Do extra support paths slow down AutoCAD

[Spector567]

In order to save time and to ensure that my users have all the support paths they need and that their menus come up. I create a profile with all the common support paths for the various programs that are used across my section.

Items like AutoTurn, and other add-on programs.

However, not all the users have these programs installed and as such they have support paths that direct them to folders that do not exist on their local drive.

Does the fact that CAD cannot find these non-existent folder locations pose a problem? Will this noticeably slow down there machine?

The reason I did this in the first place was because I found that in the previous iteration of our customization I was spending a lot of time maintaining the customization and re-mapping custom tools and their menus for one reason or another. Ensuring that the mapping was part of our default setup meant that tools would automatically show up in the right spot in our custom interface without any effort on my part.

[rkmcswain · Accepted solution]

I do not find it to be a problem, as long as they are local paths.

If you have some non-existent network paths, then I have seen this slow things to a halt while the O/S searches for them.

[dgorsman]

If you have lots of paths, each with lots of content, and it routinely ends up looking int the bottom-most folders then there *may* be some slight delays.  Might be time to break some of those applications out into their own profiles, and implement some dynamic search path management tools so you can change search paths for those profiles from a central location.  Might be an idea to work up your own search protocols and functions (like searching nested sub-folders!) - I've found with Raster Design, various third-party applications, together with our own host of support directories its become easier to do this and leave the AutoCAD SFSP to only the parts that rely on it.

[Spector567]

Thank you this helped a lot. 

Currently the files are only on there local drive and there are a mininimual number of folders that they would be missing. On average 1 program per user.

However I do have a subset of users who only use one particular program and are constantly losing paths. Instead of mapping this to everyone's drive I will create a separate startup lisp for them that will automatically map those paths when the load.

If my operations expand further I'll look into dynamic search path managment tools.