XREFs not staying loaded in 2019

[ArchD]

I'm having an issue with a user in a remote office where her xrefs will not stay loaded. These drawing were created in 2017 without issue. 

I tried to detach them and attach them using relative paths, which is default for 2019, and they come in fine but once you close and reopen them, they are unresolved. 

After creating this video I went into the xrefs and detached any nexted xrefs, then reinserted them into this drawing and they seemed to work. I went on to check another drawing to see if that fix worked for others and it did not. I went back to this file that seemed to be working only to find it not working again.

Does anyone have any ideas on this? Ever since moving to 2019 my company as a whole has experienced odd XREF behavior. I personally had an issue where nested xrefs would not display if the main xref was clipped. 

[john.vellek]

Hi @ArchD,

Is it possible to share the files from your video (and in the folders)?  I noticed that when you were attaching the xref's that there were some error messages that came up.  I would like to check each of the files for corruption using AUDIT and then evaluate why the relative path is not retained.

If your data needs to be private or confidential, please email it directly to me at john.vellek@autodesk.com and please include a link to this thread in your email.

Please select the Accept as Solution button if my post solves your issue or answers your question.

[ArchD]

Thanks for the reply!

The problem seems to be just on her PC, maybe one or two isolated reports in the company, so if I sent you the files you'd be able to link it and all is well, which is why I attached the issue from a remote desktop connection video giving a look from her perspective.

Prior to the video I accessed the files on my PC through a UNC path, XREFs pathed relative and I was able to view it properly. I asked her to verify that they show and she couldn't see them. That is when I logged into her PC using her credentials and took the Screencast.

After logging out of her PC, I can open them on my workstation and they load correctly even after making a save from hers.

I did run an audit and recover/recover all on all of the files in the video and only one or two errors found. There were excess scale lists that were called during startup that I also removed. You may have saw some other lines that run during opening that are princ lines giving information on how to access our standards, technical help and previous cad meeting topics/recordings, as well as an environment version for my uses to know if they are using the correct support files paths.

She tells me that this is a problem with all files, not just the one seen in the video. Drawings that were working fine in 2017 before we "upgraded".

I am going to have her reset her profile and see if that helps, I'm waiting for her response on that.

If you still feel like you need to check the files, let me know and I'll pack them up for shipping.

[john.vellek]

HI @ArchD, I will wait to see how the profile reset works on her machine.  If the problem still occurs, I would be happy to look at the files.

As a test, you might make a copy of those specific files and move them local to see if they behave differently there.

[ArchD]

So a profile reset did not work.

I tried to move the XREFs to the local drive as you suggested and that worked.

I figured that maybe the server path was too long so I removed a few directories and retried but that did not work. I also tried a different server and that did not work.

Since you mentioned putting them on the local drive with positive results, I feel like you might know what the issue could be. I hope that is the case. Can't wait to see what you can suggest next.

Again, thanks for your help.

[john.vellek]

HI @ArchD,

If you log onto her computer do you still have the problem with the xrefs?  When you look at the xref paths do the paths match between Found at and what the path is supposed to be (relative)?

Also, if this user logs onto a different computer do the xref's behave?

[ArchD]

On her computer I still have the issue. If you look at the video I posted at 1:35, you can see that the xref does not load and the "Found at" is grayed out, but actually has the path to where it needs to be. Relative path is correct.

SECUREREMOTEACCESS is set to 0

DEMANDLOAD is set to 3

XLOADCTL is set to 2

[john.vellek]

HI @ArchD,

Ok, the fact that this does behave locally and that it behaves for two user profiles over the network tells me that this is likely a network issue.  How are the drives mapped for this workstation? Do they get mapped locally or are they mapped via a logon script or through Group policy?

It might also be good to compare response time from the server to this computer using TRACERT or another network utility.

[ArchD]

I believe our IT department maps them for new users. I manually mapped a new drive to another path to the same file (DFS shortcuts), and tried that path and still not working. I also tried to use the UNC path directly to the xrefs as well without success.

I have asked her to check if she has Project File Search Paths set in her Files tab in options, and also to make sure DNS client, IP helper and net logon services are started and running, and also to try your suggestion to try to log into another workstation and try. I am waiting for a response to these now.

[jayhar]

Please Check This Command "XLOADCTL" <2>

[john.vellek]

Hi @ArchD

I am checking back to see where you are with this issue.

