Error with cable markers

[Anonymous]

I have been using the fan-in/ out commands for our 3 wire cable we use quite often.  When I added a cable marker to the wire connecting the two, then copied the component, I looked down at my command line and saw

"Error: Failed to get project database."  Any ideas what this means?  Each copy I recieved that error 14 times

[KevinLi-Autodesk]

Hi april_herr,

Thanks for your post!

Try to check your Project Database Service, does it have errors ? Or try to rebuild/freshen your current project database via menu Projects > Project > Rebuild/Freshen Project Database (set variable menubar =1, then call it from menu).

Regards,

Kevin Li

[Anonymous]

Hi! Thanks for responding!

 I have l looked all over for either of the commands you mentioned, but I'm not seeing them.  I'm relatively new to this Electrical.  I'm using 2012, I go to the Project tab on my ribbon and i see Update/Retag, but just not seeing them.

[dougmcalexander]

Autodesk removed the command from the ribbon menu, starting with version 2010, much to my dismay.  I use this as an excuse to teach the CUI editor during my admin-level training course.  We add Rebuild/Freshen to the ribbon and we also add the original Symbol Builder to the ribbon.

For now you can type AEREBUILDDB at the command prompt and press enter to engage Rebuild/Freshen.  I suggest to perform a Full Rebuild.  Hint: If you exit AutoCAD Electrical and delete the project's scratch database from your User subfolder, Electrical will create a fresh new database from scratch, using the latest drawing data.  This is even cleaner than Rebuild/Freshen.

[Anonymous]

Thank you! I will do this.  When I look into my folder, I'm not sure what the scratch file is?  I see my dwgs, bak, and my wdp file.  What is the scratch file?

[dougmcalexander · Accepted solution]

The project scratch databases reside in the USER subfolder.  They are named the same as the project name but their file extension is .mdb. Every project you have ever touched will have one.  It is okay to delete them.  That is the advantage of Electrical being a drawing-driven solution, rather than database-driven.  The project database is only a reflection of the drawings, used to expedite internal processes - it does not create the drawings.  The drawing data is written to the project's scratch database.  I delete all project databases periodically, especially after I have released a design.  But I also delete them from time to time while working on a design, just to clean up any possible corruption.  Note: Exit AutoCAD Electrical before attempting to delete the project scratch database for an active project.

The path to the USER folder varies according to user name.  Mine is:C:\Users\Doug McAlexander\AppData\Roaming\Autodesk\AutoCAD Electrical 2012\R18.2\enu\Support\User

For Windows XP, the path will start at Documents and Settings.