+==========================================================+ READC3.TXT - AutoCAD R13c3_c2 Maintenance Release +==========================================================+ 29 June 1995 =====================================================================- CONTENTS ========- - Purpose - Background - General Questions & Answers - Major Enhancements in R13c3 - Installation Procedure - Problems Fixed by R13c3 - Platform Independent Information - Windows-Specific Information - Manual Corrections and Additions =====================================================================- PURPOSE =======- Autodesk is committed to delivering products of the highest quality. With any major software release, some problems are found after the product ships. Autodesk is committed to proactively addressing quality concerns, and therefore has developed a software upgrade procedure to distribute bug fixes as quickly and easily as possible. The purpose of this document is to explain the upgrade procedure in general, as well as specific information about AutoCAD Release 13c3_c2. =====================================================================- BACKGROUND ==========- Problems are reported through the dealer network to Autodesk Product Support or by customers by filling out a bug report form provided in the back of the Installation Guide and mailing it to Autodesk. Once a problem is verified as a bug, it is entered into Autodesk's bug tracking system. Once bugs are fixed, software patch programs are created to correct the problems. In the past, bug fixes required customers to reinstall and reconfigure the entire product. Now, using software patch technology, dealers and customers are able to use a quick, straight-forward procedure to correct the problems without reinstalling AutoCAD. In many cases, patches will not affect any customization or configuration options. =====================================================================- GENERAL QUESTIONS & ANSWERS ===========================- How do software patches work? ----------------------------- Release 13 was specifically designed so it can be easily upgraded in the field. The software patch is actually a program that is able to modify existing files. When a patch is installed, it replaces the current file(s) with the new file(s). What are the benefits of using patches? --------------------------------------- Most importantly, it allows us to get bug fixes out to our customers faster. Because it is a subset of the program, patches can be freely copied and distributed among AutoCAD dealers and customers. Software patches can also be effectively distributed electronically. Finally, patches do not require new serial numbers or authorization codes, and in many cases, will not affect customization. How does Autodesk distribute patches? ------------------------------------- Software patches are posted worldwide to the general forums of CompuServe, Global Village, and Internet and can be freely downloaded by dealers and customers. A text file for each patch is posted so customers can determine whether they need a particular patch. Once a patch is downloaded, it can be copied and distributed among AutoCAD customers. If you don't have electronic access to these files, please contact your Authorized Autodesk Reseller or your local Autodesk office for a copy of the latest patch. IMPORTANT NOTE: Please be aware that a software patch supplements the original disk set and does not replace existing media. Customers should store the software patch media with the original media disk set. What customers do these patches affect? --------------------------------------- Software patches are distributed as either an update patch or a maintenance patch. Update patches typically contain a limited number of bug fixes or fixes to bugs that may not affect large groups of customers. These patches are made on an as-needed basis. Autodesk recommends that dealers distribute update patches to customers who have reported the specific problems that the patches fix. Since we do not want to inconvenience our customers with multiple patches in a relatively short period of time, we do not recommend that these fixes be distributed to all customers. However, some customers will always want the latest version and are willing to take the time to install it. These customers should either download the patches electronically or work out an arrangement with their dealer. Maintenance patches are significantly broader in scope than update patches. They contain all bug fixes that have previously been made available through update patches, as well as additional bug fixes, and in some cases may include new functionality. Maintenance patches are synchronized with maintenance releases which are used to manufacture new units. We recommend that dealers proactively distribute maintenance patches to all of their existing Release 13 customers. It is our goal to have all customers synchronized with the latest maintenance release. Autodesk also recommends that dealers include the latest patch with any new sales or in any new installations. How are update patches and maintenance patches differentiated? -------------------------------------------------------------- Update patches are designated with a letter and maintenance patches are designated by a number. For example, R13c1 indicates a maintenance patch. R13c1a or R13c1b would indicate the sequence of update patches released after the R13c1 maintenance patch. How can I tell whether a patch has been installed already? ---------------------------------------------------------- The patch automatically changes the version number located in the Help About box. If more than one patch exists, do I need to install all of them? ---------------------------------------------------------------- Depending on your current AutoCAD version number you may need to install more than one patch to upgrade to the current version. Update patches will typically only upgrade AutoCAD from a previous update release or from the last maintenance release. Maintenance patches are available that can upgrade AutoCAD from the previous maintenance release or from any prior release. Your Authorized AutoCAD Reseller can assist you in finding the appropriate patches for your installation. The patch name indicates both the AutoCAD version that results from applying the patch and the minimum required current version. For example, the R13c3_c2 patch must be applied to an installed R13c2 version of AutoCAD, and the R13c3_c0 can be applied to any version of AutoCAD Release 13. How reliable is this patch technology? -------------------------------------- When creating a patch, the patch builder program creates a checksum of the original file. The patch program uses this checksum to ensure that it is modifying the correct file. Other major software vendors are also using this technology with great success, and Autodesk used it in a number of cases with Release 12. What technology does Autodesk use to create these patches? ---------------------------------------------------------- We use RTPatch from PocketSoft and PKZIP from PKWARE. How easy is a patch to install? ------------------------------- An easy-to-use batch file automates the whole procedure. You simply type the batch command and follow the instructions on your screen. The process for installing either DOS, Windows or Windows NT typically takes approximately fifteen minutes. Should I exchange any unopened or uninstalled product? ------------------------------------------------------ It is not necessary to exchange existing product -- simply run the appropriate patch(es) after the standard installation. =====================================================================- MAJOR ENHANCEMENTS IN R13C3 ===========================- The following items are major enhancements for R13c3. They are described in greater detail in later sections of this file. + Performance improvements: - AutoCAD WHIP display list driver for Windows and Windows NT - Incremental save feature, optional BAK file - Undo file on disk (memory usage reduction) - Other: menu load, array, editing, selection, mtext, AutoCAD load, open, electronic documentation, text scrolling, and memory usage + Patch process improvements + Bug fixes =====================================================================- INSTALLATION PROCEDURE ======================- The R13c3_c2 patch must be installed after proper installation of releases R13c2, R13c2a, or R13c2b. The R13c3_c2 patch works with all English-language versions of AutoCAD. No new authorization codes are required, and the serial number and personalization information of the installed copy of AutoCAD is retained. 