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Dangerous flaw in Block Editor

13 REPLIES 13
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Message 1 of 14
Steeve_Vajk
2775 Views, 13 Replies

Dangerous flaw in Block Editor

One way to ruin you day:

1) Open a drawing containing a dynamic block, and make some changes to the drawing.

2) Open the dynamic block in the Block Editor. Make some changes to the block.

3) Test the block (BTESTBLOCK).

4) Close the test block drawing (CLOSE)

5) Close the Block Editor using the CLOSE command.

6) AutoCAD will prompt you is you want to save changes to the block (and only the block).

7) Choose No, do not save changes *to the block*.

 

😎 AutoCAD will close the block, discarding changes. It will also close your drawing without saving any changes!!!!

 

 

And here's another:

With an existing drawing that you intend to modify, and then save as a different file.

Repeat steps 1-6, above...

7) Choose Yes, do save changes *to the block*.

 

8)AutoCAD will save your changes to the block. It will also close the file and OVERWRITE the drawing you had no intention of changing!!!!

 

 

Yeah, you should do the Save As first before editing; but it's unacceptable for AutoCAD to take your answer to one question, and apply it to a completely different one!!! And in the first case, there is absolutely no possible way to recover your lost work, and in the second, your only chance is if you have *.bak file creation enabled, which is not guaranteed for every user.

Since the Test Block space and the Block Editor use the same "environment" (i.e. greyed background, etc) it's a huge problem having the same command do wildly different things in the two spaces.

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Vanilla AutoCAD 2012/14/15/16
13 REPLIES 13
Message 2 of 14
Steeve_Vajk
in reply to: Steeve_Vajk

Also note that the Test Block command adds special buttons to the Ribbon interface (including the special Close Test Block button), but does not add anything if you're using the Classic Interface. This is inconsistent behaviour from the Block editor, which does open a special toolbar for the Block Editor-specific commands.

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Vanilla AutoCAD 2012/14/15/16
Message 3 of 14
Charles_Shade
in reply to: Steeve_Vajk

This is the BE Hotfix for Full AutoCAD and LT

You may need to Search for your particular version in the Support site.

The fix has been out for six months or so.

Discussed here a while back.

 

Please mark any response as "Accept as Solution" if it answers your question.
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Message 4 of 14
Steeve_Vajk
in reply to: Charles_Shade

Sorry, but that's a different problem, and only applies to ACAD 2012.

 

This is AutoCAD 2010, with all the current updates; and the problem is that, from within the block editor, the CLOSE command actually closes the file, but only asks if you'd like to save the block or not, and uses your answer to save or not save the file.

 

Not the same thing as:

When a drawing is saved from within the Block Editor, the entire content of the drawing is sometimes lost and replaced with the content of the block being edited.

 

 

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Vanilla AutoCAD 2012/14/15/16
Message 5 of 14
AcadAdamLT
in reply to: Steeve_Vajk

I know what you mean but have never had the problem, I learned from the start to close block editors and drawings separately.

If I'am editing in a block and want to save it I use "Bsave" "Bclose" to return into drawing.

It's very rare that I use the close command from within a block editor.

Signature, sincerely... //Adam
AutoCad LT 2016
Give Kudos where credit is due, Mark "accepted as solution" if the post solved your question.
Message 6 of 14
Charles_Shade
in reply to: Steeve_Vajk

My apologies for not understanding your problem completely.

CLOSE and BCLOSE are two different things.

If you wish to close the BE then type BCLOSE or use the Block Editor Close button from the Ribbon.

While this may be an annoyance it does seem to be standard behaviour.

 

Being a soon to be obsolete version of CAD I would not hold my breath for a fix to this.

It may be worth a wish list or bug report to ask that that functionality be added to future releases.

 

Please mark any response as "Accept as Solution" if it answers your question.
_____________________________________________________________

Message 7 of 14
Steeve_Vajk
in reply to: Charles_Shade

I'm sorry, but if you think this is standard behavior, you still aren't understanding the problem.

 

If you type CLOSE in a drawing (not BE) you get prompted if you'd like to save the drawing. If you type CLOSE from within BE, you get prompted if you'd like to save the block. You are NOT prompted if you'd like to save the drawing!

 

How is that "Standard Behavior"???

 

Also, BCLOSE does not work from within the Test Block window (even though the Help says it does), so the only command-line way to close that window is, in fact, the CLOSE command. It's unacceptable to require the CLOSE command at one level of block editing, but then effectively make it a booby-trap at the next. 

