-11-inch paper, enter the following
during configuration for a PostScript printer:
Enter the Size or Width,Height (in Inches) <MAX>: 8.0,10.5
No spaces are allowed. These measurements are the reverse of
those given for size A on the configuration menu.
AC11386RD-2 Page 21 of 24
- "Hewlett-Packard PaintJet", page 150. At end of section, add this
to the second bulleted note: "For B-size paper, you must use the
paper tray."
- "Noswfgrow1st Switch", page 170. The following should be added:
The longer you remain in AutoCAD, the larger the swap file will grow
(up to a point). If you often spend hours or days without exiting
AutoCAD, we suggest that you use the "-noswfgrow1st" switch so
you'll be less likely to run out of disk space during an editing
session.
- "Swap File Size", page 170. In the second paragraph, "-maxswfize"
should be "-maxswfsize".
AutoLISP Programmer's Reference corrections
-------------------------------------------
- "(fix)", page 42. If the result is outside the range of integers for
this implementation of AutoLISP, (fix) returns as a real. For instance,
if the implementation uses 16-bit integers,
(fix 32767.5) would return 32767
but
(fix 32768.5) would return 32768.0
- "(*error*)", page 76. The following should be added:
Your *error* function should NOT include any calls to (command).
- "Error Codes". The description of ERRNO code 52 on page 169 is
incorrect. It should be "Entity selection: null response".
ADS Programmer's Reference corrections
--------------------------------------
- "Common Characteristics of ADS Library Functions", page 8. Add the
following to the end of this section:
ADS user functions and data type definitions begin with the prefix
"ads_". Another prefix, "adsi_", is reserved for internal use.
- "Retrieving Extended Entity Data". At the bottom of page 78, "static
struc resbuf" should be "static struct resbuf" (add missing "t").
- "Entity Data Functions". In the example on page 71, the first argument to
ads_buildlist() should be RTDXF0 rather than 0.
- "ads_cmd", page 89. In the second paragraph, RTSTRING should be RTSTR.
- "ads_cmd" and "ads_command", pages 89-90. The following details should
be added to the descriptions:
AC11386RD-2 Page 22 of 24
- ADS programs can pause for user input by using ads_cmd() or
ads_command() to pass a string containing a single backslash. Since
the particular control string may change in the future, we suggest
that a preprocessor macro be used for this purpose. For example:
#define PAUSE "\\" /* a single backslash */
ads_command(RTSTR, "Zoom", RTSTR, PAUSE, RTNONE);
(In C, as in AutoLISP, two backslashes must be used to produce one
backslash in a string constant.)
- Certain AutoCAD commands (such as Trim, Extend, and Fillet) require
a "pick" point to be supplied along with the entity to be operated
upon. In order to supply such entity/point data pairs, an ADS
program must use the sequence:
RTLB, RTENAME, <entity>, RTPOINT, <point>, RTLE
or
RTLB, RTENAME, <entity>, RT3DPOINT, <point>, RTLE
with ads_command(). A similar chain of result buffers can also be built
using ads_buildlist()) and passed to ads_cmd(). The 2D or 3D "pick"
point must follow the entity name, and the pair must be surrounded by
RTLB/RTLE. For example, the following trims a line to a circle.
ads_point p1
ads_name first, last;
ads_command(RTSTR, "Circle", RTSTR, "5,5", RTSTR, "2", 0);
ads_command(RTSTR, "Line", RTSTR, "1,5", RTSTR, "8,5",
RTSTR, "", 0);
ads_entnext(NULL, first); /* Get circle */
ads_entlast(last); /* Get line */
p1[X] = 2.0; p1[Y] = 5.0; p1[Z] = 0.0; /* Set pick point */
ads_command(RTSTR, "Trim", RTENAME, first, RTSTR, "",
RTLB, RTENAME, last, RT3DPOINT, p1, RTLE,
RTSTR, "", 0);
- "The DOS Extender (AutoCAD 386) Environment", page 171. The supported
version of MetaWare High C 386 is 1.62 (for 32-bit systems). The Watcom
C 386 compiler is not yet supported. A Watcom environment will be
provided in a future update.
- "Avoiding Trouble", page 163. The following new topic should be added:
File Access Modes
For compatibility with the way AutoCAD and AutoLISP open files,
ADS programs should set the appropriate network file access modes
whenever opening files with the fopen() library function.
