AutoCad Lt 2013 for Mac creating Read Only files

[amelius]

Have been working with Autocad LT 2013 on an iMac 10.8.3.  Bought the software through the app store....(don't buy it through the app store....) and am having the files worked and saved with it being automatically written as "read only".  Big hassle for anyone who knows how cooperative work needs less hoops to production than more.

Similarly (possibly?) I found the fix to saving down to an earlier version in the discussion threads by ultimately changing code in my Terminal.

[alison.strickland]

I am also experiencing files being saved somehow as Read Only. Could this be a default setting that has been activated somewhere for these affected drawings? As far as I am aware, it is not happening on all drawings. 

I know the drawing is not open anywhere else, so that's not the issue. 

Shutting down Autocad completely and restarting does not solve the problem.

We use Dropbox for file storage, in case that's relevant.

[maxim_k]

Hi,

Looks like permissions problem.
>>>>We use Dropbox for file storage
What do you mean by Dropbox?
Special folder, create by Dropbox.app?
Or Dropbox folder inside shared folder on your Mac?

Maxim

[alison.strickland]

Droppbox is cloud based storage, instead of a server. It basically presents itself as regular files under Finder, but then syncs to the cloud (behind the scenes) as files are updated. You work with the files as if they are like any other file on your computer file management (Finder on Mac, or Windows Explorer). And being cloud based, you can access files through their website too. Or an app.  www.dropbox.com

[maxim_k]

Hi,

Yes I know what Dropbox.com is, and I also have Dropbox account and using it.

But could you describe the workflow you are using when you work in AutoCAD with Dropbox?

I mean sharing settings in Dropbox.

At which point the files become read-only?

Maxim

[maxim_k]

Hi Alison,

I made a quick test with Dropbox:

- created a folder inside Dropbox folder on my Mac,

- shared this folder with another person (X) who has Dropbox account,

- opened AutoCAD and saved test drawing in this folder, close AutoCAD on Mac

- another person (X) opened just saved file on it's machine from the shared folder in Dropbox folder, made some edits to that file, saved it and close AutoCAD

- I opened shared file on my Mac (the changes made by person X was here), a have made some new changes and saved file.

- then I can open and save file on my Mac ant AutoCAD doesn't make this file "read-only"

- even If we both (me and person X) open this shared file at the same time and make changes in it - nothing dangerous occurs: Dropbox just create a copy of conflict file version inside this shared folder with the name "Name_of_the_file (Conflicting copy from person X computer YYYY-MM-DD).dwg if the file was opened by me at first,

EDIT:

BTW - there are a lot of things happens when AutoCAD saves DWG file, when you edit and save to disk.

For example if you have TEST.DWG opened and save it, AutoCAD performs such operations:

1) Saves current open file to SAV341.TMP (random number each time, but begins with SAV and ends with .TMP always)
2) Rename existing TEST.DWG to ATMP6334 (no file extension, always begins with ATMP)
3) Delete TEST.BAK if it exists
4) Rename ATMP6334 to TEST.BAK
5) Rename SAV341.TMP to TEST.DWG

Add Dropbox "instant" synchronization to this and you can imagine that if something goes wrong with Internet connection then the chance of creating "read only"  file is large enough.

Sources:

http://forums.augi.com/showthread.php?119629-vanishing-drawing&p=1074917&viewfull=1#post1074917

http://blog.jtbworld.com/2009/07/dwg-dwt-dws-bak-sv-can-all-be-dwg-files.html

Maxim

[amelius]

Following the discussion on this one - we are still having problems with read onlys.  We do not use a cloud base storage, but a local storage on our server. If the cloud storage doesn't seem to be triggering the read only's could it then be the mac doing it?

Thanks for any help.

[jbaishi]

I was about to ask the same "READ ONLY" question.

We'are using autoCAD 2013 for MAC on Mac os 10.8.4, with a local server.

8 cad files are stored in one folder on this server, 7 of them are attatched as XREF to the 8th file - the "mother file" who contains only Xrefs. 

We work on these 7 files normally and from one day, the "mother file" became READ ONLY!!! we restarted our mac and it re-became writeable, but today, this doesn't work any more. 

Permission problem? autoCAD 2013 problem? or our work flow problem?

[spritchard]

I am also eperiencing the same "save as read-only file" problem, but it is with MS Word, not autocad. Can someone suggest what might be happening. It just started this yesterday.

[maxim_k]

Welcome to Autodesk Forums!

Hi,
Sorry, but you asking at wrong site and Forum. Here is AutoCAD for Mac peer-to-peer support Forum.
I think you will get better and quicker support here:
answers.microsoft.com/en-us/mac

Maxim