Copy Preject new feature on 2023

[Joe.harrison52VTL]

Hi, 

Now i have installed the latest version of 2023 AutoCAD electrical and now the new feature of "copy project" doesn't seem to work for me. I need to copy the project aswell as change all the sheet numbers. the new function doesn't seem to allow you to change the sheets as pervious 2022. Does anyone know a way around this?  

[jseefdrumr]

Well, I'm not on 2023 yet, but this is exactly what I don't want to hear ... I use that command to start every project and it's mainly because of that function.

Can you post a screencast showing you using the command?

[Joe.harrison52VTL]

I am the same, every job has a separate project and the drawings need to match the project name... see the attached screencast. the only way i can find is manually changing the name of each drawing after the project has been created. worse feature i have seen.

[rhesusminus]

What can i say, thank you Autodesk, for making the product worse.

Yes, it copies the project really fast, with all project related files. If you don't want to copy all files (reports etc.), maybe it's still quicker to copy the entire project, and then select/delete the files in the project manager. MAYBE.

Especially if some of the drawings you're going to copy is opened inside AcadE. Now, you do't have to close/save restart copying....

But removing the find/replace for file names is inexcusable.

They have even "disconnected" the API call (c:wd_cpyprj_main nil) so there's no way to get the old version back.

I'm so sad for AutoCAD Electrical users.

Yeah, right:

[Joe.harrison52VTL]

This needs addressing immediately by Autodesk and an update to resolve. I will be going back to 2022 shortly.  

[rhesusminus]

@yuvaraj_jaganathan 

You REALLY need to look into this. This is just terrible.

[ccad2509]

oops another fine mess
well, you should not be surprised now that all ACADE is a line in their literature we can do electrical stuff
doesn’t mean the software will work though

I was counting the new features in Eplan 2.8 (3 versions back) and lost count at over 100
that’s new features not bug fixes Autodesk pretending to be new features

oh well looks like see electrical will wipe out ACADE in the USA

What! never herd of see electrical well you will do since its big brother has bought it out has more salesmen and money to fight Autodesk with (Schneider electric)

 The threat now isn’t Eplan it’s a dwg based ECAD solution that ACADE users can easily migrate too there’s a rumour they have an app to convert ACADE projects into See electrical projects  but don’t worry the next version of ACADE will fix all its problems !!!!!!!

theres a bad moon rising !!!!!!!!!!

[jseefdrumr]

@yuvaraj.jaganathan 

Jumping on to the pile here. This basically breaks the smoothest workflow for project creation in the software. No way I'm moving on to 2023 with this 'feature' existing as released. How am I supposed to recommend anyone use this version of ACADE? I don't even want to TRY it at this point.

Letting us copy a project, with drawings open, saves literally about one minute of work. Meanwhile, having to physically rename dozens of files when copying a project could amount to thirty or more minutes. I don't know how much effort the developers put in this, but it's very very clear that the people working on development don't know how to use this software, or even how it is intended to be used. Or perhaps, they simply don't care. Pick one, all appear equally likely at this point.

And I really don't want to hear the 'why aren't you helping with the beta' argument. I AM NOT A BETA TESTER. I am a software user. As such, I have every right to expect a fully functioning product at release. Beta testing is Autodesk's job, one at which they are spectacularly failing. Y'all shouldn't need the day-to-day users to assist with development. Your developers should know more about this software before you turn them loose on it.

Serious question: What percentage of the development team for this software actually knows how to use it? Can any of them draw a complete basic project, including schematics and panel layouts, with terminal strips? Because if I were left to guess, my assumption would be 0.0%. The amount of usefulness and functionality that have just .... eroded away in only the last five years is not just remarkable, it's inexcusable.

One step forward, five steps back on this one. Each new release only supports, reaffirms, and validates all the criticisms we make. That means, you're not listening to us.

But .... we really already knew that.

[alds02]

Thank you for reporting about this so quickly, it will save me and others some time by avoiding the upgrade.