In MetaWare High C 386, this is done by #including <system.cf> and
setting a global variable just before calling the fopen() library
function. If you're opening a file for writing or appending, use:
Sharing_mode = Deny_read_write;
AC11386RD-2 Page 23 of 24
to prevent others from reading or writing the file while your
application is accessing it. To open a file for reading:
Sharing_mode = Deny_write;
allowing others to read the file, but not write to it. When
fopen() returns, reset Sharing_mode via:
Sharing_mode = Compatibility;
- "Symbolic Codes for On-Line Program Errors". The description of error
code OL_ENTSELNULL (value 52) on page 185 is incorrect. It should be
"Entity selection: null response".
AutoCAD Tutorial corrections
----------------------------
- "Creating Another Dimension Style", page 54. In the example, "dimclre"
should be "dimclrd" to change the dimension line color.
- "Plotting to Scale in Model Space Viewports", page 166. At the bottom
of the page, the ".25xp" example should read "1mm=4mm" rather than
"1mm=14mm".
- "Editing Viewports", page 170. The third paragraph should begin:
Since we no longer need the 2-foot line ...
- "Standardizing the Height of Dimension Text in Model Space", page 179.
The arithmetic should read:
.18 (size in model space drawing units)
X 1/180 (XP zoom scale factor)
--------
= .001 (size in plot units)
In the next large paragraph, "setting DIMSCALE to 96" should read
"setting DIMSCALE to 180".
- "Adding the Border and View Labels". On page 195, in the paragraph
below Figure 6-46, "8-by-10-inch border" should be "32-by-21-inch
border".
AC11386RD-2 Page 24 of 24
README File for AutoCAD AME 1.02
March 15, 1991
CAUTION: Dangling edges in AME 1.0 Solids
-------------------------------------------
The SOLCHAM command in AME 1.0 and 1.01 does not work properly for
straight edges of solidifed polylines or swept solids whose adjoining
faces meet at an angle of less than 90 degrees. It leaves the edge
behind as a dangling edge on the chamfered solid.
This bug have been fixed in AME 1.02.
Solids created by AME 1.0 that have dangling edges can be repaired
with the following procedure:
1. XLOAD AME 1.02 and load the affected .DWG file.
2. Do SOLPURGE(Bfile). (This has to be done as the first command)
The SOLPURGE Bfile option on the selected solid(s) will delete the
old boundary-file of the solid(s) and force a recomputation of the
boundary-file for the solid(s) during any subsequent AME command.
3. Save the drawing.
This will automatically eliminate the dangling edges.
AME Executables and AME.TXT
---------------------------
The ame and amelite executable files (ame.exp and amelite.exp for DOS386),
and the ame.txt file must reside in the same directory or AME will not be
able to locate the ame.txt file. The AutoCAD Install program will always
install them together.
International User Authorization (DOS386)
-----------------------------------------
When AME is used in conjunction with an International version of AutoCAD
Release 11, there is no initial prompt for the number of users, only for AME
Authorization Code.
AME Reference Manual corrections
--------------------------------
p.46, in Step 5:
The layer name "0-ph-2" should be "ph-2".
p.51, all occurrences (3) of "SOLAREAV" should read "SOLAREAU".
p.57, last line on the page should read:
"... current UCS except when extruding or solidifying -- then
the height is along the positive Z axis of the entities'
coordinate system (ECS)."
p.65, fourth paragraph, first sentence and
p.66, last paragraph, first sentence
list "3D Poly" as one of the entities that can be extruded
or revolved. "3D Poly" should not be listed.
p.67, second paragraph, second sentence and
p.68, last body paragraph, third sentence - Should read
"...Solext command.", not "...Extrude command.".
p.76, under the heading "Revolution" there should be no prompt
"Specify taper angle of extrusion <current>:"
p.88, After the first paragraph the naming conventions for the layers
should read:
"PV-viewport handle Visible profile lines"
"PH-viewport handle Hidden profile lines"
The second paragraph contains an explanation of the SOLPROF
layer naming convention which is no longer valid. Read
section on SOLPROF below for description of new convention.
p.94, first sentence under "SOLAXcol" should read:
"This variable sets the color of the MCS icon used in the Solmove
and Solchp commands."
p.95, first prompt - Should read:
"Hatch angle <0>:"
"Enter a valid hatch angle."
p.105, second paragraph, second sentence - Should read :
"See chapter 4,...",not "See chapter 5,...".
p.118, third paragraph, third sentence
"readme.doc" should read "readme.ame".
SOLPROF layer naming convention has changed
-------------------------------------------
SOLPROF previously created layer names that included the layer
of the solid and the current viewport id. The layer of a solid
can be changed and the id of a viewport is not guaranteed for the
life of a drawing.