1. The R13c3_c2 patch modifies or installs the following files. No customized files are affected and backing up is not required. DOS Windows/NT ------------------ ------------------------ acad.exe acad.exe acad.xmx acad.xmx acadl.exp acadres.dll acis.dll acadbtn.dll acinst.dll acis.dll acadapp.exp acinst.dll drv/plppost.exp acadapp.exe support/dxfix.exe dsai.dll support/dxfix.doc drv/plppost.dll support/dxfix13.txt drv/plsys.dll support/dxfix13.dxt support/dxfix.exe fonts/txt.shx support/dxfix.doc readme.ren support/dxfix13.txt readme.txt support/dxfix13.dxt cfigphar.exe fonts/txt.shx ads/adslib.h readme.wri render.arx readme.ren render.xmx readme.txt support/ddattdef.lsp ads/adslib.h support/ddinsert.lsp render.arx support/ddmodify.lsp render.xmx support/xplode.lsp support/ddattdef.lsp ase.arx support/ddinsert.lsp asidb3.exp support/ddmodify.lsp asidb4.exp support/xplode.lsp asifxp.exp support/rtpanzm.mnu asiora.exp support/1_rtpan.bmp asiora16.exe support/1_rtzoom.bmp asipdx.exp support/3_rtzoom.bmp asipdx16.exe ase.arx asidb3.exe asifxp.exe asiodbc.exe asiodbcs.exe asipdx.exe asipdx16.exe asissrv.exe 2. When running the installation program you must specify which AutoCAD version you are updating (locked or unlocked). The update for the locked version should be applied to the network version of AutoCAD. 3. The following installation instructions assume that you have installed AutoCAD for Windows or Windows NT in the \acadr13\win directory and AutoCAD for DOS in the \acadr13\dos directory on drive C. If you have installed AutoCAD on a drive other than C or in directories with names other than the defaults, substitute your drive/directory names in the commands listed below for the default directory names. These instructions also assume that your floppy drive is drive A. If you are installing from a drive other than A, replace that shown with drive letter appropriate to your system. AutoCAD for Windows or Windows NT --------------------------------- Important: The R13c3_c2 installation program should not be run from a DOS shell under Windows. 3a. Navigate to the directory that contains the Windows ACAD.EXE file. For example, enter the following at a DOS prompt: c: cd \acadr13\win 3b. If installing the patch from a floppy drive and your "common" directory is acadr13\com directory on drive C, place the disk in drive A, and enter the following to install the unlocked version: a:\wininst a: c:\acadr13\com /U or the following to install the locked version: a:\wininst a: c:\acadr13\com /L or, 3b. If installing the patch from a directory on the hard drive such as c:\update and your "common" directory is in the \acadr13\com directory on drive C, enter the following to install the unlocked version: c:\update\wininst c:\update c:\acadr13\com /U or the following to install the locked version: c:\update\wininst c:\update c:\acadr13\com /L and follow the instructions on the screen. If you plan to use the WHIP display driver you need to install WinG. Refer to the WinG Installation instructions later in this document. It is recommended that you upgrade to Win32s v.1.25 (however, it is not required). You can get the new version from your dealer or from the Microsoft forum on CompuServe. AutoCAD for DOS --------------- 3a. Navigate to the directory that contains the DOS ACAD.EXE file. For example, enter the following at a DOS prompt: c: cd \acadr13\dos 3b. If installing the patch from a floppy drive and your "common" directory is acadr13\com directory on drive C, place the disk in drive A, and enter the following to install the unlocked version: a:\dosinst a: c:\acadr13\com /U or the following to install the locked version: a:\dosinst a: c:\acadr13\com /L or, 3b. If installing the patch from a directory on the hard drive such as c:\update and your "common" directory is in the \acadr13\com directory on drive C, enter the following to install the unlocked version: c:\update\wininst c:\update c:\acadr13\com /U or the following to install the locked version: c:\update\wininst c:\update c:\acadr13\com /L and follow the instructions on the screen. 4. The patch is applied. This file, READC3.TXT, is also installed into the AutoCAD directory by the patch program. 5. Launch AutoCAD as you normally would. =====================================================================- PROBLEMS FIXED BY R13C3 =======================- - General Issues - Dimensioning Issues - Text and Font Issues - ASE Issues - Plotting and Driver Issues - Customization, AutoLISP, and ADS Issues This section explains the problems that are fixed with the R13c3 update. General Issues ==============- - BHATCH no longer detects objects on frozen layers. - Unreferenced unnamed blocks are now purged automatically. - Elliptical arcs can now be stretched. - The SAVE command no longer changes the name of the current drawing unless it is unnamed. It now writes a copy of the current drawing to a new file. - The time required to compile a menu file has been decreased. - DXFIN properly imports a drawing with xref/bind that contains complex linetypes. - Multiple saves to a network drive work properly now. Dimensioning Issues ===================- - DIMCONTINUE and DIMBASELINE do not recognize a previous dimension after a UCS change. They also will not reference a previously deleted dimension. - The LEADER command now uses the correct arrowhead style and honors all dimension overrides. The LEADER command correctly allows the use of an exploded block as annotation. - Leader objects now correctly honor the setting of DIMCLRT. - The DIMTOL and DIMLIM dimension variables are mutually exclusive Boolean system variables. Both may be false, but if one is set to true the other is set to false. Text and Font Issues ====================- - AutoCAD no longer ignores trailing spaces for right and middle justified text. - Mtext created in a rotated UCS in AutoCAD for Windows is now properly oriented. - The handling of bigfonts has been improved. The opening of R12 drawings with custom bigfonts are handled correctly and Unicode symbols properly display with bigfonts. - The TXT.SHX font has been modified to reduce the space following the "i" and "l" characters. - Special characters in BIGFONT.SHX now display correctly. For example, the BIGFONT.SHX file properly displays the diameter symbol when used with the ROMANS.SHX font. ASE Issues ==========- - ASI and ASE can now use the PARADOX driver concurrently. - The asi_setcfg function now correctly handles two arguments, as documented. Plotting and Driver Issues ==========================- - PSOUT now properly sizes text regardless of the text rotation. - When plotting to a file with CMDDIA=0, AutoCAD correctly overwrites the existing file (if any) - The PostScript plot driver correctly handles the plotting of dotted lines and dots in lines. - The Summasketch III 1212 and 1218 DOS and wintab digitizer drivers work properly now. Customization, AutoLISP, and ADS Issues =======================================- - Menu swapping of the POP, AUX, and BUTTONS areas works properly now. The pipe symbol "|" is now allowed in menu macros. - Embedded comments are now acceptable anywhere in an AHP file. - The AutoLISP function ai_propchk has been changed to c:ai_prop so that it behaves similarly to other commands. This allows pressing return to bring back DDMODIFY if selected from toolbar. - Dimensions without a dimension style (from a pre-R13 drawing) use a null string as the group code 3 value. - Using the AutoLISP or ADS entmod function on an attribute created