"Command not allowed..." but using same version of ACAD Arch

[bbacker86]

Using AutoCad Architecture 2012 and Windows 7

I have been receiving this error message "Command not allowed because drawing contains objects from a newer version of this application."

The problem being I am using the same version of AutoCad Arch 2012 that the drawings were created in.  I get this message on various ribbon tools like _AecAnnoRevisionCloudAdd.

Any ideas?

Gracias!

[pendean]

Someone open your file (or an Xref) in ACA2013 or a trial of 2013 and save it, then not fess-up?

Or do set SAVE to lower than 2010? Feel free to post the file here, we all have 2010/11/2012 or 2013 and can find out for you if you are not sure.

[bbacker86]

LOL! Nope, believe it or not everyone in this office is using the same version of Autocad!

[pendean]

Post a sample DWG with the issue, let's all have a look. We all use the same version too 🙂

[bbacker86]

Here you go.  Thanks you for taking a look at this for me.  

[pendean]

Opening your top file (A-100 Floor Plan New) and your title block presented me with an Notification pop-up that is contains AEC/Proxy content from a format higher than 2010.

[bbacker86]

I know but we are using Autocad Arch 2012.  Why are we getting that message?  I have downloaded every object enabler I can to try to fix that.

[pendean]

There is no OE if the file was indeed saved in 2013: 2013 takes the files away from 2012 and lower forever when it comes to AEC content.

Maybe others here can examine your files more closely.

[bbacker86]

Thank you!

[architechnic]

I have the same error. I can track it to a consultant who worked on the file with AutoCad LT 2013. Now the file is useless to me as many commands from the ribbon are not allowed, such as Fillet, also "Select Similar", etc. How can this be fixed ( and why did it happen)? The issue seems to dismissed as a "fact of life" but does this mean that an ACA 2012  user can't collorate with anyone on a version less than one year on?

[pendean · Accepted solution]

There is no fix: when a DWG format changes, so do all the AEC content in a DWG file. It is an unfortunate side effect of a DWG format change and it's been happening since 2004 versions of AutoCAD.

So in your case you never share files with anyone using 2013 versions of autocad or higher (you need to stick with 2010-2011-2012 users). Users of ACAD ARCH 209 and lower can never share files with you, and so on.

BTW, anyone using any version of AutoCAD gets a big fat warning pop-up in AutoCAD telling them they are about to upgrade AEC content in an older file and do they really want to proceed: you get it, your consultant gets it and anyone using all versions of AutoCAD from 2004 through 2013. You can't miss it, but you can choose to ignore it (or worse, hide the prompt from ever coming up because "it slows you down").

Time for you and the consultant to chat, and for you to plan more carefully from now on. Sorry, it's just a reality that has no workaround, no one like it but it's there.

[architechnic]

Thanks for the reply; good explanantion. Disturbing though!! 

I have been an ACAD user since 1997 and have never come across this issue.

Our firm recently upgraded to ACA2012 (from ACAD 2007 and previously LT2000) at  CONSIDERABLE expense hoping in good faith that it would see us right for the next few years. What you are implying is that unless we continue to spend money we will have to drop our consultants as they upgrade to later versions.

Sounds like planned redundacy and commercial jiggery to me. How can Autodesk take tens of thousand of dollars from a firm and less than 8 months later create limiitations its usefullness??

...am I over-reacting???

[pendean]

You've never had a vertical before, now you do: it's a different ball game. I got hit by this issue wiith ADT2004 and learned the painful way as you are now. Others got hit by it with ADT2007 or ACA2010 and some are now discovering it with ACA2013.

Welcome to the club.

You need to take DWG format changes seriously when using vertical versions of AutoCAD: this is not plain AutoCAD (or LT) anymore, you chose to upgrade to a complex version that uses complex objects (it does not draw pretty but useless lines, it creates AEC objects). You need to monitor your project partners and outside help for version compliance, you need to start documenting your requirements in contracts and you need to actively enforce it all. You're now in the big leagues, no more randomly handing off work to the lowest cheapest service provider without a background check of their software compliance.

This is not REVIT: you are still using ACA2012 and not forced to use ACA2013. Imagine the world of REVIT where there is no saving down 'ever' and you/your consultants must remain current and updated (yes, even patches) in order to share files.

AutoCAD user since 1989 here.

[EdReb]

I just came across the same problem (which is why I found this thread). The only thing that worked for me after reading how I was getting screwed was to type the old revision cloud command "_revcloud" in the command prompt. That seems to work, I hope that helps.

[David_W_Koch · Accepted solution]

There was a file format change with the 2013 release (as there was for the 2010, 2007 and 2004 releases previously).  AutoCAD Architecture [ACA] objects are not backwards compatible across different file formats.  When a particular version of ACA tries to open a file with "future-format" objects, the AEC commands are disabled.  When your consultant opened and saved the file in AutoCAD LT 2013, the file was saved in the 2013 format and the ACA objects were promoted to the new format.

All team members working on a project need to be working in the same file format in order to be able to exchange files and be fully able to edit them.

[jlloyd]

So this is a real issue as we just discovered this today as I am the only one in the office using 2013 where everyone else is using 2012 and also appears same with our consultants.  Thanks to this thread, we realize that we can use the key commands, but the majority of the object buttons do not work.  So going back to old school way of doing things with blocks instead of smart objects.

As much as I want to blame Autodesk for this headache, I want to put most of the blame on the reseller who our principle purchased the software from when we purchased 2012 & 2013 at the same time. We should have been informed that there are compatibility issues with each version and we may not have purchased the one seat of 2013.

[David_W_Koch]

I find it hard to believe that a reseller would not have made abundantly clear that you cannot use ACA 2012 and 2013 on the same project, even if the reseller was not asked directly about that, just to protect themselves from future complaints.  Perhaps my expectations are too high.  Or perhaps the information was given but not disseminated to those who needed to know.

[bellandspina]

I've also been using Autodesk software since the R14 years and have never come across this issue.  Our reseller did not notify us of the compatibility issue either...  Perhaps they weren't told about the problem?  Seems to me like Autodesk has just gotten lazy in its programming...

There should not be a reason why an object with older formatting can not be inserted into the newer drawing.  Its getting "reclaimed" by the newer version anyway right?

Honestly, Autodesk, this IS an issue.  Where is the sensitivity to your customers and OUR bottom line?  The software should be able to communicate to itself... Period.

I apologize, but it is very disturbing to pay what we pay for a seat of this software and this is what we get?

[NetCadPro]

I know this is an old thread but here is one solution...save the offending file down to 2000 DXF, then close Autocad. reopen the file and save back to a DWG...all will work fine.

[David_W_Koch]

Provided that you are not using AEC objects in the file, that would work.  So would opening the file in a version of AutoCAD Architecture that uses the same file format as the version of AutoCAD used to save the file and then using the Export to AutoCAD feature to export the file back to the desired file format.

Not sure how saving down to 2000 DXF affects AEC objects; the Export to AutoCAD feature will explode all of the AEC objects to vanilla AutoCAD objects, based on the active Display Representation(s) for the AEC objects.