Support File Search Paths will not stay put in my settings.

[HeidiMerrick]

Hello!

I am having an issue with AutoCAD 2014 saving my support file search paths in my options settings. I have folders containing lisps, plot styles, lineweights, hatches, etc. and have directed CAD to go to those folders. I will be drawing and go to hatch and it won't find any hatches. I go to my settings and see that it has wiped out all of my saved locations. I re-save them all (under options/files/support file search paths) and make sure I move them up to the top of the list. In a couple days they are gone again.

Anyone else have this issue? It is a new one to me! Hoping I don't have to do a re-install...

Thank you!

Heidi

[p_mcknight]

We have seen that if there are issues with our network connection, then all folders that are mapped to network locations get wiped from the search paths when AutoCAD starts.  Even if the drives are actually available, if there is a little red x on them in windows explorer when ACAD starts, they get wiped.  To remedy this for myself, I just make sure everything is available.  For others in our company I made a .net program which checks for the network drives and then only starts AutoCAD if they are mapped correctly.  Could this be causing a similar issue for you?

[rkmcswain]

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@p_mcknight wrote:

We have seen that if there are issues with our network connection, then all folders that are mapped to network locations get wiped from the search paths when AutoCAD starts.  Even if the drives are actually available, if there is a little red x on them in windows explorer when ACAD starts, they get wiped.  

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That should not be happening by design. When a network or local path in the SFSP is not found, it does not get removed from the SFSP, it just does not get added to the Working SFSP.

The behavior you describe was an issue in AutoCAD R14 and earlier, but was changed to the current system starting in R2000.

[dmfrazier]

"I go to my settings and see that it has wiped out all of my saved locations. I re-save them all (under options/files/support file search paths) and make sure I move them up to the top of the list. In a couple days they are gone again."

When you lose these paths, do you also lose any other special (non-default) Options settings?

Without a lot more questions and answers, it is difficult to tell what might be causing this, but there is something you can do to reduce your aggravation from having to re-do the settings.  After you get things set, export a profile with a meaningful name to a familiar location on your local drive.  You can re-import it to get your settings back if/when it happens again.

[tim.turner]

Is that program you wrote one you would be willing to sell in the Exchange for a nominal fee?

Amazing that in any other software this would be called a bug and fixed but it is still here in version 2015 and with Autodesk you can just consider this normal program behavior now and SOP that you have to check your drives before starting Autocad. Or write or buy another program to make allowances for the bug.

[martti.halminen]

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@rkmcswain wrote:

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@p_mcknight wrote:

We have seen that if there are issues with our network connection, then all folders that are mapped to network locations get wiped from the search paths when AutoCAD starts.  Even if the drives are actually available, if there is a little red x on them in windows explorer when ACAD starts, they get wiped.  

---

That should not be happening by design. When a network or local path in the SFSP is not found, it does not get removed from the SFSP, it just does not get added to the Working SFSP.

The behavior you describe was an issue in AutoCAD R14 and earlier, but was changed to the current system starting in R2000.

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That correction was intended to handle the missing disks, but I can confirm that it does not always work as intended, at least on AutoCAD Mechanical 2012. I get about once a month cases when some laptop user has tried to start their AutoCAD without a network connection with a profile which uses network paths. Result: everything but the C: -disk paths disappear from both SFSP and Working SFSP.

The brute-force repair is to kill the profile from registry and re-load it from network disk after connecting to the network. Of course, this destroys any changes the user has made to the profile on his computer.

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[dmfrazier]

"...this destroys any changes the user has made to the profile on his computer."

For anyone who may be interested, attached is a LISP routine I have been using for several years that helps to automate the process of saving (exporting) the current profile. Here we generally run it "as needed" from a menu macro, but it certainly could be made more fully automatic by adding it to a startup suite or via some other method.

Note that it uses a Mcneel DOSLib function, so that must be available. (http://www.en.na.mcneel.com/doslib.htm)

It has one hard-coded path (c:\drawing\temp, in the last defun) which would (probably) have to be modified for your environment.  The routine first saves the ARG file (named by concatenating the "loginname" and the current date) to a temp folder, and then moves it to its "permanent" home, which for us is a custom "user" folder appended to the Support folder beneath the "roamablerootprefix" folder (which can easily be modified).

[tim.turner]

Autodesk support sent me this. Haven't set it up yet but looks like it should work.

http://knowledge.autodesk.com/support/autocad/troubleshooting/caas/sfdcarticles/sfdcarticles/Custom-...

[dplumb_BWBR]

Our setup seems to randomly drop one of the Plotter paths.

Not everything, not for everyone, and not consistently.

But every couple of weeks I get a call from someone sayng they don't have any plotters.

Every single time, they have lost one of the two paths under

Printer Support File Path

    Printer Configuration Search Path

One path is to a generic folder where we keep all of our AutoCAD customization. 

The other path is to the user's appdata/Roaming folder

Here's the really weird part:

The Configuration path is gone, but the next one down (Printer Description File Search Path) still has both values, including the samepath that's missing in the Configuration setting.

