VIEWBASE - Problem Please Explain

[DanielEvalle]

This previous post outlines ONE of the instances where Viewbases quit working.  Maybe someone's got insight but it just seems vague.
Solved: Viewbase Problem - Autodesk Community

In my particular case with the attached file, the "VIEW EDIT" command just Doesn't go anywhere.  I included screenshots that show my command line.  I open the file, select the drawing view object and attempt to edit it, and AutoCAD seems to pretend it doesn't exist.  I (and the 8 other people in my department) have this problem regularly and the only suggestions we've received are to "restart AutoCAD", "restart your Computer", or "Copy everything to a blank .dwg" and start over (requiring manually re-creating each and every VIEWBASE object IN THE ENTIRE DRAWING).  Needless to say, this solution can be EXTREMELY time consuming and painstaking and, in my opinion, is an absolutely unacceptable option, but I've been working with it for 3+ years.

I'm trying not to lose it over here but every day I'm constantly nervous that my VIEWBASE's are going to go caput and even corrupt my files.  I have received NEITHER a satisfactory solution NOR anything close to a sensible explanation for why this happens or steps I can take to avoid it happening.  I feel like I've become very good at feeling my way in the dark here, but this time I feel like it's the straw that's gonna break the camel's back.

[imadHabash]

Hi,

• When i open your CAD drawing and start Viewedit command i received this massage " Unable to perform the requested action. This drawing was last edited with model documentation in a newer version of AutoCAD. " For that i recommend to follow and read this LINK.
• Click on below image to see how that your Model 3d object has many surfaces!! I don't know under what circumstances the drawings were made. You have a simple 3d CAD drawing - in general - and my advice is to always have a clean 3d models to avoid any unexpected problems.

[DanielEvalle]

Hi ImadHabash,

1. "When i open your CAD drawing and start Viewedit command i received this message " Unable to perform the requested action. This drawing was last edited with model documentation in a newer version of AutoCAD. " For that i recommend to follow and read this LINK."

I appreciate your response, but I am trying to express that the "solution" provided in the link is not good enough.  It seems like AutoCAD/Autodesk is trying to leave the inherent functionality of the Viewbase command undiagnosed while in reality there is a flaw somewhere in how it works.

Imagine an analogy...

While using Microsoft Word, 5 out of 20 pages suddenly and inexplicably are overwritten with blanks and/or a bunch of encoded gibberish. 

I then get on a call with Microsoft support and asked "What happened?" and "Can you fix this?"

They ask "please identify which pages are blank/corrupt" (... this would seem apparent to me but sure they don't know the context of my document)

Then they tell me to do the painstaking work of manually spellchecking each word on a corrupted page (aggravation builds & time is wasted)

Then they say ok, backspace/delete the incorrect words and now your document doesn't have encoded gibberish (umm duh, I know how to use backspace/delete)

Then the final solution is, rewrite all of the missing words (oh and sorry if you didn't take extensive notes on the *brand new* content you had been developing)

I know it's crass and likely never has happened before, but that's kind of my point.  Microsoft Word is a wonderful, reliable program that doesn't require that the user "recreate" content from memory and doesn't ask you to do your own manual troubleshooting.  Also there is no explanation of why this sort of corruption happens in the first place.

2. "Click on below image to see how that your Model 3d object has many surfaces!! I don't know under what circumstances the drawings were made. You have a simple 3d CAD drawing - in general - and my advice is to always have a clean 3d models to avoid any unexpected problems."

Those surfaces are created from POLYLINEs using the CONVTOSURFACE command.  I use their "zero depth" geometry to indicate fabric coverings over my simplified structures.

These surfaces are intentionally offset from the bodies of the 3d solids 0.1" to avoid interference.

These surfaces do not cause problems in 99% of my work and VIEWBASE usually has NO problems rendering them.

I prefer to use the Wireframe & 3D Wireframe appearances so I prefer SURFACES which allow you to show Isolines and IMPRINT geometry as opposed to REGIONs. 

Additionally I "stack" my 3D solids so my MODELSPACE in my drawings isn't messy (as your image shows by the end of it)  If you look closely at most of the 3d solids, there are imprinted lines in their faces that are convenient when VIEWBASing to show locations of features in the structure as it is built.  Honestly, if you tell me definitively (with proof) that stacking my 3D solids causes the problems I'm having, I will gladly stop stacking them.  But up to this point, it has never caused problems.

[DanielEvalle]

If I may offer a couple of guesses as to why viewbases corrupt like this...