in R12 or on a frozen layer works properly now. - A semantic change to ssget "X" filtering: Previously, there was no sense of literal matching -- the only filtering was via wildcards. As a result, one could (for example) create a text string reading "Hi, Joe!"; but attempting to filter on that string would fail, because the comma was treated as a wildcard character. Now literal matching occurs first; only if the literal match fails is wildcard matching attempted. - Bit 3 (library search) of the getfiled function works properly now. - The message dialog that appears when loading an MNU file from the MENU and MENULOAD commands no longer interrupts a script or AutoLISP function. - The use of a transparent command after an (ssget "F") no longer causes an unhandled exception. - (c:stats nil) properly turns off statistics logging. - AutoLISP and ADS entget, now properly returns the group code 11. - The ads_printf() function now works properly with a null string argument. - The WINADS.BAT and WINADS.MAK files now work properly with Visual C++ 2.0. =====================================================================- PLATFORM INDEPENDENT INFORMATION ================================- - Contacting Autodesk - RAM Requirements - Undo File on Disk - Extrusion and Elevation Change of Solids and Other Objects - Incremental Save Feature - Release 12 Compatibility Issues Contacting Autodesk ===================- Autodesk on the Web ------------------- Autodesk's Web site on the Internet is accessible via a Web Browser at http://www.autodesk.com. Information is organized in twelve categories, including What's New, About Autodesk, Products, Product Support, Market Groups, Education and Training, Government, User Groups, Developers, Job Search, Interviews and Send Us Your Thoughts. AutoCAD Technical Publications ------------------------------ You can contact the AutoCAD Technical Publications department with any comments, suggestions, or problems regarding the AutoCAD documentation by sending an email to acad_docs@autodesk.com. RAM Requirements ================- DOS 12 Mb minimum Windows 16 Mb minimum 64 Mb permanent swap file NT 32 Mb recommended 64 Mb permanent swap file In all cases, these recommendations assume typical drawing file sizes up to 1Mb. Additional memory is recommended for larger drawing file sizes or when running multiple applications. Undo File on Disk =================- The Undo file (the record of all actions since opening the drawing) was previously maintained in RAM. This reduced the amount of available swap space and RAM. The UNDOONDISK system variable was added to allow users the ability to specify whether the Undo file is maintained in RAM or on the hard disk. The default setting (1) specifies that this file is kept on the hard disk. See the Manual Corrections and Additions, AutoCAD Command Reference section for details. Extrusion and Elevation Change of Solids and Other Objects ==========================================================- It is not recommended that spline objects or 3dsolid, body, or region objects that contain a spline as one of their faces or edges, be extruded to a very large value (greater than 1e19). In some cases (specifically on the NT platform) a crash can occur and AutoCAD will exit without giving the user a chance to save the drawing. This can also occur when you change the elevation of these objects to a very large value (such as 1e23). If you must perform this type of extrusion or elevation change we recommend that you save the drawing prior to performing the operation. Incremental Save Feature ========================- Incremental save is a new feature that provides the ability to save only the changes made to a drawing. So, if a drawing is opened, and only a few edits are done, and a SAVE is performed, the save operation will be fast. The way this feature has been implemented, it's use should be transparent to the user. For example, the SAVE and SAVEAS commands will automatically cause an incremental save when possible. In order to be able to save incremental changes to a drawing file, the drawing must first be saved through a full save. Once the initial save has been performed, the drawing is now a candidate for incremental saves. There are internal and external controls that determine when an incremental save is performed as opposed to a full save. A full save is when all of the data in the current database is written out (as opposed to only the changed information). Internally, there are thresholds for the fraction of change to the database, and the total number of objects changed, which, when exceeded, causes a full save. Externally, the user has control through the ISAVEPERCENT system variable. This is an integer between 0 and 100. It represents the amount of wasted space that will be tolerated in the drawing file. This is needed since incremental save, for the most part, appends new data to the end of the drawing file. It does try to reuse space within the file where possible, especially for large objects, but dead space within the file is inevitable. The default value of this variable is 50 - which means that the *estimate* of wasted space within the file should not exceed 50% of the total file size. If the estimate exceeds 50%, the next save will be a full save, which resets the wasted space estimate to zero. If ISAVEPERCENT is set to 0, this means a save will always result in a full save. If the user does several incremental saves, and is concerned about the file size growth, simply setting ISAVEPERCENT to 0, doing a SAVE or SAVEAS, and setting it back to 50 (or it's previous value) will get rid of the wasted space. For values of ISAVEPERCENT less than 20, the estimate of wasted space is a bit more accurate - but this comes at an expense of time, i.e. incremental saves will take longer for values of ISAVEPERCENT less than 20. Another system variable, ISAVEBAK, can be used to improve the speed of incremental save, especially for larger drawings on the Windows platform. ISAVEBAK controls whether a .BAK file needs to be created or not. This variable was added because, on the Windows platform, copying the file data to create a .BAK file for large drawings takes a major portion of the incremental save time. ISAVEBAK has the default setting of 1 (always create a .BAK, as in R12). By setting it to 0, SAVE will no longer create a .BAK, even for a full save. Caution: Use this feature with care, because, by setting ISAVEBAK to 0, a .BAK file is no longer created. So, in the case of a contingency (e.g. power failure in the middle of a save), it is possible that the drawing data can be lost. Another tip to improve incremental save performance is to set the system variable RASTERPREVIEW to 3. This avoids having to save the preview image for every incremental save, and results in a noticeable improvement for incremental saves, especially when a lot of graphics are displayed in the current views. Release 12 Compatibility Issues ===============================- Using Release 12 Files in Release 13 ------------------------------------ When you open a Release 12 drawing file in Release 13, it is converted to Release 13 format. Release 12 drawings display differently as they are loaded into Release 13 than do Release 13 drawings. Release 12 drawings regenerate after they are loaded into memory, causing a delay before you see anything drawn on screen. Release 13 drawings regenerate as they are being loaded. In the unlikely event that Release 13 crashes, you will be prompted with the option to save the drawing. If you respond with a Yes, the drawing is saved in R13 format and will require recovery (done automatically during the OPEN process). It is important to note that the original drawing is renamed with a .BAK extension and can be opened after renaming it with a .DWG extension. If you need to keep the drawing in Release 12 format, either mark the file as "read only," or load it into Release 13 and use the SAVEASR12 command to save it to a file in Release 12 format. =====================================================================- WINDOWS-SPECIFIC INFORMATION =============================- - AutoCAD WHIP Display List Driver - Use Version 1.25 of Win32s - Using ADS and ARX Applications - Moving an Electronic Document to Hard Disk AutoCAD WHIP Display List Driver =================================- After installing/configuring the AutoCAD WHIP display list driver, refer to the Online Help file accessed from the driver configuration dialog for additional details concerning the functionality of the driver. The WHIP driver is designed to work with the c2 and c3 releases of AutoCAD. In addition, this driver should also work with the c0 and c1 releases, however it has not been tested. The WHIP driver has been optimized for performance with 256 color display devices. While performance should still be quite good with 16 or greater than 256 color devices, it is recommended that a 256 color configuration be used with the WHIP driver. The WHIP driver's performance improvements are partly the result of an off-screen bitmap. This bitmap requires approximately 1 megabyte of additional RAM. Therefore, it is recommended that you increase system memory in order to accommodate drawings that exceed 1 megabyte. Because of the off-screen buffer used by the WHIP driver to improve performance, AutoCAD applications which write directly to the frame buffer may produce unexpected results when used with the WHIP driver. Similarly, applications that send ADI packets directly to the driver may encounter problems. Softdesk's CAD Overlay is one product that is known to be incompatible with the WHIP driver. If you have an application that does not appear to be working correctly with the WHIP driver, it is recommended that you reconfigure AutoCAD to use the Accelerated driver from Rasterex, or use an independently developed accelerated driver. Microsoft WinG Installation --------------------------- To use the WHIP display list driver, you must first install WinG. WinG version 1.0, included with the WHIP driver, is a performance enhancement from Microsoft that provides faster display access in a Microsoft Windows or Windows for Workgroups environment. The AutoCAD WHIP driver does not require WinG if you are using Microsoft Windows NT 3.5. Installation of WinG under NT is allowed, but is not used by the WHIP driver. To install WinG: 1. Insert the AutoCAD R13c3 CD or the diskette labeled Microsoft WinG into the appropriate drive, or change to the directory that contains the WinG SETUP.EXE file if you received WinG electronically. 2. From the Windows Program Manager, choose Run from the File menu and enter the following (specifying the appropriate floppy or CD drive letter): a:\wing\setup.exe 3. Follow the prompts to complete the installation. Note: The first time you install/configure a new video display driver, WinG runs a performance test to determine the fastest way to transfer a Bitmap to the display. This test takes a few minutes, and only happens once (unless you change your video mode). Interactive Pan & Zoom ---------------------- The C3 patch to AutoCAD R13 provides two commands, RTPAN and RTZOOM, to perform interactive panning and zooming. These pan and zoom features are only intended for use with the WHIP display driver or a high performance independently developed display driver. A slower display driver will impact the performance of these features. When the RTPAN and RTZOOM commands are active, no other AutoCAD commands can be executed. Note: RTPAN and RTZOOM are provided specifically for Release c3. Future compatibility with these commands is not guaranteed. For example in AutoCAD Release 14, this functionality may be merged into improved versions of previously existing commands. MENU CONFIGURATION To interact with RTPAN and RTZOOM, you must load the .mnu file to add these features to the toolbar. Use the following procedure to add the RTPAN/RTZOOM toolbar menu. 1. From the Tools menu, choose Customize Menus. 2. From the Menu Customization dialog box, enter rtpanzm.mnu in the File Name edit box. 3. Choose LOAD. 4. Choose CLOSE. You can also enter MENULOAD from the command line to access the Menu Customization dialog box. The following sections describe the functionality of interactive panning and zooming. PANNING To pan, enter RTPAN or select the hand icon from the RTPAN/RTZOOM toolbar. The cursor changes to a hand cursor. By holding the pick button down, the cursor is locked to its current location relative to the drawing viewport display coordinate system. Graphics within the window are moved in the same direction along with the cursor. When you have reached a logical extent (edge of the drawing space), a bar appears on the cursor indicating the side where the extent has been reached. Depending upon whether the logical extent reached is at the top, bottom, or side of the drawing, the bar that appears is either horizontal (top or bottom), or vertical (left or right side). When you release the pick button, panning is discontinued. You can release the pick button, move the cursor to another location in the drawing, then press the pick button again and continue to pan the display from that location. To exit panning at the new position, press RETURN or ESC. ZOOMING To zoom, enter RTZOOM or select the magnifying glass icon from the RTPAN/RTZOOM toolbar. The cursor changes to a magnifying glass with a + and - symbol. The current drawing window is used to determine the zooming factor. The RTZOOM command uses half of the window height to move to a zoom factor of 100%. Holding the pick button down at the mid-point of the window and moving vertically to the top of the window, zooms in to 100%. Conversely, holding the pick button down at the mid-point of the window and moving vertically to the bottom of the window, zooms out by 100%. Note: If the cursor is placed at the bottom of the window, and the pick button is pressed down and moved vertically to the top of the window, the zoom in factor would be 200%. When you have reached the zoom in limit, the cursor changes to a - symbol, indicating that you can no longer zoom in. When you have reached the zoom out limit, the cursor changes to a + symbol, indicating that you no longer zoom out. When you release the pick button, zooming is discontinued. You can release the pick button, move the cursor to another location in the drawing, then press the pick button again and continue to zoom the display from that location. To exit zooming at the new position, press RETURN or ESC. WinG/WHIP Driver-Specific Problems ---------------------------------- WinG depends on Windows display drivers written by independent hardware manufacturers for much of its speed. Bugs or performance problems in independently developed display drivers may cause problems with WinG. In many cases, the video card manufacturer has already fixed the bug, and upgrading your display driver will often clear away problems. The following is a list of known bugs related to specific display drivers by manufacturer. This list is not intended to slight the manufacturer or any particular card or driver. A list of stress-tested configurations is available on the CompuServe WINMM forum and also on ftp.microsoft.com. + Early drivers for Diamond Viper cards included a "Power-Palette" option that is no longer supported by Diamond. Diamond recommends that you upgrade your drivers if you have this option. WinG may be slower when the power palette is enabled. + IBM no longer supports the IBM ThinkPad 720c. There are some problems using WinG with the ThinkPad 720c display drivers. + Cirrus drivers prior to version 1.43 have many known bugs that have been fixed in more recent drivers. Be sure to upgrade your drivers to at least version 1.43 or later. + Some ATI drivers offer a "Crystal Fonts" option. Turning Crystal Fonts on in an 8-bit mode sets up a non-palletized driver that can significantly slow the performance of WinG. + The ATI Mach 8 Radical drivers cause a number of problems in both WinG and in Windows when used with some versions of the ATI chipset. + The ATI VGA Wonder drivers (W31-*.drv) will crash during a call to StretchDIBits in the profiler. Users can run the