acaddoc not working

[jogibson6PA7C]

so i made an acaddoc.lsp file and put it in the support folder, but whenever i open a new drawing, or an old one, it doesn't run the commands i put into it.  not sure if it's just me cutting out something important that it needs to run commands or what.  

(defun s::startup ()
(command "_annomonitor" 2)
(command "_fieldeval" 31)

and the reason i'm using commands instead of setvar is because setvar wasn't working either, i also want to see that the variables have been set in the command line every time i open a file.  

[BlackBox_]

In an open session, does pasting this to Command Line (findfile "acaddoc.lsp") show the correct file path to the file you're editing?

[DGCSCAD]

You don't need the s::startup in an acaddoc.lsp, so take that out and change your commands back to setvars.

A s::startup function is defined in an acad.lsp and is only loaded when AutoCAD starts, not when each drawing is opened. The acaddoc.lsp runs on each drawing when opened.

https://www.autodesk.com/support/technical/article/caas/sfdcarticles/sfdcarticles/Automatically-load...

[Kent1Cooper]

---

@DGCSCAD wrote:

You don't need the s::startup in an acaddoc.lsp.....

---

... and even if that were the right way to go, it's missing the concluding right parenthesis.

[jogibson6PA7C · Accepted solution]

No, it reads back as nil, and i'm really not sure why.  i didn't even add any new folders to the support file search path... Is there something I need to do outside of just adding the file to the folder in order for autocad to always run it? 

Okay, I figured it out.  I just had to add it to the startup suite is all. Not sure why I didn't think of that before, or why none of the guides I looked at to set this up didn't mention the startup suite... last time I did something with acaddoc my computer already had a working acaddoc file, so I guess something with it got changed between autocraft 2018 and 2022.

[BlackBox_]

---

@jogibson6PA7C wrote:

No, it reads back as nil, and i'm really not sure why.  i didn't even add any new folders to the support file search path... Is there something I need to do outside of just adding the file to the folder in order for autocad to always run it? 

Okay, I figured it out.  I just had to add it to the startup suite is all. Not sure why I didn't think of that before, or why none of the guides I looked at to set this up didn't mention the startup suite... last time I did something with acaddoc my computer already had a working acaddoc file, so I guess something with it got changed between autocraft 2018 and 2022.

---

Okay, so AutoCAD cannot find it, which is why it's not being loaded. 

There's no need to add it to Startup Suite. 

You simply need the containing folder included in your Support Files Search Paths (SFSP). 

The reason I asked the return path from the findfile call, is that sometimes users have multiple acaddoc.lsp files, and AutoCAD will only load the first one it finds... meaning the highest path in SFSP that contains AcadDoc.lsp file.

Remove it from Startup Suite, place AcadDoc.lsp file in the top SFSP, or add a new path to where it is, and ensure that it at top of SFSP.

HTH

[jogibson6PA7C]

"...place AcadDoc.lsp file in the top SFSP, or add a new path to where it is, and ensure that it at top of SFSP."
I did both of these things (individually and together) and none of the 3 combinations worked.  I even tried putting it in different SFSP folders (both with multiple copies of the .lsp and it being the only acaddoc.lsp file on my computer) 

I do not know *why* it refused to work, maybe it has something to do with my organization's settings, but so far it works exactly as I want it to as an item in the startup suite. 

[Sea-Haven]

 I have used the Startup suite for years rather than Acad.lsp etc. just find it easier to not have to go finding those files in so deep a directory add to. Also remember when starting CAD it looks for files and will stop looking once found so even if you make a new Acad.lsp and put it in a support path it may not load as the startup has found another copy 1st.  As mentioned need to check support path order. As part of an install lisp when doing CAD upgrades you can add support paths and add startup suite items also.

[BlackBox_]

Here's more on the startup sequence, since then the Autoloader mechanism has been added: 

https://www.theswamp.org/index.php?topic=39112.msg443213#msg443213

A. CUI files loaded:
1. Enterprise
2. Main
3. Partials to Main
4. Partials to Enterprise

B. acad*.* files loaded:
1. Files listed in acad.rx
2. acad2009.lsp
3. acad.lsp  <--
4. acad2009doc.lsp
5. acaddoc.lsp
6. acad.dvb

C. CUI-associated MNL and LSP files loaded:
1. Enterprise named MNL
2. Enterprise loaded LSP and MNL
3. Main named MNL
4. Main loaded LSP and MNL
5. Partials to Main named MNLs
6. Partials to Main loaded LSPs and MNLs
7. Partials to Enterprise named MNLs
8. Partials to Enterprise loaded LSPs and MNLs

D. Startup suite files loaded

E. Startup routines run:
1. AcadStartup() called (AutoCAD startup)
2. AcadDocument_Activate() called (Drawing startup)
3. (S::STARTUP) called
4. SCR loaded from /b switch