What is wrong with Advance Steel?.

[rsample]

I have many problems that come up in Advance Steel. The one that is killing any productivity is the cut and paste process. I have 20 sheets that I need the same two lines of text on. It takes 20 minutes to get the text from one sheet to another but then it takes another 20 minutes to actually land in the location I pick.  I just copied a detail from one sheet to another and that took 50 minutes to get to the next page. It took another 30 minutes for it to land on the next sheet. It takes so long to get these things done that my supervisor gets upset when I tell him what is going on.  I used to think that Advance Steel was locking up. When this happened, I would have to use task manager to end the task. Which caused me to have to recover all that was open in order to continue on. I have been doing this with the procedure that was given by support to recover drawings. it is a real pain!  I am in release 2023.  I have had this problem since the switch from 2019 to 2020, that became a problem of its own. So, since 2021 till now, this copy and paste issue has continued.  What say you all?

[Sebastian_Eiche]

do you use the same prototypes th elast years? maybe this force this problem?
second question: why is it needed to copy a text to all sheets? Why not placing it before creating the details?

[rsample]

I use the same prototypes every day. and the notes are field verification instructions. I have read some of your previous posts on the subject. The change that I was hoping would change the world was unchecking countries. No change.  

[arkli2009]

1st, please update to the AS2023, at least. 

2nd, audit the files. 

3rd, make the detail you want to copy into a block. 

4th, use xref. 

5th, if there are fancy blocks, please explode them. (for attribute blocks burst them)

6th, if the file not generated by autocad, (eg, cadworks) could take very long. try to use PDF or picture. 

So much I can think for now. 

[rsample]

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION REQUIRES ME TO HAVE THE SAME TWO LINES OF TEXT ON EVERY SHEET. HERE'S THE THING, COPY AND PAST IS SOMETHING BETWEEN WINDOWS AND AUTODESK. IT SHOULD NOT TAKE 20 MINUTES TO AN HOUR TO COPY AND PASTE TWO LINES OF TEXT / 12 WORDS IN MTEXT FROM ONE SHEET TO ANOTHER. I TRIED EVERYBODIES WORK AROUND. NO CHANGES.

[bigcarl5000kg]

Paste your text in the used Prototype = Drawing Template, located in eg. C:\ProgramData\Autodesk\Advance Steel 2024\YourLanguageVersion\Shared\Support\Prototypes and then use this automatic for each new drawing.

[rsample]

I did not have the results I was looking for. I have tried everyone's comments and nothing works. 

[K_Kubat]

One option that often helps me is to close the model before I work on the drawings. I would also recommend that you save the text that you now have to add to each plan not on the clipboard but as a WBlock and import it as a block into the respective drawings. This should probably fix your problem.

[rsample]

Thank you, I will apply your solution in the next edit. All others have failed.

[bigcarl5000kg]

Hi @rsample,

rather, I think that you absolutely did not understand the solution.

The placement of standard (repeating) texts in drawing templates is the basic method to achieve the required serial documentation.

If you describe to us how you proceeded, we can help you detect errors in your procedure.

[sdonohoedesign]

AS should not take so long to copy / paste text.  There is something wrong with your system.

I know my AS2018 sometimes has issues with and copy / paste as you describe.   Check your project data > joint design drop down menus as screenshot below.  This list sometimes re-populates in AS2018 when copying / pasting items.  You should only have the 2 options per dropdown menu, if you have a long list then that is your problem.

Most of the time, if you purge of the blocks in the drawing/prototype it will delete the additional populated items, but sometimes this doesn't work.

Failing that, I would recommend you produce some drawings with an 'out of the box' AS prototype and see if this has the same issues.  (I don't think it will)  Build your drawing prototype again starting with a working one, don't use copy / paste from your old prototype as I have read that this can pull the same issues into the new drawing.

Steve

[bigcarl5000kg]

Hi folks,

1. April was yesterday 😉😁

[rsample]

I just clicked from one drawing tab to another and advance steel locked up. It is like the way it locks up when you cut and paste. The only way out is to end advance steel thru task manager, but then you must recover whatever was open at the time. I am trying all the work arounds that I am emailed with.

[rsample]

Thank you for your comments. I am trying out everyone's work arounds and will post what works best when I get through them all. Once again thank you for getting back to me. RDS

[rsample]

Ya, happy fools' day. Although I am not laughing.