SVGA256.DRV driver that shipped with Windows. Many micro Crystal drivers have problems with StretchDIBits, and may crash during profiling. + Early ATI Mach 32 PCI cards have a hardware timing problem and will hang while blting. ATI will replace these cards at no cost. + WinG is incompatible with the #9GXE "TurboCopy" mode. Use the #9 control panel to disable TurboCopy. This mode is off by default. + WinG uses a GetPixel to synchronize with display hardware when writing directly to the screen. The ATI Mach 32 driver's GetPixel does not work properly, so it is possible to use GDI to draw to the screen. Then use WinG to blt to the screen and have them overwrite each other. Be careful mixing GDI drawing commands and WinG blts to the display. + The Orchid mmtllo.drv driver for the Prodesigner IIs has duplicate system colors which prevents applications from getting an identity palette, and greatly reduces the WinG blt speed. A workaround is to set SYSPAL_NOSTATIC mode or use the standard Tseng ET4000 drivers instead of the mmtllo drivers. + When Windows is configured for greater than 256 colors, it has been reported that some S3-based video cards have encountered anomalies using the WHIP driver in conjunction with AutoCAD Render. It is recommended that you configure your Windows video display driver for 256 colors if you should encounter any odd behavior. Use Version 1.25 of Win32s ==========================- AutoCAD Release 13 is a 32-bit program, designed to take full advantage of today's computers. In order to run AutoCAD under Windows 3.1x, a 16-bit platform, you must install Microsoft's Win32s. It is recommended that you install Microsoft's Win32s v.1.25 on your system. When AutoCAD starts it checks to see if Win32s is installed and checks the version. If AutoCAD finds an earlier version of Win32s installed on your system you will see an error message. If you see this error message, you need to update Win32s to ensure that AutoCAD runs correctly. Installing the New Version of Win32s ------------------------------------ The following steps outline how to install Win32s 1. Start Windows. 2. Quit any applications that may be running. 3. Insert the Win32s disk in the appropriate drive, and from the Windows Program Manager File menu, choose Run. 4. On the command line, enter the following: R:\win32s\disk1\setup.exe where `R' is the drive letter of your CD-ROM drive. If using floppy disk, enter A:\setup.exe, where `A' is the drive letter of your floppy drive. When the Win32s installation is complete, allow the game Freecell to install. Windows will restart, and AutoCAD should start without any error messages. Note: We strongly recommend that you allow Win32s to install the game Freecell. Freecell is designed to test Win32s. If Freecell will not run, neither will AutoCAD. Using ADS and ARX Applications ==============================- The following problems are attributed to the use of SHARE.EXE: + ADS and ARX applications may fail to execute properly + ADS and ARX applications may fail to unload + The AutoLISP findfile function may not work correctly To maintain file protection in a multi-user environment, use VSHARE.386 instead of SHARE. You have three options, each explained in greater detail below: + Use VSHARE.386 instead of SHARE.EXE + Continue to use SHARE.EXE + Use neither SHARE.EXE nor VSHARE.386 VSHARE comes with newer Microsoft Windows products such as Office, Word, Windows for Workgroups, etc. VSHARE is a total replacement for SHARE.EXE, so you don't need both. Take SHARE.EXE out of your AUTOEXEC.BAT, and add the following line to the [386Enh] section of your SYSTEM.INI file: device=vshare.386. Continuing to use SHARE is not a problem assuming that you don't care about being able to unload ADS or ARX applications. If you try to unload an application with SHARE loaded, the unload fails cleanly with a command line notice of the failure to unload -- AutoCAD continues on without a problem. It is also possible to run AutoCAD without loading SHARE or VSHARE. Doing so will allow you to unload ADS and ARX applications but does have the following consequences: + You are unable to use ASE and ADE without SHARE or VSHARE + Many Microsoft programs require SHARE or VSHARE to be loaded + File protection in a multi-user environment is compromised Moving an Electronic Document to Hard Disk ==========================================- The AutoCAD Release 13 documents are available as electronic documents (e-docs). When the e-doc viewer is installed, it's set up for you to view the documents from your CD-ROM drive. If you have limited access to a CD-ROM drive or would like to take advantage of the increased access time to the e-docs, you can copy some or all of the book files to your hard disk. The entire document set requires about 90 megabytes of memory on your hard disk, so depending on the amount of space you have available you may want to copy only the books you use most often. This topic describes how to move electronic documents to a hard drive. When you change the location of a document, you need to modify your setup so the viewer knows where to find the files. The following directory structure is referenced by the procedure below, your actual directory structure may vary, but the concepts should be the same. By default, your WIN directory (the directory with the ACAD.EXE file) contains an EDOC directory. The EDOC directory contains a BIN directory which contains the DynaText e-doc viewer executable and support files. The DYNATEXT.INI file in the BIN directory needs to be modified to reflect the changes to the e-doc locations. r13 +--win +--edoc |--acad_bks <= NEW | |--books | | |--acrbook | | |--agibook | | |--augbook | | |--custman | | |--devbook | | |--igdbook | | |--igwbook | | +--tutbook | |--ents | +--figures |--bin <= EXISTING |--data <= NEW | |--bitmaps | |--config | |--ents | |--fonts | |--help | |--icons | |--misc | |--plugins | +--security +--ebtbooks <= NEW The individual AutoCAD Release 13 e-doc titles are acrbook Command Reference agibook Documentation Guide (roadmap to the docs and Master Index) augbook User's Guide custman Customization Guide devbook Developer's Guide igdbook Installation Guide for DOS igwbook Installation Guide for Windows tutbook Learning AutoCAD for DOS To change the setup so it uses books from your hard disk: 1. In your /R13/WIN/EDOC directory, create the following directories: /acad_bks /acad_bks/books /data /ebtbooks The ACAD_BKS/BOOKS directory will contain a directory for each AutoCAD e-doc book. The DATA directory will contain the directories that are in the EDOCDATA directory on the CD. The EBTBOOKS directory will contain the DynaText help and information documentation. 2. Copy each "book" you want to be able to access from the ACAD_BKS directory on the CD-ROM into the ACAD_BKS/BOOKS directory. For example, to copy the AutoCAD Command Reference onto your hard disk, copy all the files and directories from ACAD_BKS/BOOKS/ACRBOOK from the CD-ROM. 3. Copy the /ENTS and /FIGURES directories from the CD-ROM into your ACAD_BKS directory. 4. Copy the BOOKLIST.TXT file from the CD-ROM into your ACAD_BKS directory. The BOOKLIST.TXT file contains the complete list of the AutoCAD documents and their aliases in DynaText. 5. Update the BOOKLIST.TXT file in a text editor by removing the book entry names that aren't in the ACAD_BKS/BOOKS directory. 