And, the missing path is not on the network, It is on the C: drive and everyone has Full Control access.

This has been happening for several versions. Probably started with 2013, but has happened in 13 and 14.  Haven't tested 15 yet.

[scottgoo]

DO NOT USE THE LISP IN THIS AUTOCAD ARTICLE!!!!!! It deleted all of my support files EXCEPT the ones I entered manually!!! There are many support files and I had to enter them all in again - took me hours to get back up and running again!!!! 

[rkmcswain]

Maybe you made a mistake. I've been using a variation of that (which I created) for over 10 years and it has saved many man hours of time over this period.

[cotyc]

I configured a new Windows 8.1 PC and with Autocad2016, Product version M 107.0.0, we are having the same issue. In the "files" portion of the Options dialogue box is erasing any paths to our network drives. * Does anyone have a fix that does not require me to manually change all the shortcuts with the Autodesk work-around, "To Override all Support File Search Paths Using a Command Line Switch" found here (which I have not tested): https://knowledge.autodesk.com/support/autocad/getting-started/caas/CloudHelp/cloudhelp/2016/ENU/Aut... Thank you.

[rkmcswain]

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cotyc wrote:......Does anyone have a fix that does not require me to manually change all the shortcuts with the Autodesk work-around.....

Set the paths using the startup file Acad.lsp.

[jbrown]

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@martti.halminen wrote:

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@rkmcswain wrote:

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@p_mcknight wrote:

We have seen that if there are issues with our network connection, then all folders that are mapped to network locations get wiped from the search paths when AutoCAD starts.  Even if the drives are actually available, if there is a little red x on them in windows explorer when ACAD starts, they get wiped.  

---

That should not be happening by design. When a network or local path in the SFSP is not found, it does not get removed from the SFSP, it just does not get added to the Working SFSP.

The behavior you describe was an issue in AutoCAD R14 and earlier, but was changed to the current system starting in R2000.

---

That correction was intended to handle the missing disks, but I can confirm that it does not always work as intended, at least on AutoCAD Mechanical 2012. I get about once a month cases when some laptop user has tried to start their AutoCAD without a network connection with a profile which uses network paths. Result: everything but the C: -disk paths disappear from both SFSP and Working SFSP.

The brute-force repair is to kill the profile from registry and re-load it from network disk after connecting to the network. Of course, this destroys any changes the user has made to the profile on his computer.

--

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has this issue been resolved without a brute force removal and reinstall of Autocad??

[karinzCGSPZ]

I'm using AutoCAD 2017 and as of yesterday, AutoCAD can't see some .CTB files in my plot style directory even though they are in the default directory (created by AutoCAD) and that folder is in the search path for files (OPTIONS command).  These are on my C: drive.  I don't know what to do.  Yesterday while I was working in AutoCAD, all of my saved workspaces disappeared and all menu customization.  In fact, all my menus disappeared (even main AutoCAD menu, Expresstools, my custom toolbar, etc.).  I had to manually reload and reset everything.  Don't know why this happened.  AutoCAD is a local installation on my C: drive.  Only the AutoCAD files are stored on our network.  I'm the only person using AutoCAD.  All the custom files are there.  AutoCAD just can't find/read the folders set using the OPTIONS command (search paths).

[rkmcswain]

Is this just happening with certain drawings? If so, maybe those drawings are set up to use STB files instead of CTB files.

[karinzCGSPZ]

As of today, the problem seems to be pretty much as what the other user is reporting.  I manually restored the search paths to my plot style table folders (all on local C: drive) using the Files tab of the OPTIONS command.  When I close and then restart AutoCAD, it loses all of these paths.  So AutoCAD can't find most of the .CTB files - even the default AutoCAD .CTB files.  Not sure what to do.  EVen when I reset the folder paths, AutoCAD can't see them.  I've  been using AutoCAD 2017 for the past couple of months without any problems.  Yesterday the problems started.  Nothing has changed on my C: drive or on our network drive.  Very frustrating.

[rkmcswain]

I’m confused then.

In the post above you said “AutoCAD can't see some .CTB files in my plot style directory even though they are in the default directory (created by AutoCAD) and that folder is in the search path for files (OPTIONS command).”

But now you are saying that “When I close and then restart AutoCAD, it loses all of these paths.”

Those are two different problems.

A picture is worth 1000 words.

Please post screenshots of your Options>Files dialog, Before and After, and of your Windows Explorer folder with the CTB files.

Example:

[SeanMacOz]

Nearly a year later and the problem persists.

This is why we dropped subscription this year, no new useful features are getting added and no old bugs are getting fixed.

[cotyc]

Yep. I had it happen again on AutoCAD 2018 new installation. Pretty frustrating.
Unfortunately we need Revit and so have to keep up to date on versions as Architects keep upgrading as well.

If only someone could do a Kickstarter to make a better 3D modeling program that also had AutoCAD-level detail drafting potential.... I would be willing to help program it.