acad.lsp

[ScottBolton-67]

Hi, chaps.

I have the code,

(strcat "C:\\Users\\" (getvar "USERNAME") "\\blue\\...")

in my acad.lsp but it gives the error,

Regenerating model.

; error: bad argument type: (or stringp symbolp): (STRCAT "C:\\Users\\" (GETVAR "USERNAME") "\\blue\\...")

AutoCAD menu utilities loaded.

at startup.

Anybody know why? (I also tried using (getenv) but got the same (or stringp symbolp) error.)

[paullimapa]

no such variable called username

but username is an environment variable

so change the code to:

(strcat "C:\\Users\\" (getenv "USERNAME") "\\blue\\...")

[Kent1Cooper]

There is no "username" System Variable.

[pendean]

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@Kent1Cooper wrote:

There is no "username" System Variable.

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Give them a try at the commandline, they report my OS login name here in AutoCAD 2023-2025 (but only LT versions HELP list is as a variable)

(getenv "USERNAME")

(getvar "USERNAME")

USERNAME

[pendean]

@ScottBolton-67 What is it you are trying to do or activate or show with that exactly?

[pkenewell6347]

Have you tried pasting the line directly to the command line? It works correctly for me. What version of AutoCAD are you using?

(strcat "C:\\Users\\" (getvar "USERNAME") "\\blue\\...")

[pendean]

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@pkenewell6347 wrote:

...It works correctly for me....

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Works how? To do what? All I get at the comamndline is 

"C:\\Users\\MYLOGINNAMEHERE\\blue\\..."

[pkenewell6347]

?

[pkenewell6347]

It seems to me that the OP is trying to find their profile folder in windows? I don't know. All I was doing was confirming it worked in my system (AutoCAD 2025), and trying to figure out why it was not working for the OP. Perhaps he is using a much older version of AutoCAD? Maybe the install is corrupted? I wasn't trying to determine what he was doing, just whether it should work or not.

[paullimapa]

Though username may exists as system variable in LT, there was no lisp back in 2020...only staring in 2024LT.

But as for AutoCAD the username system variable did not exist prior to 2023.

So older versions would yield this error:

Perhaps @ScottBolton-67 OP encountered this error when trying to load acad.lsp in versions prior to 2023?

[pendean]

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@paullimapa wrote:

Though username may exists as system variable in LT, there was no lisp back in 2020...only staring in 2024LT...

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LT versions of AutoCAD have always had a USERNAME variable, it used to reside in OPTIONS as an item you could enter until it was changed in the last decade to capture the user's OS log-in instead. It has nothing to do with the introduction of LISP into LT. Came in handy back when using the PLOTSTAMP on all plots to be user and department specific for those of us that need it.

Good point on pre-2023 full AutoCAD, I no longer run anything older to have checked it there.

[ScottBolton-67]

So, we've established that (getvar "USERNAME") is valid and it yields the same result as (getvar "LOGINNAME").

On the command line, or in the VL Console, both 

(strcat (getenv "UserProfile") "\\sbTOOLS\\...") and
(strcat "C:\\Users\\" (getvar "USERNAME") "\\sbTOOLS\\...")

yield the same result: "C:\\Users\\NLA417\\sbTOOLS\\..." in my case.

The problem arises when it is run from the acad.lsp file:

; error: bad argument type: (or stringp symbolp): (STRCAT (GETENV "UserProfile") "\\sbTOOLS\\...") and

; error: bad argument type: (or stringp symbolp): (STRCAT "C:\\Users\\" (GETVAR "USERNAME") "\\sbTOOLS\\...")

I want it loading here because I add that location, sbTOOLS, to my TRUSTEDPATHS,

(setvar "TRUSTEDPATHS" (strcat bT_paths ";" bT_nth))

[paullimapa]

as a test lets try a different system variable and see if you get a successful response:

(STRCAT "C:\\Users\\" (GETVAR "ctab") "\\sbTOOLS\\...")

[pkenewell6347]

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@ScottBolton-67 wrote:

The problem arises when it is run from the acad.lsp file:

; error: bad argument type: (or stringp symbolp): (STRCAT (GETENV "UserProfile") "\\sbTOOLS\\...") and

; error: bad argument type: (or stringp symbolp): (STRCAT "C:\\Users\\" (GETVAR "USERNAME") "\\sbTOOLS\\...")

I want it loading here because I add that location, sbTOOLS, to my TRUSTEDPATHS,

(setvar "TRUSTEDPATHS" (strcat bT_paths ";" bT_nth))

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Interesting. Question: Do you just run it from acad,lsp, or do you have it within an "S::STARTUP" defun? Perhaps the system variable has not initialized. If you put it in an "S::STARTUP" defun, it waits until last after everything initializes. Also - you should be using acaddoc.lsp instead of acad.lsp if you want this to load in every dwg file.

Look at this for more info (scroll down a bit for info on S::STARTUP, but I recommend reading the whole thing):

https://help.autodesk.com/view/ACD/2024/ENU/?guid=GUID-FDB4038D-1620-4A56-8824-D37729D42520

[Kent1Cooper]

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@pendean wrote:...

Good point on pre-2023 full AutoCAD, I no longer run anything older to have checked it there.

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I am currently at an Acad2020 [full vanilla] installation, where (getvar "USERNAME") returns nil.

[ec-cad]

R2021 vanilla.

(getvar "USERNAME") ; returns nil

(getvar "LOGINNAME") ; returns my name

ECCAD

[Sea-Haven]

Bricscad V24, (getvar "LOGINNAME") ; returns my name

[ScottBolton-67 · Accepted solution]

Thanks for the S::STARTUP tip.

I run it from the acad.lsp, but if I put it in acaddoc.lsp instead it runs fine.

[Sea-Haven]

Just a comment I never touch acad & acaddoc.lsp rather use appload and add a custom lisp to the start up suite. I find this easier as the custom lisp is saved with my other lisps. When you do an upgrade just redo the appload, no go searching for acaddoc.