6. Copy all the files and directories in the /EDOCDATA directory from the CD-ROM to the DATA directory on the hard disk. 7. Copy all the files and directories in the /EBTBOOKS directory from the CD-ROM to the EBTBOOKS directory on the hard disk. 8. Update your DYNATEXT.INI file COLLECTION line to point to the ACAD_BKS and EBTBOOKS level directories, as follows (the following should be on one line in the INI file): COLLECTION=c:\r13\win\edocs\acad_bks=AutoCAD Documents; c:\r13\win\edocs\ebtbooks=DynaText Documentation; If you don't update your DYNATEXT.INI file with the proper location, you'll receive an error message telling you to install your CD-ROM disk. 9. Update your DYNATEXT.INI file DATA_DIR line to point to the DATA directory, as follows: DATA_DIR=c:\r13\win\edocs\data 10. Update your DYNATEXT.INI file PLUGIN_DIRS line to point to the PLUGINS directory, as follows: PLUGIN_DIRS=c:\r13\win\edocs\data\plugins =====================================================================- MANUAL CORRECTIONS AND ADDITIONS =================================- - AutoCAD Command Reference - AutoCAD User's Guide - AutoCAD Installation Guide for DOS - AutoCAD Installation Guide for Windows - AutoCAD Customization Guide - AutoCAD Developer's Guide AutoCAD Command Reference =========================- (Publication #00105-010000-5030) Using Wild-Card Characters, page 7 ---------------------------------- The table incorrectly states that the apostrophe escapes special characters. The last row of this table should read as follows: ` (reverse quote) Escapes special characters (reads next character literally). ASEADMIN, "Administration dialog box", page 48 ---------------------------------------------- The paragraph that describes the Erase Links button should read: Erases all links to selected objects associated with the database object selected in the list. This options is not available for links in Xrefs. Links in blocks are modifiable. Links in Xrefs aren't modifiable. ASEROWS, "Edit Row dialog box", page 75 --------------------------------------- In the paragraph describing the Update button, the following sentence should be removed: The SQL DELETE operation is not allowed immediately following an update, so the Delete option is not available. ASESELECT, "Command Line Usage", page 85 ---------------------------------------- An SQL WHERE clause may only be entered once a table is specified. The "Enter text condition" prompt is only issued after the Table and Lpn options of this command. ASESQLED, "SQL Cursor dialog box", page 92 ------------------------------------------ In the paragraph describing the Update button, the following sentence should be removed: The SQL DELETE operation is not allowed immediately following an update, so the Delete option is not available. DDIM, "Primary Units Dialog Box," Units option, page 193 -------------------------------------------------------- Replace the second sentence in existing paragraph with the following: The Units options include Scientific, Decimal, Engineering, Architectural (stacked), Fractional (stacked), Architectural, and Fractional. DDIM, "Alternate Units Dialog Box," Units option, page 196 ---------------------------------------------------------- Replace the second sentence in existing paragraph with the following: The Units options include Scientific, Decimal, Engineering, Architectural (stacked), Fractional (stacked), Architectural, and Fractional. DIMBASELINE, page 261 --------------------- For angular or ordinate dimensioning, all references to the prompt "Second extension line origin or RETURN to select" should be changed to: "Select next feature or RETURN to select". DIMCONTINUE, page 263 --------------------- For angular or ordinate dimensioning, all references to the prompt "Select extension line origin or RETURN to select" and "Second extension line origin or RETURN to select" should be changed to: "Select next feature or RETURN to select". MENULOAD, Command Line Usage, page 407 -------------------------------------- The command line prompt does not default to the currently loaded menu. It should be changed as follows: Enter name of menu file to load: MLSTYLE, page 423 ----------------- The following sentence in the Name option should be changed. You can not rename the default STANDARD multiline style. It should read as follows: You can not rename, modify, or delete the default STANDARD multiline style. MTEXT, pages 434 and 435 ------------------------ The following paragraph should be added to the description of the Properties option: Changes made to items in the in the MText Properties dialog have no effect on dimension text objects. This includes the Object Attachment option; dimension text objects can only have a MiddleCenter attachment method. SHOWMAT (new command) --------------------- The following command description should be added to the Command Reference: SHOWMAT Lists the material type and attachment method for a selected object. At the Command prompt, enter showmat Select object: Select a single object Depending on the method used to attach a material to an object, SHOWMAT reports with one of the following: Material is explicitly attached to the object. Material is attached by ACI to ACI . Material is attached by layer to layer . Material *GLOBAL* is attached by default or by block. Note that explicitly attached materials take precedence over all other methods, and materials attached by ACI take precedence over attachment by layer. See also: For more information on rendering, see "Rendering and Materials" in chapter 12, "Creating Three-Dimensional Images," in the AutoCAD User's Guide. Commands: RMAT attaches and manages rendering materials. STYLE, page 618 --------------- In the sentence describing valid file types, include all the valid file types so that the sentence reads as follows: In the Select Font File dialog box, valid file types include .pfa, .pfb, .shx, and .ttf. In the sentence following the "Obliquing angle : Specify an angle or press RETURN" prompt, correct the values as follows: Entering values between -85 and 85 italicizes the text. DIMALTU, page 706 ----------------- DIMALTU now accepts values of 6 or 7, where the values are as follows: 1 Scientific 2 Decimal 3 Engineering 4 Architectural (stacked) 5 Fractional (stacked) 6 Architectural 7 Fractional DIMUNIT, page 717 ----------------- DIMUNIT now accepts values of 6 or 7, where the values are as follows: 1 Scientific 2 Decimal 3 Engineering 4 Architectural (stacked) 5 Fractional (stacked) 6 Architectural 7 Fractional DWGCODEPAGE, page 719 --------------------- The following information should replace that in the Command Reference: DWGCODEPAGE (Read-only) Type: String Saved in: N/A This system variable always has the same value as SYSCODEPAGE. It exists for compatibility purposes only. GRIDUNIT, page 722 ------------------ The value type of GRIDUNIT is incorrectly listed as a "Real", it should be "2D Point". ISAVEBAK (new system variable) ------------------------------ ISAVEBAK Type: Integer Saved in: Config Initial value: 1 The ISAVEBAK system variable can be used to improve the speed of incremental save, especially for larger drawings on the Windows platform. ISAVEBAK controls whether a .BAK file needs to be created or not. On the Windows platform, copying the file data to create a .BAK file for large drawings takes a major portion of the incremental save time. 0 Do not create a .BAK file (even for a full save) 1 Always create a .BAK file (as in R12). (Default) Caution: Use this feature with care, because, by setting ISAVEBAK to 0, a .BAK file is no longer created. So, in the case of a contingency (e.g. power failure in the middle of a save), it is possible that the drawing data can be lost. ISAVEPERCENT (new system variable) ---------------------------------- ISAVEPERCENT Type: Integer Saved in: Config Initial value: 50 The ISAVEPERRCENT system variable is an integer between 0 and 100. It represents the amount of wasted space that is tolerated in the drawing file. This is needed since incremental save, for the most part, appends new data to the end of the drawing file. It does try to reuse space within the file where possible, especially for large objects, but dead space within the file is inevitable. The default value of this variable is 50 - which means that the *estimate* of wasted space within the file should not exceed 50% of the total file size. If the estimate exceeds 50%, the next save will be a full save, which resets the wasted space estimate to zero. If ISAVEPERCENT is set to 0, this means a save will always result in a full save. If the user does several incremental saves, and is concerned about the file size growth, simply setting ISAVEPERCENT to 0, doing a SAVE or SAVEAS, and setting it back to 50 (or it's previous value) will get rid of the wasted space. For values of ISAVEPERCENT less than 20, the estimate of wasted space is a bit more accurate - but this comes at an expense of time, i.e. incremental saves will take longer for values of ISAVEPERCENT less than 20. SYSCODEPAGE, page 738 --------------------- The following information should replace that in the Command Reference: SYSCODEPAGE (Read-only) Type: String Not saved Indicates the system code page used by your version of AutoCAD. Codes are as follows: ascii dos855 dos869 iso8859-7 ansi_1250 dos857 dos932 iso8859-8 ansi_1251 dos860 gb2312 iso8859-9 ansi_1252 dos861 iso8859-1 johab big5 dos863 iso8859-2 kcs5601 dos437 dos864 iso8859-3 mac-roman dos850 dos865 iso8859-4 dos852 dos866 iso8859-5 UNDOONDISK, (new system variable) --------------------------------- UNDOONDISK Type: Integer Saved in: Drawing Initial value: 0 System variable that controls whether the Undo file is kept on the hard disk or in RAM. A setting of 1 is typically appropriate for systems with less than 48M RAM. Writing the Undo information to disk is slower that recording it in RAM, however the additional available RAM should increase the performance of other operations such as editing and entity creation. 