ACAD 2017 - Viewbase error

[Anonymous]

It seems that objects created in older versions of Autocad (same file format - 2013) don't appear correctly when using ViewBase command.

Import a simple unit (cut and base from 2016 dwg) and use viewbase command to position in paperspace

Enter the command after positioning required views and you get...

Double click on view to reselect objects...

Note the 'Select is not supported by the Model or view type' 

and here is the unit in model space.

What's more if you then try and open the ACAD2017 saved 2013 format file in ACAD2016, you  get...

 'Unable to perform the requested action. This drawing was last edited with model documentation in a newer version of AutoCAD'

Basically if you use 2017 - you can't create sections/elevations of projects. And you also can't open them in 2016 to 'rescue' your work...

Please let me know if there is a workaround or prefereably a fix for this, I can't risk using 2017 if you can't even use 2016 to backup non-working features...

[Anonymous]

Hi elshawadfy

Thanks for taking the time to write a Lsp routine for the proposed workaround.

I downloaded/loaded/ran the routine and other than locking out CAD for a few minutes the end result was no different for the drawing/model/views...

Thanks for trying - i was really hopeful this would do the trick, but this workaround doesn't look like it works for me...

Thanks again

Marc

[elshawadfy]

Hi @Anonymous,

Have  you tried the workaround manually?

If it worked with you, could walk me through the steps again?

Thank you..

[Anonymous]

Hi elshawadfy

I started using the manual workaround - the drawing had over 150 layers and was taking 45 seconds to a minute per layer to update. After about the first 20 active/content filled layers had been processed I did not see any change to the views updating

[elshawadfy]

Hi @Anonymous,

This updated lisp will work when generating ViewBase views in the same release, and you still have missing geometries in the views, this lisp will most likely fix that.. (Lisp attached)

If you're working across releases, I'm afraid you'll have to delete all ViewBase views and purge the drawing completely then reuse ViewBase..

Regards..

[john.vellek]

Hi @elshawadfy,

Sadly when I ran your new version against his drawings (attached above) it did not regenerate all the views properly....more research to be done on this.

Thanks for your efforts.

[elshawadfy]

Yes @john.vellek,

Sadly his ViewBase views where generated in a different release.. Which makes it the second case.. He'll need to remove his old views and purge all to be able to use ViewBase again..

[Anonymous]

If I am following the conversation correctly, I believe my solution will prove quicker and will eliminate the need to delete and replace base views. At least I should say it has worked with every file I have tried that was created in versions 2015 or 2016. It sure isn't pretty or elegant, but it gets you going. I used this method to recover a multi-story stair tower detailed down to the fasteners in about 6 minutes.

[elshawadfy]

Hi @Anonymous, you mean by that exploding all blocks and purging,wright?

Let's try to refine the solution if possible..

What happens if instead

1- you cut and paste all blocks from the modelspace in a new drawing,

2- purged and audited the first file, 

3- Brought back the plocks..

4- Saved and opened in 2017?

Does this also solve the problem or not?..

And what if the blocks where brought back after opening in 2017 instead? Does this solve the problem?

Sorry, I don't have 2017 to try myself..

Thank you very much for your cooperation.. 

Regards

[Anonymous]

It might work, but I have some doubt. The two files I struggled with prior to hitting upon the solution I use never responded until I removed the blocks. In the smaller of the two, I tried removing the blocks, purging, and reinserting the blocks, which only worked temporarily. My gut feeling is something in how 2017 handles block definitions, and more specifically nested blocks.

Oddly enough, I had one file created in another application that mirrored some blocks when opened in 2017.

Of course, all of this is merely antidotal, and the test population is too small to prove much.

[elshawadfy]

Hi @Anonymous,

Thank you very much for your input..

Unfortunately, until now, it seems that there is no viable solution or acceptable enough workaround so that I Automate it using lisp if possible..

Until this changes, I'll keep following the issue..

And about blocks, autocad uses some "hidden" blocks (known as Anonymous Blocks) to handle a lot of tasks, like dynamic blocks for example -when you change their parameters new blocks of this type are added, and so are groups, and for Dimstyles....

So I hoped that the Viewbase Viewports fall under the same category, and that copying all blocks - except views- to another file and purging after deleting the views might cure the problem.. and that the imported back blocks wouldn't contain any of the problematic anonymous blocks.. but this doesn't seem to be the case..

Regards..

[Anonymous]

Dear elshawadfy, I will go out on a limb here and say that I doubt the issue resides with anonymous blocks. The behaviors as observed do not appear to be materially affected by deleting all dimensions and text/mtext objects and purging the drawing. I thought you might have been onto something - and still may be - when you mentioned dynamic blocks, as some of the files in question had been edited in AutoCAD 2017 using the new centerline and centermark commands, which do create dynamic blocks. That said, this morning I found a file that had not been edited with either command (it was from an earlier stage of development) and which exhibited the viewbase issue. Again, a single incident does not a pattern make.

[elshawadfy]

HI @Anonymous,

I don't think that the problem is with all anonymous blocks or how Autocad handles them..

I think that AutoCAD creates an anonymous block to represent each view, and that that block is most likely a dynamic one (at least with visibility states)...

and I think that the derivation of these particular blocks is dependent on the inventor engine.. i.e. the inventor engine translates the projection results to anonymous blocks displayed as viewports..

and exploding and purging all blocks explodes these anonymous blocks that are inventor dependent, and lets the drawing sever all ties with the inventor engine..

At least that's what I think..

Again - thank you very much for all your input and efforts in the matter - I really appreciate it..

Regards 🙂

[john.vellek]

Marc - an update on this bug for you.

If I scale everything in modelspace by 1.00001 then the views appear. I know this is only a workaround but I hope that it will be useful for you.

[smark]

Hi John,

So has there been any new updates to this problem? Has anyone confirmed if Autodesk is creating a permanent fix? 

Unfortunately the scale fixed did not work nor has any other fix worked myself or the 5 others at our company.

Thanks,
Stephen

[AVCPlugins]

Hello everybody. I have long suffered from the same problem. And I won. I wrote a small plugin that cures all known drawings. You can download for free here

[john.vellek · Accepted solution]

Hi @Anonymous,

I wanted to let you know that this problem should be resolved in AutoCAD 2018.  Please take time, if you have not already done so, to download a Trial version and give this a spin.

I truly appreciate all your help on this issue and for your continued patience.