My problem stated that when trying to assign a coordinate system it could not find the Datums.csd file. Through discussions the Autodesk customer support it was determined that the problem arose because I had previously installed Open Source Mapguide Server and Maestro. These programs set an environment variable "MENTOR_DICTIONARY_PATH" to F:\Program Files\OSGeo\MapGuide\CS-Map\Dictionaries. Unfortunately the install of AutoCAD MAP 3D 2012 recoqnized this and tried to use this directory for the coordinate system files when it should be using the following directory C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Autodesk\Geospatial Coordinate Systems. My solution was to rename the environment variable "MENTOR_DICTIONARY_PATH" to "OLD_MENTOR_DICTIONARY_PATH". I then created a new environment variable named "MENTOR_DICTIONARY_PATH" with the following value C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Autodesk\Geospatial Coordinate Systems. This solved my problems.
The full text of the final discussion with the Autodesk Technical support is below, as it provides more detail than the above description.
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Thank you very much for your message, the error details, the screenshots, and the NFO file.
The reason why I wanted the NFO file is because it shows the environment variables that are active on your computer as well as the values of those environment variables.
Your computer has an active environment variable called MENTOR_DICTIONARY_PATH, as you can see in the screenshot I made (after loading your NFO file into the System Information utility) and placed at this address:
http://screencast.com/t/h3SlnCDbLI
I believe that MENTOR_DICTIONARY_PATH was created automatically when you installed MapGuide Open Source. The value of MENTOR_DICTIONARY_PATH defines the path to the folder in which the coordinate system definition files for MapGuide Open Source are stored. (Currently, MENTOR_DICTIONARY_PATH has a value of F:\Program Files\OSGeo\MapGuide\CS-Map\Dictionaries on your computer.)
If you were to install AutoCAD Map 3D 2012 onto a computer on which MapGuide Open Source is not installed, MENTOR_DICTIONARY_PATH would not get created.
But it turns out that even though AutoCAD Map 3D 2012 does not create the MENTOR_DICTIONARY_PATH environment variable, AutoCAD Map 3D 2012 will recognize MENTOR_DICTIONARY_PATH if it already exists.
This recognition of MENTOR_DICTIONARY_PATH is undocumented, and I am sorry about that. The reason for this behavior is that the coordinate system technology in both AutoCAD Map 3D and MapGuide was originally devised by Mentor Software, which Autodesk acquired. (The blog post at http://geospatial.blogs.com/geospatial/2008/08/autodesk-contri.html has some background information.)
It appears that what is happening on your computer is that AutoCAD Map 3D 2012 is reading the MENTOR_DICTIONARY_PATH variable and is looking inside F:\Program Files\OSGeo\MapGuide\CS-Map\Dictionaries for the coordinate system definition files that it needs, instead of looking where those files actually are — C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Autodesk\Geospatial Coordinate Systems (and/or Geospatial Coordinate Systems Temp2012).
To resolve the issue in AutoCAD Map 3D 2012, please take these steps:
- Close AutoCAD Map 3D 2012.
- If MapGuide Maestro is running, please close it too; and if the MapGuide Open Source service is running, please stop it.
- Open the System item in the Control Panel.
- In the System Properties dialog, click the Advanced tab.
- In the Advanced tab, click the Environment Variables button.
- In the Environment Variables dialog, select MENTOR_DICTIONARY_PATH (in the System Variables section).
- Click Edit.
- In the Edit System Variable dialog, change the name from MENTOR_DICTIONARY_PATH to OLD_MENTOR_DICTIONARY_PATH (and leave the value intact).
- Click OK to close the Edit System Variable dialog.
- Click OK to close the Environment Variables dialog.
- Click OK to close the System Properties dialog.
- Open AutoCAD Map 3D 2012.
- Test whether you can assign global coordinate systems to drawings. Please reply to this message with that information.
Because my colleagues and I here in Product Support only have Autodesk MapGuide Enterprise installed and do not have MapGuide Open Source installed, I have not been able to test whether the steps above will affect MapGuide Open Source. (Autodesk MapGuide Enterprise does not create the MENTOR_DICTIONARY_PATH variable.) So after you have completed the steps above, please take these steps:
- Close AutoCAD Map 3D 2012.
- Start the MapGuide Open Source service, and open MapGuide Maestro.
- Test whether you encounter any issues with coordinate systems. Please reply to this message with that information.
If you do encounter issues with MapGuide Open Source, then you should be able to resolve them by stopping the service, changing the name of OLD_MENTOR_DICTIONARY_PATH back to MENTOR_DICTIONARY_PATH, and restarting the service. Of course, then you will have the same problem in AutoCAD Map 3D 2012 again, unfortunately, until you change the name of the variable back to OLD_ MENTOR_DICTIONARY_PATH. You might wish to test whether leaving the name as MENTOR_DICTIONARY_PATH and setting the value to C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Autodesk\Geospatial Coordinate Systems will allow both products to work without any issues.
Dan