[yuvaraj_jaganathan · Accepted solution]

Hi all,

Thank you all for reporting on the the new feature.

While the new feature for quick copy is available as a default, the legacy way of copying is still available, that includes the control of choosing the drawings, selecting the path, find/replace and edit the names.

Uncheck of the box in the copy project dialog will bring the legacy (ACADE 2022 and earlier releases) workflow. I will post a screencast later in the thread on this topic.

I will also take up for the research on the difficulty in the new feature.

cc: @Joe.harrison52VTL @rhesusminus @alds02 @jseefdrumr @ccad2509 

[jseefdrumr]

That is .... literally the least obvious way to maintain the previous functionality. Undocumented and counter-intuitive. Still a fail IMHO.

[ccad2509]

epic fail -100 out of 10

they have just admitted they dont understand what the software does and have no idea of the workflow

sounds a lot like software enginneers telling elctrical engineers how your surposed to do a design with no regard to the real world

[jallenDBQ7U]

It should be the opposite.  There is no such thing as "legacy" for modifications of this sort.  Quick Copy won't work on 99.9% of our projects.  Changes always occur in the world of engineering.

[rhesusminus]

The AcadE API help file says that there are no changes in this release.

But... You've disabled the copy project function! Customers that are using the API will not get this to work any more!

[yuvaraj_jaganathan]

Hi @rhesusminus 

The API is still available in the product.
When the API is given with all parameters mentioned in the help document, it works same as the previous releases.

param_lst List of these elements.
nth 0 = Proj ".wdp" to copy from (nil=current project).
nth 1 = New proj ".wdp" to create (any existing will be overwritten!). Cannot be nil or empty string.
nth 2 = dlst (list of dwgs in "copy from" proj to copy, nil=copy all).
nth 3 = target "base" folder for copied dwgs. Cannot be nil or empty string.
nth 4 = optional "FIND" string for renaming dwg names (case insensitive).
nth 5 = optional "REPLACE with" string for renaming dwgs in copied project.
nth 6 = optional list of flags for related files to copy, "0" or "1" (see nth 7 below).
nth 7 = list of file names for above flags.

The only change with the API is that the nil option to invoke the UI is removed.
The AECOPYPROJECT can be used to call the UI, instead of (c:wd_cpyprj_main nil)

The technical reason for CopyProject API change from (c:wd_cpyprj_main nil) to AECOPYPROJECT to launch the UI
is that we use modern UI technology to implement the new UI in C#, and we revamp the entry point for this new UI with ARX command AECOPYPROJECT, and repurpose the original wd_cpyprj_main api to serve the backend operation.

[rhesusminus]

And then you should write so in the "what's new" section in the API Help files!

[jseefdrumr]

I agree. While I don't personally use the APIs, I know Trond has and I know he's pretty well-informed about their use. If the write-up on what was changed didn't seem obvious to him, it wouldn't be obvious to most. Documentation should really have been the easiest part of doing all that work and it says a lot that it was overlooked.

[jallenDBQ7U]

The API could be a very powerful thing, but lack of documentation on existing commands in combination with incomplete logic makes it painful to solve.  I have spent a huge amount of time doing trial and error on some commands only to give up because nobody in the forum has an answer and it isn't documented.

[AndyL_Work]

Autodesk - please reinstate this ASAP, it is a big issue for MANY of your customers.

This command needs to be reinstated, this "streamlining" is a huge backward step.

As a trainer and someone who sets up and deploys multiple installations, often based on the implementation of a "Gold Standard" project with an "XXXX" for the project number variable to be renamed in the copy process, allowing all new projects to have placeholders for reports and folder structures along with any standard panel setups.

I will be advising all clients to stick with 2022 if at all possible due to this change. I will also be removing Electrical 2023 from the training environment for the time being.

[AndyL_Work]

I may put the previous version of Project Copy in the Ideas Station and see how much support it gets !!

LOL XD