Restore Deleted Viewport Tabs

[Anonymous]

I've tried searching and can't find an anwer to my problem.  Perhaps this is because I'm new to this program and don't know how to properly describe the issue I've created.

Here's the background:

Our company keeps a map of our area and customers in AutoCAD (2012).  Within the model drawing (please forgive me if I use the wrong terms, I really am new and trying to learn this as I go) there were approximately 30 individual maps in different tabs.  The company wanted to have the maps on iPads but the file sizes were too large.

I created a copy of the file in a new folder, renamed it and deleted the smaller individual maps, keeping only the model.

This seems to have univerally deleted the tabs across all versions of the maps, including copies of old versions in other folders.

Under Options>Display "Display layout and model tabs" IS checked.

Did I make a horrible mistake in removing these tabs?  Is there any hope of restoring them?

Any help anybody can offer me will be greatly appreciated.  Thanks so much.

[pendean]

Once you delete a tab there is no way to recover it: since you made a copy of the file, go back to the original.

[Anonymous]

I'm sorry I didn't make this part more clear.  Somehow when I deleted the tabs from the copy, they were deleted universally from all of the files.  Including copies of the maps from previous years that were all in separate folders. 

If there is no way to restore them, is there a setting I can change so that this kind of thing doesn't happen again?

[jggerth]

There's no setting, as what you've described is not possible.  Deleting a paperspace layout tab in a drawing will only affect that drawing.  Without some pretty custom programming -- it's not possilbe for paperspace changes in drawing B to interact with drawing A.

My best guess is that your desciption is incorrect....

At this point, you'll need to get backups back from tape to recover.

[Anonymous]

I know it sounds impossible and that's why I've turned to you experts, it's far beyond me. Here are some screenshots to better describe my issue.

This is the model drawing. Each of the bordered areas in the model used to have an individual map associated with it that you could select from across the bottom of the drawing area.

I opened last years version of our maps, which haven't been opened since early 2013 and were saved in a different file, and they were missing from there as well.

I did the same thing with all the versions dating back to 2010....

Giving up on this, and after turning to you guys, I loaded my backup copy from an external hard drive into a new folder, opened it and it's the same thing! I'm going crazy about this.

This is what made me think there was a setting that is affecting the files as I open them or something (I know that sounds ridiculous I just don't know what else to do).

[jggerth · Accepted solution]

Run the OPTIONS command, and ensure that (on the Display tab), that "Display Layout and Model tabs" is checked.

Then, maximize the drawing in the Acad window.  It looks as thought the layout tabs (and the bottom part of the UCS icon) is simpley hiden dehind the command line.

[Anonymous]

Oh good God I hope it's that simple, I can't wait get back to work and try that.

I was handed this assignment a couple years ago with no previous CAD experience.

[Anonymous]

It wasn't maximized in the window.  I'm so dumb!  I knew it looked weird with the file name across the top of the drawing area but didn't think about why.  Thanks so much.