Publish Problems with Opened Drawings and Adding Drawings (Not Open in AutoCAD) in Publish Dialogue Box

[gpratt38JDP]

Using AutoCAD 2020 on x-64 based PC.  The following are the different scenarios:

• Drawings are open in AutoCAD and "Automatically load all open drawings" in Publish is checked.  Open drawings are listed and I decide to add (+) drawings to the list then Publish. The added drawings do not plot, only the open drawings.

• I unchecked the "Automatically load all open drawings":
  • I do not have any drawings open. I go into Publish and add (+) drawings. All listed drawings plotted, so all good.  This also works when I check "Automatically load all open drawings" but I don't have any drawings open in AutoCAD.
  • I opened drawings in AutoCAD and click Publish. I add (+) the open drawings and additional, unopened drawings to the list.  Only the drawings that are opened plotted, not the drawings I added in Publish.

It appears that Publish does not work when you mix "opened" drawings in AutoCAD v. "unopened" drawings in the list. Any advice is appreciated. Thanks!

[sambremer · Accepted solution]

I have had this issue before myself with drawings not being printed even though they are listed in the publish dialogue box. Try unchecking the box that says "Publish in background". Once I made this change, I have never had issues with drawings missing from my PDF.

[cheryl.buck]

Hi @gpratt38JDP,

I see that you are visiting as a new member to the AutoCAD forum. Welcome to the Autodesk Community!

Thank you also for your detailed test and results. I was able to test the 2 scenarios you described in AutoCAD 2020.1.3 (I have the updates installed) and am able to plot all drawings whether preloaded or added from the Publish dialog. 

While I did not hear of any reports of this prior to the updates, it is possible that would resolve the issue. Additionally, I have seen file location, Page setup, and folder permissions disrupt publish functions. 

To narrow it down, the follow information would help:

• Version and updates. Can be found from the ABOUT command in AutoCAD.
• Are the publishing the pages at all, or just blank pages? 
• Where are the files located? If on a network or cloud, which type?
• Publish dialog settings. 
• Sample files with associated files (such as Xrefs or plot styles). You can use the ETRANSMIT command to bundle them. 

If a post answered your question or resolved the issue, please click the Accept Solution button.

Likes are always welcome.

All the best,

[gpratt38JDP]

Thank you. sambremer above mentioned to uncheck the "Publish in background" and that corrected the problem.  Is there a reason it won't work when I have that boxed checked? Thank you.

[sambremer]

I figured this issue out in the past with trial and error. It could be a glitch with this version (Note our company is on 2020 Autodesk products). We also publish via Sheet Set Manager so I'm not sure if that is part of the issue. In the grand scheme of things, it plots a little quicker with this method anyways so it will stay as my default. Maybe someone from the Autodesk team has a better answer.

[JTBWorld]

Looks like it works as expected in AutoCAD 2021.