Have you tried creating a new share on the server and placing a copy of the project there? Can you also try placing all the files in a single folder on the share to see if that is retained when closing and then reopening the host file? Here is an article that describes fixing the paths of xrefs but it sounds like you have perhaps already tried these steps.

Have you been able to monitor the network connection between workstation and server?

 Do these files still behave properly in AutoCAD 207?

Please select the Accept as Solution button if my post solves your issue or answers your question.

[ArchD]

The user who is having this issue is taking a personal day tomorrow so I will be working on this all day until I fix it then. The odd thing is that I can open the file from my office, reload the xrefs, close and re-open and it works fine. As soon as she open the file in her office where the server housing the files are located, they're unloaded. I can go into the file after she opens and it shows her that they are unloaded, and for me they are loaded and fine. It's very odd.

I have a feeling I'm going to end up doing a clean install along with .NET and C++ Redistributals.

So tomorrow, I will be continuing on with this thread, either with a solution or more questions, Screencasts and/or screenshots. 

[ArchD]

So I've done a clean reinstall of AutoCAD 2019, Civil 3D 2019, .NET, C++ Redistributals, and License Manager and the issue still persists. 

I moved all files to the same folder and pathed it relative with no luck.

I've tried multiple servers with no luck, but they works if they are on the local drive. The issue is with network locations that I can't seem to figure out.

SECUREREMOTEACCESS is set to 0

XLOADCTL is set to 2

DEMANDLOAD is set to 3

Tracert to our domain is normal. This issue does not happen in Civil 3D/AutoCAD 2017.

[john.vellek]

Hi @ArchD,

I am sorry that this issue persists for the one user.  Is the user running AutoCAD as an adminstrator?

I am just curious what is different about this one user account form all the others? Does it get handled with Group Policy differently?  If you do a Reset Settings to Default and don't customize anything does it then perform properly?

The variables you list look correct.

I am curious though as you mention you are in different offices.  How do you connect to the servers on each side? Is there DFS involved?

Here is another article that might be worth examining to get this working properly.

[ArchD]

AutoCAD is run as administrator, no xrefs.

She is in a group policy that is shared with the majority of users here across multiple offices. She seems to be the only one that I currently know of with this issue.

I'm opening these files remotely logged into her workstation on her account. The install is a clean install, no modifications or migrated settings from 2017.

DFS is involved. She is pathed to the server found at her office. I can access the files at my office by the server here, synced by DFS. If I open the files that she has issues with, they don't pose an issue for me at my office. 

[john.vellek]

Hi @ArchD,

DFS is not officially supported and might be part of the problem.

I suggest creating a new user and running with that account on her computer. Give the new user the same GP and let's see what happens.

Please select the Accept as Solution button if my post solves your issue or answers your question.

[ArchD]

I found that setting XLOADCTL to 1 or 0 instead of 2 allows for the references to be deplayed. This means that the references are locked as read only while the host drawing is opened. 

Maybe the copy that is made while XLOADCTL is set to 2 cannot be written due to read/write permissions? Does the copy get saved in the temp folder?

*EDIT* Actually setting XLOADCTL to 0 seems to resolve this particular issue allowing xrefs to be open while the host drawing is open. Seems backward from what the help says. 

[john.vellek]

Hi @ArchD,

You can find the path for the copy by using XLOADPATH. You can also check the Temp folder in the user profile.

This is starting to really sound like a user permissions issue which is why I suggested the new account as a test.

Please select the Accept as Solution button if my post solves your issue or answers your question.

[ArchD]

Permissions to what? She has read-write permissions to the full project directory, as well as the XLOADPATH location which was temp. I changed it to a directory on the desktop and can see the  .ac$ files it creates. 

Is there any other location dealing with the xrefs that she would need permissions for that somehow causes issues in 2019 but not 2017?

[john.vellek]

Hi @ArchD,

Since this works local and she is running as an admin, everything works. I  think there is something with her domain account where a permissions setting might not be 100%.

I have actually been seeing some issues recently with Users getting file locks on Temp folders with AutoCAD 2019 where previous versions work just fine. I am not sure this is related but the solution in those cases was to create a new user account and everything was resolved.

Please select the Accept as Solution button if my post solves your issue or answers your question.