The Handle of the vport will remain constant. The layer names
created by SOLPROF will now contain the letters "PV" or "PH"
followed by a "-" followed by the Handle of the vport (i.e. if
the Handle of the current vport is 4B the hidden entities would
be placed on a layer named "PH-4B"). The use of the viewport
Handle will assure that profile lines remain in the correct
viewport and that SOLPROF will update the information on the
SOLREV and SOLEXT reject 3D Polyline entities
---------------------------------------------
3D Polyline entities are not accepted as input to SOLREV or SOLEXT.
SOLREV and SOLEXT expect 2D Polylines and Circles.
SOLPROF command
---------------
The AME SOLPROF command ignores any non-solid entities that are selected.
No attempt is made to solidify such entities or inform the user that non-solid
entities were selected.
SOLPROF in perspective view
---------------------------
The SOLPROF command will not give correct results in perspective view.
Its algorithm is designed for parallel projections only.
Caution on accuracy of DXFOUT
-----------------------------
The default DXFOUT accuracy of 6 places is not sufficient for AME.
In order to reliably recover AME solids via DXFIN it is recommended
that 16 decimal places of accuracy are used for a DXFOUT of AME solids.
Caution on use of DXFOUT/DXFIN
------------------------------
Since all AME solids are internally generated blocks, using the ENTITIES option
of the AutoCAD DXFOUT command on solids will create DXF files that are pretty
much useless, as they will not have the solid BLOCK definition included.
Also, using DXFIN in a drawing with existing entities will not bring in
any solid BLOCKs in the DXF file and the resulting drawing will be incomplete.
Caution on AME Solids and AutoCAD Blocks
----------------------------------------
Caution should be exercised when inserting AME solids into AutoCAD blocks. AME
solids can be placed within blocks and the blocks can then be used as any other
AutoCAD block is used. However, the AME solid loses its identity as a solid
while it is within the block. It regains its identity when the block is
exploded, provided a SOLPURGE ERASED command has not been issued while the
solid was in the block. If a SOLPURGE ERASED command is issued while an AME
solid is within a block, the solid will lose its identity permanently. When the
block containing the AME solid is exploded, the solid will no longer update. If
you place AME solids within an AutoCAD block, and expect to explode the block
later and use the AME solids that were in the block, the SOLPURGE ERASED com-
mand should not be issued while solids are within the block. If you place AME
solids within a block, and do not expect to explode the block, then the
SOLPURGE ERASED command will operate as documented.
AutoCAD OOPS command and AME Solids
-----------------------------------
The AutoCAD OOPS command is used to unerase the last erased entity. If you
erase an AME solid, you can resurrect it using the OOPS command, provided you
have not entered the SOLPURGE ERASED command since the solid was erased. If you
entered the SOLPURGE ERASED command since the solid was erased, the OOPS com-
mand will unerase the AME solid (provided it was the last entity erased), but
if the solid is a complex (booleaned) solid, it cannot be updated because the
SOLPURGE ERASED command has removed its children. In this situation, you can
retrieve the solid by using the UNDO command. Undo back to the ERASE command
that erased the solid and it will again be a valid solid.
AME Solids/Dimensioning/Osnap
-----------------------------
Page 110 of the AME manual states that when dimensioning solids you cannot
"snap" to features within a block (solid). You can use Osnap options to
select points within a block, but you cannot select lines, arcs, or circles
within a block for dimensioning purposes.
Single edges as multiple pieces
-------------------------------
Some circular, elliptical, cone-cone and cylinder-cylinder edges might be bro-
ken into pieces even though the pieces appear to be continuous. This can occur
when extruding or revolving an arc segment of a polyline. The arc edge may be
broken into multiple edges.
Commands that will show the multiple pieces are SOLFILL, SOLCHAM, SOLFEAT, and
SOLLIST EDGE.
SOLCHP and LAYERS
-----------------
If you copy a primitive using the SOLCHP INSTANCE command, the instanced
primitive is created on the current layer. However, the DELETE and REPLACE
options of the SOLCHP command let you retain a primitive as a top level
solid on the layer on which it was originally created. You do this by answer-
ing "Yes" to the "Retain detached primitive? <N>: " prompt.
Restrictions of SOLFILL/SOLCHAM
-------------------------------
Only straight and circular edges can be filleted and chamfered.
For straight edges, the adjacent faces should be planar. For circular
edges, the adjacent faces can be planar, circular cylindrical, or circluar
conical.
For example, edges which have elliptical cones or elliptical cylinders
as adjacent faces cannot be chamfered or filletted. This case may result
when trying to fillet/chamfer tapered extrusions of polylines consisting
of arcs. An appropriate message is printed when the user tries to
fillet/chamfer such an edge.