 

Yes, I've reported it as a bug. And I think it's ridiculous to call a 2 year old program "obsolete".

 

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Vanilla AutoCAD 2012/14/15/16
Message 8 of 14
Charles_Shade
in reply to: Steeve_Vajk

Let's see: What you described happened as you desrcibe here so I may be off base assuming that two unique installations of the program on two different platforms are doing the same thing but my thought would be that this is standard behaviour.

Yes the Close from the Modelspace and the difference in how that works from the BE by not asking to save the drawing does exactly as you describe here. Not saying this is right; just letting you know there is not a flaw in your software as far as our two unique installations go.

 

I suspect there are a number of Commands that do not work frm within the Block Test Window just as there are Commands in each Space that will not work in the others.

And I am not surprised there is a mistake or two in such a cryptic and leviathan Help system. Lord knows people have been crying about that for years.

 

As far as the software being obsolete: How long have you been with Autodesk? Did not you know that as soon as the new version gets out the door the old version is swept under the rug? Just kidding a bit on that but it is unlikely that Autodesk will revisit 2010 software for a fix though they may. It may be that there are enough users out there needing this corrected and that a fix will come.

 

Also - with the likely release of AutoCAD 2014 next March or so; 2010 software will be the next orphan.

 

 

 

Message 9 of 14
ChuckUK1971
in reply to: Steeve_Vajk

"Did not you know that as soon as the new version gets out the door the old version is swept under the rug? Just kidding a bit on that"

 

I wouldn't be kdding about it, it seems to be standard operating procedure for Autodesk, one they are actually quite proud of.

Message 10 of 14
Steeve_Vajk
in reply to: Charles_Shade


@Charles_Shade wrote:

Let's see: What you described happened as you desrcibe here so I may be off base assuming that two unique installations of the program on two different platforms are doing the same thing but my thought would be that this is standard behaviour.

Yes the Close from the Modelspace and the difference in how that works from the BE by not asking to save the drawing does exactly as you describe here. Not saying this is right; just letting you know there is not a flaw in your software as far as our two unique installations go.

 


I guess it's a question of what the definition of "standard behaviour" is... I define it as behaviour that is A) what the software engineers intended the program to do in the given circumstance, and B) consistent with the user-interface paradigm used throughout the rest of the program.

 

By that definition, I highly doubt that this would be considered "Standard Behaviour". 

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Vanilla AutoCAD 2012/14/15/16
Message 11 of 14
Charles_Shade
in reply to: Steeve_Vajk

...and when you get a chance to ask the software engineer what his answer is to those two questions then post it here.

...and what will you consider to be standard behaviour if he answers to the affirmative on both those points?

 

I believe you are right about how the program should close when telling the software to close from within the Block Editor and that this is a flaw in the software design.

I also do not expect there to be a fix from Autodesk concerning this matter for 2010 software but they may.

 

If you have not already:

Autodesk Bug Report

 

I hope you get a satisfactory answer.

Message 12 of 14
Steeve_Vajk
in reply to: Charles_Shade

Yeah, I'm not holding my breath for 2010... though I have indeed reported the bug.

 

I do, however, want the rest of the AutoCAD-using world to know that this flaw exists, and that it apparently continues to be a problem for current releases. Many people may never come across it, but those that do will probably have a really bad day because of it. I know I did.

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Vanilla AutoCAD 2012/14/15/16
Message 13 of 14
rkmcswain
in reply to: Steeve_Vajk

It's not even that complicated. The following bug can easily be replicated in versions up to the latest (2016)

 

  • Open a drawing that contains only a dynamic block, you are prompted to go directly into the block editor.
  • While in the block editor, make changes to the block definition and click “Save Block”, then “Close Block Editor”
  • The block editor AND the drawing closes, without saving your changes to the DWG file.

 

R.K. McSwain     | CADpanacea | on twitter
Message 14 of 14
kasperwuyts
in reply to: Steeve_Vajk

I had this happen to me, but I assumed it was because of me being a lazy reader. When I wanted to close the block editor, I, without realising it, pressed the 'x' icon in the corner to close the drawing instead of the large 'x' in the ribbon. Normally (and with 'normally' I mean according to general software paradigms) you should get two prompts, one to save your block, one to save your drawing. Instead you get this one headachingly cryptic prompt about parameter updates:


Best regards
Kasper Wuyts
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