Door blocks don't display on some drawing files

[bhaverly]

I recently upgraded to the 2016 building design suite and imported the settings from the 2015 version.

I opened a CAD file sent by a building owner to add new interiors and the doors don't show up on the layout with a dooradd command like I am used to in previous versions.  When I try to add a door it gives me an opening in the wall and no other parts of the door.

I was able to get the dooradd command to work on one of my previous design files, so I don't know if this is a configuration file issue?   If it is, I don't know how to change it.

Can I copy the configuration from an old design file to this new file so the doors and other design blocks display like they have before?

Also, in the 2016 version, I don't see where the design content tool palette is located.

I appreciate any help on these items.

Thanks.

[David_W_Koch]

Is the layer on which Doors are placed according to your current Layer Key Style on and thawed?  (If viewing the drawing through a viewport in a layout, is that layer also VPLAYER thawed?  If so, then it is likely a Display issue, particularly because you say this file came from an outside source, who may only be using vanilla AutoCAD, in which case the file may not have any of the out-of-the-box Display settings.  If that is the case, I would recommend starting a new drawing with an AutoCAD Architecture template (out-of-the-box, or your own, based on one of the out-of-the-box templates) that has the Display settings you usually use, and then copy/paste the model contents from the inherited file into the new file (PASTEORIG will maintain the location relative to 0,0).  You could use the Display Manager to copy the Display Representations, Display Representation Sets and Display Configurations (in that order) from a new drawing started with your AutoCAD Architecture template, if copy/pasting (or insert/exploding) is not something you want to do.

The Design tool palette group (and the associated palettes) should have been installed and made available to you, unless the installation was customized.  Do you have any tool palettes at all?  CTRL+3 should toggle the display of the tool palettes.  Right clicking on the spine of the tool palettes should present a list of all defined tool palette groups at the bottom of the context menu.  Is Design a choice there?  On the Home ribbon tab, on the Build panel (far left), the Tools split button should also offer a Design Tools choice, which will display the tool palettes if they are currently off, and try to set the Design tool palette group current.  The latter will only be effective if you have a Design tool palette group in the current workspace.

[bhaverly]

Thanks for the reply David.

By using an older template I had previously used I set up a new drawing
file and copied the model content as you suggested using the PASTEORIG
command. I was then able to use the standard DOORADD and other
architectural items that I have been able to use previously. So
apparently the display settings must be file dependent and were either
different in the file I was sent by the building owner, or it was a
generic CAD file.

I did not try to copy the display representations and configurations
yet, but will try this in the next week to see if I can get that to
work. I run across this issue fairly frequently since I get files from
various sources to modify.

It would be easier if there were a user defined display set that can be
applied to any document as a default but I'd don't know if that is
possible.

Regarding the Design tool palette group, the new file I set up using the
PASTEORIG command was able to display and use the design content
library. I was not able to find the design content library on the
original file that I received from the other party, which I thought was
unusual. I loaded the original file and was able to turn on the Design
tool palette group by right clicking the tool palette and selecting the
Design tool palette.

Your recommendations helped me get the functionality of the program
working as I have been used to.
Thank you very much for your help!

[David_W_Koch · Accepted solution]

Display settings are saved in each file.  That is why it is important to get what you want set up in your ACA template file(s), and always start new files from and ACA template.  Of course, that will not always be possible, if you have to deal with files from external sources.

The tool palettes, on the other hand, are not drawing-dependent.  For a given profile, they should remain the same no matter what drawing is opened.