0 Undo file is kept in RAM (previous method). This requires less available disk space but greater memory and swap space. 1 Undo file is kept on disk (default). Requires greater available disk space but less memory and swap space (in general, an overall positive effect). Warning: AutoCAD may crash if it runs out of disk space while writing to the Undo file. USERI1-5, page 744 ------------------ This system variable is missing from the documentation and should be added. USERI1-5 Type: Integer Saved in: Drawing Five variables for storage and retrieval of integer values. Intended for use by third-party developers. The value stored is an integer and is saved in the drawing file. USERR1-5, page 744 ------------------ This system variable is missing from the documentation and should be added. USERR1-5 Type: Real Saved in: Drawing Five variables for storage and retrieval of real numbers. Intended for use by third-party developers. The value stored is a real number and is saved in the drawing file. USERS1-5, page 744 ------------------ This system variable is missing from the documentation and should be added. USERS1-5 Type: String Saved in: Not saved Five variables for storage and retrieval of text string data. Intended for use by application developers. The value stored is a string and is not saved. AutoCAD User's Guide ====================- (Publication #00105-010000-5020) Apparent Intersection, page 86 ------------------------------ The following paragraph should be added to the information on APPINT: APPINT provides two basic functions: Apparent intersection and extended intersection. Apparent intersection refers to two objects which do not intersect each other in 3D space, but may appear to intersect on the screen. Extended intersection refers to two objects which may intersect at the extension of the object along its natural path direction. Extended intersection usually requires two pickings of individual objects and is therefore not supported in running Osnap APPINT or INT mode. However, apparent intersection (because it can be defined by one pick) is supported by APPINT in running Osnap. Editing Hatch Boundaries and Patterns, page 197 ----------------------------------------------- Editing operations on geometry containing multiple associative hatch blocks can produce unpredictable results. For best results when editing hatched geometry, edit the bounding geometry. Associativity may also be lost when editing a hatch boundary if the hatch pattern is not available at the time of editing. You can either complete the edit, erase the hatch and re-hatch the boundary, or cancel the edit, make the pattern available, and reedit. Styles, Style Families, and Overrides, page 281 ----------------------------------------------- The following information should be added to this section: Dimension style families are related to one another by name. The child dimension styles are named with a numeric suffix which indicate the dimension type. The valid suffixes are as follows: FOO FOO parent dimstyle FOO$0 Linear child of FOO (both rotated and aligned types) FOO$2 Angular child of FOO (both 2-line and 3-point types) FOO$3 Diameter child of FOO FOO$4 Radius child of FOO FOO$6 Ordinate child of FOO FOO$7 Leader child of FOO (also used for Tolerance objects) Chapter 13, "Accessing External Databases", page 479 ---------------------------------------------------- The reference to "chapter 6" in the first sentence should be chapter 7 instead. page 480: The last sentence of the first paragraph mentions the old SQL standard supported in AutoCAD Release 12. Release 13 supports the ISO/IEC 9075:1992(E) SQL standard, also referred to as SQL2. page 481: The second sentence of this page, "Database objects can reside..." should be removed. Database objects reside in external DBMSs. Links to these objects reside in AutoCAD drawings. page 492: At the bottom of the page, to add a row to a table, you may also open a cursor first and then choose Edit. This will provide default values that you can use or change instead of entering all values into an empty field. page 504: Steps number 3 and 4 should read: 3. Choose Select to highlight and add to a selection set objects linked to the current row. 4. Choose Unselect to remove highlighting and the objects from the selection set which are linked to the current row. page 505: Step number 2 says to open the file asetut.dwg. It should say to open the file asesmp.dwg. page 508: In the section on checking data integrity, the situation listed in the second bullet item (links to nonexistent objects) is not possible and should be removed. The paragraph below describing this situation should also be removed. page 508: The last sentence of the second paragraph about checking data integrity reads, "When you use ASEDELROW or the dialog box Delete button in ASESQLED, the ASE application removes associated links to the deleted row". This sentence should be replaced with the following sentence: This also happens when you use the Delete button from the SQL Cursor dialog of the ASESQLED command. If you delete the row by using the ASEROWS command, then AutoCAD removes associated links to the deleted row automatically. page 512: All ASE commands are available through AutoLISP using the (command) function only. For example (command "_aseadmin"). They are not available using the (C:xxx) format. Sharing Drawings with AutoCAD LT, page 547 ------------------------------------------ This section incorrectly states the following: You can open AutoCAD drawings in AutoCAD LT and vice versa. You do not need to perform a conversion to preserve that data. These sentences should be replaced with the following: Before opening an AutoCAD Release 13 drawing in AutoCAD LT Release 1 or 2 you must use the SAVEASR12 command to convert the drawing into a format that AutoCAD LT can understand. Using Object Linking and Embedding, page 564 -------------------------------------------- Add the following information to this section: When TILEMODE is Off (set to 0), pasting OLE objects into AutoCAD from other applications, such as Paintbrush, will result in the object's belonging to the paper space viewport regardless of any model space viewports that might be active. When TILEMODE is On (set to 1), pasting OLE objects into AutoCAD from other applications, such as Paintbrush, will result in the object's belonging to the viewport into which they're pasted. They won't move with the viewport when TILEMODE is turned Off (set to 0). AutoCAD Installation Guide for DOS ==================================- (Publication #00105-010200-5000) Chapter 7, "External Database Access", pages 65-96 -------------------------------------------------- See the ASE readme file (READASE.TXT or READASE.WRI) for information that supersedes that in chapter 7. Configuring the Tablet, page 114 -------------------------------- Add the following section after the "Configuring the Tablet" section