[bigcarl5000kg]

Hi @rsample,

I just hope that you don't use multiple layouts in one dwg (theoretically impossible, practically possible with many negative consequences) ... because the problem described by you is often set up in one ACAD files with multiple layouts with "rich content" (my 12 years experience from AutoCAD Mechanical).

If you open one drawing, copy the text, close the drawing and open another, insert the text, close the file, ... I can't imagine that it takes so long, maybe only if they are files on the server ... then I would advise you to simply copy local whole data and then back to the server after editing.

I'll think about what it could be, but I don't know much about the facts...

[rsample]

I HAVE BEEN USING AUTOCAD SINCE RELEASE 8. I HAVE NOT HAD THESE ISSUES BEFORE ADVANCE STEEL 2020. WHEN I UPDATED TO 2020 IT DID OT GO WELL BUT WAS ABLE TO MOVE TO 2021. IN 2021 A LOT OF THINGS STARTED HAPPENING. I HAVE PREVIOUSLY THOUGHT I SHOULD KEEP TRACK OF ALL THE ISSUES BUT THEN I WOULDN'T GET ANYTHING DONE. MY BRIDGE JOBS HAVE A VERY SHORT TURNAROUND TIME. SO, TO HAVE THESE THINGS HAPPEN LIKE THEY DO ARE JUST MAKING PEOPLE SAY I MUST BE DOING SOMETHING WRONG. THIS WASN'T THE CASE BEFORE 2020. I HAVE RECORDED ALL THE REPLIES FROM THE COMMUNITY AND WILL APPLY THEM ALL WHEN I FINISH THE JOB I AM IN NOW. I JUST DID AN AUDIT ON THE 12TH SHEET OF THIRTY. IT TOOK 35 MINUTES. THERE ARE A LOT OF GO AROUNDS FOR AN ISSUE THAT OTHERS HAVE SAID, THEY HAVE NOT SEEN THIS BEFORE. I HAVE PREVIOUSLY SAID I WILL REPOST THE RESULTS FROM ALL THE GO AROUNDS WHEN I WORK THROUGH THEM ALL.
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[lfort · Accepted solution]

Hi rsample.

I have experienced this issue in Advance Steel before.

There is a corruption within the drawing that can be eliminated by the following procedure:

1. Click on the Project Settings button.

2. Simply Click OK. Nothing else.

There will now be a delay while the program sorts itself out - Please wait for it to come back to life - be patient.

The length of the delay depends on the severity of the corruption.

Each time you copy and paste from a file experiencing this corruption, the problem gets exponentially worse.

Once the program has come back to life, then you can save and the file is fixed.

This procedure will need to be repeated on any other files experiencing this behaviour.

If you try to copy and paste from a file experiencing this corruption (without fixing it first), then the issue will return and you will have to repeat the procedure.

The presence of the corruption can also be hinted at by a lag moving the cursor around in the drawing.

This has usually been the indicator for me and I have incorporated this procedure into my regular Audit and purge routines.

Good luck.

[rsample]

thanks

[egrote]

simple, save out your current protype for dot.  Put the note in that protype and save.  That way, the next time you create a drawing, the note is always there.  Just choose the new protype when the drawing is created.  Furthermore, like we have done.  We have general frabrication notes on separate layers and are either always on or always frozen in the prototype.  This all depends on what I am creating and what needs to be accomplished.  Example: We have a note that says ship loose with "xxxxx", however, all parts are not shipped loose.  So, we opt to leave that layer frozen in the prototype.  It can simply be thawed to show when needed.  We use Advance steel 2024 & 25 currently and have never had an issue with copy and pasting anything.  Your issue may be go deeper.  I have seen advance slow down when I have a model and quite a few drawings open, but, other than that.  It has always been snappy since we onboarded when they killed autodesk structural detailing back in 2014 or 2015.  We have always had advance since then, but didn't start using it explicitly until the 2019 version.  Love it and hate it equally.  Difficult things become easy and easy things can be difficult and consume time.  Overall, I like the software and am still learning new ways to make things easier.  Way more user friendly than the Tekla software that I was almost forced to use, until I put my foot down.  If you have been a lifetime autodesk autocad and any addon software to autocad.  Tekla will flip your world upside down.  Not knocking the software, it's probably the best.  An analogy is:  If you are used to your toolbox being on your work truck all-day, every day of the week, they are easy to get and access.  Switch to Tekla, you will still have some tools, but they won't work the same and you'll have to fly to egypt and back to get one.  Hope this helps.