1. Associative Dimensions (my drawings will corrupt around the end of working with the document and that is usually when I start to apply dimensions)

2. Page Setup inconsistencies (they do recommend we try with a "clean" document with "clean" layouts)

3. When the "Viewbase" object attempts to refresh itself, it loses track of it's or the referenced objects' point of origin and thus finds "null" objects to process in paperspace.

[imadHabash]

Hi,

We are here as a CAD users, not Autodesk employees. We strive to provide assistance to all who request it, sometimes we get it, sometimes not. Please consider my previous comments merely a reminder and advice of some of the things I wanted to convey to you by opening your previous CAD file.

All the best to you...😊

[DanielEvalle]

Hi again,

I understand.  I'm definitely not trying to come at you personally, so sorry if it felt that way.  I am honestly trying to make some noise about this problem that has been ongoing for me for years.  I feel very alone in this problem even though I and every other person (8 - 10) in my department struggle with this error cropping up weekly (if not more).

I get that AutoCAD is classically at 2D-centric program so there aren't that many people using the VIEWBASE command. 

So just trying to say, "I'm out here trying to use this tool, and it's really great most of the time!  But when it goes bad, I can lose hours to days worth of work.  Please Autodesk, they who have ears to hear, let them hear."

[DanielEvalle]

I've been reporting related issues all along, so it's not like I haven't tried to go through the official channels to reach a solution, but like I said before, the feedback I get from the actual Autodesk support people is essentially just the same as what is shown in the link you provided, which is again, just not satisfactory.

And ngl, it feels insulting that they can't just ask, "have you attempted the solution provided at this link?" and then move on from there with either "we don't care to fix this problem on the back-end" or "Yes we have a committed case to resolving VIEWBASE related issues."

Also, I'm sad that even though you have that  and "expert elite member" status, you don't have a direct line to the ears of the teams involved with troubleshooting/development.

[djm7500]

As you know the Drawing Views were corrupt.

A quick test is to try and change the standard scale and if it is not available to change then it is corrupt.

So erased the drawing views, then  -purge regapps, then audit then purge all

Recreated the views and now does not seem to have any issues.

Attached is the corrected file in AutoCAD 2025 (unfortunately you won't be able to edit in earlier versions).

We run into corrupt views all the time but the -purge regapps seems to minimize.

Hope that helps!

[DanielEvalle]

Yeah I hopped on a call with an AutoDesk Support member and essentially explained that what you did was my solution.  

BUT. 

Like I said above, it's not really a great solution especially considering that my original document had 3-5 Viewbase "Drawing Views" across 8 different layout tabs, and this REALLY cuts into my (and my department's) workflow when corruption like this happens.  Not to mention the horror stories of LOSING modelspace objects due to viewbase/file corruption.  ( @djm7500 have you ever had a document crash only to recover/audit and it delete 90% of your modelspace objects?)

[djm7500]

Don't think we have ever had that problem.

One drawing had many tabs, after fixing one view a different one would be corrupt.

But a different user did not have a problem in the same drawing.

Turned out that the first user's autocad was corrupt. Reinstalled and the problems went away.

We constantly ....  -purge regapp and audit the drawings to minimize the problems.

The other thing we test before releasing the drawing is to isolate hide all modelspace objects. Then one by one go to each tab and watch them turn into red empty boxes.

If they don't turn into red empty boxes, they may be corrupt. Then unisolate all modelspace objects and go to each tab and wait for them to restore.

[DanielEvalle]

The worst part about these errors is that if you are unlucky enough to have made a ViewBase and used the "current" orientation whose angles that you are not exactly sure what they are, your layouts can get all sorts of messed up.  Part of my role at my job has been standardizing the views we use (i.e. 240-20) so you can more easily recover when corruption happens.

[DanielEvalle]

Yeah, AutoCAD keeps recommending that I make AUDIT > PURGE into a macro... but meh.  There's better uses I can put my macros to.  Got my CUI juiced with enough Keyboard Shortcut Macros and sometimes I just like to AUDIT by itself to make myself feel better.

[djm7500]

We normally use as many baseviews as practical

because if the projected views parent becomes corrupt, then you loose all the projected views also.

(Also baseviews gives you the most control on removed objects that should not show up in the view.)

Another technique that we use (see the drawing that I sent you earlier) is to put a base view within the titleblock border

at smaller scale on a frozen layer to make sections or enlarged details

[djm7500]

think one key to minimize corruption is the -purge regapps anytime something is copied or xref'd into the drawing.

This command is not included in the purge all command