USING THE TABLET SWAP Tablet swap lets you change the function of each of the four menu areas on the template. Three areas are reserved for use by AutoCAD; the fourth can be used for a custom menu or an independently developed application. To make a swap, pick one of the four tablet icons located below the lower-right corner of the screen area. You can swap at any time, even when a command is active. Picking an icon a second time swaps to the original menu. The first icon on the left swaps the top area of the template to a blank menu. This blank menu area is the same as previous versions of the AutoCAD template and can be used for personal applications and menu items. The second icon swaps the left area of the template. ZOOM and other display commands cancel the command in progress. VPOINT and DVIEW commands refer to the current UCS. When you swap back, display commands are transparent, and VPOINT and DVIEW refer to the World Coordinate. The third icon swaps the right area of the template. This swap changes units from Imperial (English) to metric. The fourth icon swaps the bottom area of the template. This swap changes the OSNAP picks (T12-22) to running OSNAP by resetting the OSMODE system variable. When you swap back, the last running OSNAP is the default for OSNAP override. When you make a swap, AutoCAD displays a message that reports the number of the current tablet area. Command line prompts inform you of each swap if the EXPERT system variable is in the range of 0-3. A setting of 0 (default) gives you full prompts, while a setting of 1-3 gives you shorter prompts. A setting of 4 or above suppresses all prompts. ENABLING THE METRIC NUMERIC MENU The numeric menu (tablet menu area 3) on the tablet template is set to Imperial units (e.g. Inches) by default. The default should be determined by the measurement setting in the acad.ini file or the configured units in AutoCAD. To enable the metric numeric menu, swap this area by selecting the tablet swap icon (S21 on tablet). At the command line AutoCAD displays the message: Alternate tablet area 3 loaded. Select Metric units from the Numeric menu. Selecting this swap icon again will return the numeric menu back to Imperial units DOS Extender and VMM, Switch Settings, page 186 ----------------------------------------------- The following switches should be added to those described in the Stadard switch settings table: -minwork Allows AutoCAD to create an out-of-swap-space condition when it is out of disk space before getting into a problem situation because of a minimal working code set in RAM that's too small (the default minimum working code set is 128K, too small for AutoCAD). (Default value is 2000000.) -maxfiles Increases the number of VMM handles available to AutoCAD so that it doesn't run out of them when loading ADS applications and ADI drivers. (Default value is 50.) AutoCAD Installation Guide for Windows ======================================- (Publication #00105-011400-5000) Chapter 7, "External Database Access", pages 61-94 -------------------------------------------------- See the ASE readme file (READASE.TXT or READASE.WRI) for information that supersedes that in chapter 7. Configuring the Tablet, page 100 -------------------------------- Add the following section after the "Configuring the Tablet" section USING THE TABLET SWAP Tablet swap lets you change the function of each of the four menu areas on the template. Three areas are reserved for use by AutoCAD; the fourth can be used for a custom menu or an independently developed application. To make a swap, pick one of the four tablet icons located below the lower-right corner of the screen area. You can swap at any time, even when a command is active. Picking an icon a second time swaps to the original menu. The first icon on the left swaps the top area of the template to a blank menu. This blank menu area is the same as previous versions of the AutoCAD template and can be used for personal applications and menu items. The second icon swaps the left area of the template. ZOOM and other display commands cancel the command in progress. VPOINT and DVIEW commands refer to the current UCS. When you swap back, display commands are transparent, and VPOINT and DVIEW refer to the World Coordinate. The third icon swaps the right area of the template. This swap changes units from Imperial (English) to metric. The fourth icon swaps the bottom area of the template. This swap changes the OSNAP picks (T12-22) to running OSNAP by resetting the OSMODE system variable. When you swap back, the last running OSNAP is the default for OSNAP override. When you make a swap, AutoCAD displays a message that reports the number of the current tablet area. Command line prompts inform you of each swap if the EXPERT system variable is in the range of 0-3. A setting of 0 (default) gives you full prompts, while a setting of 1-3 gives you shorter prompts. A setting of 4 or above suppresses all prompts. ENABLING THE METRIC NUMERIC MENU The numeric menu (tablet menu area 3) on the tablet template is set to Imperial units (e.g. Inches) by default. The default should be determined by the measurement setting in the acad.ini file or the configured units in AutoCAD. To enable the metric numeric menu, swap this area by selecting the tablet swap icon (S21 on tablet). At the command line AutoCAD displays the message: Alternate tablet area 3 loaded. Select Metric units from the Numeric menu. Selecting this swap icon again will return the numeric menu back to Imperial units AutoCAD Customization Guide ===========================- (Publication #00105-010000-5040) Converting R12 Help Files to R13 Help Files, page 32 ---------------------------------------------------- Add the following information to this section: You can't use Release 12 Help files in Release 13. If you keep Release 12 Help files on your system, make sure your support path lists the directory for the Release 13 Help file first. Partial Menus, page 122 ----------------------- Add the following information: New to Release 13 for Windows is the ability to partial load more than one menu. Initially this ability had been restricted to only a few sections of the menu file. Now this has been extended to allow partial loading of all of the following sections: + BUTTONS + AUX + POP + IMAGE + SCREEN + TABLET + TOOLBARS + HELPSTRINGS In addition, menu swapping (formerly known as submenu swapping) is now supported for the menu types: + BUTTONS + AUX + POP + IMAGE + SCREEN + TABLET MENU SWAPPING The new syntax which allows swapping of partial menus is as follows: Menu macro $=. AutoLISP (menucmd "=.") ADS ads_menucmd("=."); where: B1-4, A1-4, P1-16, S, or T1-4 The menugroup name in the menu file desired The main label or an alias for the section (see below for explanation of labels and aliases). In addition, for POP menus you may use the following syntax to swap a known POP menu that's currently loaded in the menu bar (in the above examples this would be .) for another menu (. in the above examples): AutoLISP (menucmd "G.=.") ADS ads_menucmd(""G.=."); This allows you to swap a known menu regardless of where it's currently located in the menubar. Only the (menucmd) and ads_menucmd() functions can perform this .=. swapping. To do this type of swap in a menu macro just include a call to (menucmd) with the appropriate parameters to do what you wish. To control TOOLBARS across partial menus, use the following syntax at the "Toolbar name:" prompt of the TOOLBAR command: . This accesses the toolbar identified by . and allows you to use the full spectrum of TOOLBAR command options on that toolbar. If the is left out of any of the commands/functions just discussed then AutoCAD will default to the base menu. This is effectively the same behavior as pre-R13. MENU SECTION DETAILS The ***SCREEN, ***IMAGE, and ***TOOLBARS sections follow the pre-R13 syntax of a *** to start the section and then ** to start submenus within the section. You can have as many ** subsections as you like in each menu file (within the constraints of memory on the system). You can also have as many **