Copy & Paste in same drawing doesn't work

[Anonymous]

I'm attempting to copy paste a block and a line from one tab to another in the same drawing and it doesnt appear. I get

Command: _pasteclip Duplicate definition of block _Oblique ignored.
Duplicate definition of block _ArchTick ignored.
Duplicate definition of block attr_FFL ignored.

i've purged, i've audited, i've even created a new drawing and transfered the information but im still getting this problem.

The strange thing is occasionally it works.

also, i purge so the drawing it is clean, then i try to paste, then when purging again 1000's of blocks appear in the purge diologue box. A49285 to A55404 & a block called A$C4E2C21A4 

Can anyone help?

[Anonymous]

no, the 2014 user is having similar problems...

I'll have a look at the base files and see if we can smarten them up a bit.

Thanks for all your help pendean. Sorry for causing you any problems with my files.

[Charles_Shade]

I've been using this Macro to clean up a drawing when I am at completion.

It may offer you a little speed if you have more than several to do as Dean has suggested.

This includes the -REGAPP option and you may want to remove or change the overhill settings as this can remove tiems (or not) that you would like to get rid of. Running thru OVERKILL from the Command line will allow you to change settings for this Variable (2013 and newer.)

^C^C._-purge;_all;*;_no;._-purge;_regapps;*;_no;._zoom;_extents;._-layer;_set;0;;._audit;yes;._-overkill;all;;done;

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the macro. I like it. Didn’t fix the problem though.

I've now upgraded to AutoCAD 2014 LT, and i still have the same problem with copying and pasting... but it doesn’t happen all the time, and if i close the drawings down, it tends to work. But this is a real pain the backside.

When the problem is happening i can’t even paste a line. When i do, it asks for an insertion point to paste it, but then the line doesn’t appear. I do get thousands of blocks added to my drawing though which show up in the purge dialog box see attached image. They start from *A59091 and continue to *A66884... Any ideas?

[pendean]

*A### = anonymous groups. You are creating them most likely, they are very common.

From my earlier post:

"...Your block is also from a vertical or another CAD program: which one? Simply creating a new one would completely resolve the problem unless this is customer driven in which case you can do nothing to it...."

[Anonymous]

It happens even if i paste a line... no block is being copied or pasted.

[pendean]

Post another file, let's have another look at it.

[Anonymous]

I don’t quite understand how i am creating 1000's of groups by copying and pasting a line.

We have many blocks in our drawings, all from AutoCAD, but maybe from previous versions. How can identify which block is the culprit? If i can, i can recreate it, otherwise it'd be quicker to learn microstation than to recreate all blocks from scratch.

[pendean]

Unless your drawing contains no GROUP objects whatsoever (I've never seen one), you have anonymouse groups: they are a byproduct of GROUP command when you chose to not go through the full command to give the grouping a name.

Unused groups can be PURGEd.

[Anonymous]

right, a link to a file i'd like you to look at is here

it is the most problematic file, so i think that the problem stems from here. As the file stands, i've deleted everything i can from it and its still over 2mbs in size. Can you suggest why its so big and maybe how i get rid of the cr*p thats there, and even how to prevent this cr*p getting in to other files?

thanks for you help btw. Im at a loss...

[Charles_Shade]

There are probably +/-10,000 anonymous Blocks in this file that cannot be purged.

List reports 2 objects not in the current space and therefore cannot be purged.

All Layers are on and Thawed. No XREFs.

I would abondon this file and start over.

What did you delete from the File? What are those?

Are these Blocks that this is the Container Drawing for?

If they are Blocks then WBLOCK each one individually and make sure they are clean before putting them back together.

[pendean]

Your file, 2010 format, also contains AEC content from a higher version of AutoCAD. AutoCAD 2012 and lower cannot handle such content and are often excluded from functions like copy/paste.

Here is the exact pop-up I got in your file in 2012 (and likely in all lower versions of AutoCAD), I'm surprised you've never seen it.

As we've all been noting to date, this is the main issue in your file. You get these objects from other blocks and other drawings most likely: it's like an infectious disease, one 'dirty' block you got from one source and it spreads like wildfire.

The AEC objects look like they came from AutoCAD Architecture or MEP: only way to verify is to open your file in that program (2014 version) and -EXPORTTOAUTOCAD to eliminate the objects. Then repeat in every single file tht has been similarly infected.

Good luck.

[Charles_Shade]

That pop up did not come up here both in LT 2014 and Full but the AEC still was not handled in any meaningful way.

Proxy warnings on your end?

[pendean]

Yes, I have all warnings on in AutoCAD to spot issues in files: I'm not into 'guessing' what a file problem is and wasting time on random fixes, life is too short to not get the correct answer right away 🙂

[Charles_Shade]

Yes Dad... 

[pendean]

LOL

[Anonymous]

I have had that notification when i was using 2012LT, but I have upgraded to 2014LT hoping this would help with my problem. (see earlier posts)

[pendean]

But you are still saving the file down, others lower that 2012 are using these files, and you are not using the version of AutoCAD that created the AEC content (see earlier posts).

Sorry to keep repeating myself, but you're trying real hard to ignore what I'm writing 😞

[Anonymous]

no they're not, myself and my colleague use these drawings, and both run 2014. The reason we save it down, is for the potential that an external contractor who wishes to view our drawings can do so, even if they dont use the latest version 2014.

The project that these drawings are are used for has been running for 5 years or more, I understand that we have upgraded AutoCAD a few times since we started these drawings. Should we have stuck with 2007 version for the life of this project?

[pendean]

Don't save down by default. You don't need to cripple yourself because one cotractor out there may or may not need a lower format file.
if you must auto-save down, turn off the two "maintain" boxes listed in Options below where you do that. Won;t do anything for you, but will help this lone contractor you are worried about helping.

IMHO to get rid of your problem, you must find the originating program (2014 format) that created the AEC conent and remove them. Perhaps you two can spend some time downloading trials of all the verticals from AutoCAD (staritng with ARCH and MEP) and fixing these files to see if the problem goes away.

Or as Charlie said, abandon the file and start over: WBLOCK may help the process as may -EXPORTTOAUTOCAD if abandonment is not an option, but these do not guarantee a fix.

Good luck. I'd love to know what final solution you discover when you find it.

[Anonymous]

Thanks for all your help. If i ever find out why' i'll post it on here.

Its like an infection. If i copy and paste even a single line from an infected drawing to a new clean drawing, it adds 2mb to the file size and thousands of *????? blocks to the 'items you cannot purge' blocks tree.

Will probably have to put up with it till the end of the project and then never use these files again. 

When we receive files from other sources, what advice do you have to tidy them before using them in our files to stop this happenening agian? I mean, how do i ensure this doesnt happen again?