Limits on SOLFILL radius and SOLCHAM distances
----------------------------------------------
When filleting or chamfering a solid's circular edge, it is possible to enter
a fillet radius or chamfer distance for which a fillet or chamfer cannot be
constructed. The SOLFILL and SOLCHAM commands will detect these cases and
prompt you for new values.
Specifically, two cases can lead to fillet or chamfer values being rejected.
First, if the radius/distance is so large that the fillet/chamfer extends
beyond the center of the circular edge, it results in a self-intersecting
solid which is not allowed. Second, if the circular edge has planes at the
end points which make an angle of more than 90 degrees to the edge, the fil-
let/chamfer may not intersect the end-plane for large fillet radius or cham-
fer distances and will be rejected. If this angle is close to 180.0 degrees,
acceptable fillet radius and chamfer distances are very small. This will give
rise to fillet/chamfer primitives which have null wireframes, which may cause
confusion. In these circumstances, it's better to recreate the solid so that
the edges are tangential (angle is exactly 180.0 degrees) or the angle is
significantly away from 180.0 degrees.
After creating a fillet or chamfer, you can change its radius or distances
using SOLCHP SIZE command.
AME Command Synchronization
---------------------------
During the course of executing AME commands, the AME executable invokes
various AutoCAD commands via the ads_command function. Occasionally, the
AutoCAD command may fail to execute properly and the system will abort to
the command prompt. When this occurs, AME becomes unsynchronized and the
system will fail to recognize the next AME command that you try to execute.
In this event, re-invoke the AME command a second, or even a third time.
This will force the system to re-synchronize. AME commands will then be
accepted.
It should be noted that exactly repeating the command that failed will cause
this situation to re-occur. One example of this may be seen when SOLUCS is used
with certain OSNAP modes set. This condition results in duplicate points being
passed to the AutoCAD UCS command causing it to fail.
AutoCAD AME Applications Program Interface
------------------------------------------
Unique Solid-ids
----------------
Functions affected: ap_union(), ap_int() and ap_diff()
Solid-id's passed to the above mentioned functions should be unique (no solid-
id should be repeated). If a solid used in a boolean operation needs to be re-
used in another boolean operation, you must use ap_dupsol() to duplicate the
solid before re-using it.
Invalid sequence of events:
ap_box(1.0, 1.0, 1.0, &sol[0]);
ap_cone(1.0, 2.0, 2.0, &sol[1]);
ap_sphere(1.0, &sol[2]);
sol[3] = 0L;
ap_diff(sol[1], sol[1], &sol_diff); /* NOT VALID, Cannot use the same
solid-id twice in a boolean
operation */
ap_diff(sol[1], sol[2], &sol_diff);
ap_union(sol, &sol_union); /* This is NOT VALID as sol[1] and
sol[2] are already used in ap_diff() */
Valid sequence:
ap_box(1.0, 1.0, 1.0, &sol[0]);
ap_dupsol( sol[0], &solnew[0] );
ap_cone(1.0, 2.0, 2.0, &sol[1]);
ap_dupsol( sol[1], &solnew[1] );
ap_sphere(1.0, &solnew[2]);
solnew[3] = 0L; sol[2] = 0L;
ap_diff(sol[1], sol[2], &sol_diff);
ap_union(solnew, &sol_union); /* VALID, solnew solids not yet used */
ads_command() and ap_name2sol()
------------------------------
If ads_command() is used to manipulate AME solids, you must use
ap_name2sol() to update the solid before calling any other API function.
Invalid sequence:
ap_box(1.0, 1.0, 1.0, &sol);
ap_postsol(sol, AP_POSTWIRE);
ap_sol2name(sol, name);
ads_command(RTSTR, "MOVE", RTENAME, name, RTSTR, "",
RT3DPOINT, p1, RT3DPOINT, p2, NULL);
ap_q_solinfo(sol, &info); /* Wrong! Solid "sol" has been moved
but not updated. */
Valid sequence:
ap_box(1.0, 1.0, 1.0, &sol);
ap_postsol(sol, AP_POSTWIRE);
ap_sol2name(sol, name);
ads_command(RTSTR, "MOVE", RTENAME, name, RTSTR, "",
RT3DPOINT, p1, RT3DPOINT, p2, NULL);
ap_name2sol(name, &sol); /* Update solid */
ap_q_solinfo(sol, &info); /* Valid. Solid "sol" has been updated */
ads_entdel() Cautions
---------------------
ap_sol2name() returns the entity representing the solid in AutoCAD.
Deletion of this entity using ads_entdel() potentially deletes the
solid from the AutoCAD database.
ap_evalpmesh() and ap_evalwire() return the representations of the
solid which are used by AME. You must NEVER use ads_entdel() on
entity names returned by these functions.