AutoCAD Arch. 2010 Problem with display

[Anonymous]

Hello all,

A few days ago I formatted my HP DV7 (3085 dx) computer and installed a fresh copy of AutoCAD Architecture 2011. When I started using the program I realised that the smoothness of the lines were missing. For example an arch looks like it is made with jagged lines. At first I thought it is just me, but then I realised that my drafted lines seem to appear inaccurate. Lines somehow seem to protude outward. Then I decided to install AutoCAD Arch. 2010 which was the previous version that was installed on this computer, and it worked just fine then, thinking it is something wrong with the AutoCAD 2011. In AutoCAD 2010 I have the same issues.

Door swings look more like they were drawn with straight lines than with an arch.

Please see the attched screen shots!

However, sometimes when I copy and move the door swings they return back to proper curved looks. And sometimes when I draw the first shape, the lines do not protrude.

In terms of my machine, its a pretty fast computer. Core i7 processor, 8GB RAM, Nvidia GeForce GT 230M video card. And like I said, AutoCAD 2010 used to work just fine, untill now, after I formatted my computer and installed it again.

[ToanDN]

What is you VIEWRES setting?

[Anonymous]

Hello ToanDN,

The VIEWRES is 10,000.

Additional information: AEC display resolution:  facet Deviatition = 1/2" and Facet Maximum = 128

[Anonymous]

I still need help with this.... anyone?

[David_W_Koch · Accepted solution]

You could try to change it to 1/10 and see if that provides more acceptable results.  You may need to do a REGEN or an OBJRELUPDATE to see the results.  If you need smoother curves than that, keep making FACETDEV smaller until you are satisfied.  (The FACETMAX setting will keep very large curves from having more that that number of segments.)

Door Swings are not, in my experience, affected by FACETDEV, but should respond to the VIEWRES setting.  WIth a VIEWRES setting of 10000, I am getting much smoother door swings than your image showed.  Do you have a supported video card?

[Anonymous]

Hello David,

I tried with the VIEWRES and changed it to 20,000 and then changed it again to 10,000. As of now the problem seems to have been solved.

The graphics card is Nvidia GeForce GT 230M. In the Autodesk certified list of graphics cards this particular card is not listed. However, my computer geek friends tell me this is a pretty good graphics card, better than most ATI products. Do you think that its the graphics card that is causing the problem?

I did not change the FACETDEV yet, and it is at the default 1/2" state. A friend of mine told me that changing it to say 1/10 or even lower can slow down my computer. Is that true?

In general my laptop is really fast, with a quad-core intel core i7 processor and 8GB of RAM.

[ToanDN · Accepted solution]

I would set the FACETDEV to a smaller value.  When I used ACA I set it at 1/16" or even 1/64" depends on the types of model I built.  I don't think your computer will be slow down much since the hardware specs sound very good.

The video card is a gaming card line, not a professional Quadro line, that's why it is not in the Autodesk certified list.  I personally think it's fine, I've been using both lines for years and the performance advantage of the professional line is nothing to brag about.

[Anonymous]

Toan, thanks for your word of advice. I will set the value to 1/16" for now and see what results I get. I have a couple of other questions for you though.

1. Does the precision has to do with anything with how these lines appear? Like the image shows, one line had extended a little bit (fraction of an inch or so). My current precision is at 1/32 and I mostly produce architectural drawings and 3D renderings.

2. Is it also possible that if the plot style is changed to say AIA Standard or to another from a custom plotsyle; will this have an effect on how the circles, curves, door swings etc. appears?

3. I was just able to extend my ACA 2010 license to 2014. Earlier it was about to expire this 26th or so. I therefore downloaded and installed ACA 2011. But since I was able to get ACA 2010 license extended, I prefer to use ACA 2010 instaed of ACA 2011. Is it therefore advisable to have both programs installed in the same computer? Will this in any way disturb the functionality of say ACA 2010?  (Other progams I also work with on the same computer are AutoCAD 2010 (in addition to AutoCAD Architecture 2010 because some plug-ins only work for this), 3Ds Max, Adobe CS4 Design suite,  and MS Office.

Thank you so much for all your help!

[ToanDN]

1. No.  Unit precision has nothing to do with the graphic glitch you show.

2. No.  Plot styles only affect how drawings print out.

3.  i don't think there would be any big problems running 2010 and 2011 sude by side.  Some minor things though:

- If you install 2011 after 2010 then when you double click a drawing from Explorer, it will open in 2011. You may need to change file type association in Windows Explorer.

- If you for some reason uninstall 2011 then you may need to do a repair install of 2010.

I actually think 2011 perform better than 2010, but it's up to you.  Another thing, you can play with 3dconfig to get the best result for your video card.  Try turn on/off hardware acceleration see which works best for you.

[Anonymous]

Hello again Toan,

I did as you said, changed the FACETDEV to 1/16. My VIEWRES is at 10,000. FACETMAX is at 128. The circles, door swings and curves appear okay. However I still see the problem with inaccuracy.

See the attached image.

The green line that is slightly jutting out should be within the other green lines. It should not be jutting out like that. That image of the drafted work is at high level zoom. Most people I talked to about this said "its so tiny, when you plot it no one will even see that!". However, i havent seen anything like this before. Before I formatted the PC it was all good. Any idea on fixing this issue?

I have also shown in that same screen capture the manual tune window. Do you think the settings are right?

[ToanDN]

Try REGEN see if the glitch goes away.  The problem is AutoCAD does not show curves as true curves, but segmented lines.  So, if you keep ZOOMING close, you will see the glitch until you REGEN.  I wouldn't worry about it, though.  When you print, AutoCAD will do a REGEN automatically so it is not an issue.

You can play with the FACETDEV value.  Model a cylinder mass element at the approx. size of your regular objects.  Then change the FACETDEV from 1/2" down and pick what you see fit. There is a balance point between performance and precision that you need to establish.  I wouldn't go smaller than 1/16" if I were to model building stuff.

You could keep the 3dconfig the way you show.  If you go to 3d view with some visual styles and see some funny shading then turn Hardware Acceleration off.

[Anonymous]

Thanks Toan. I will go with that. Ever since I spotted this issue, I have been looking into my fellow colleages' AutoCAD Arch. programs, and they too are aparently working with this same scenario.

 Your answers have provided me with enough to go on. Thank you again for sharing this valuable information and helping me solve these issues.