Save As function is messed up - Please help I am desperate

I am running AutoCAD 2002. Just this afternoon, when I try to use the "save as" from the menu the file box doesn't open up. All I get are the options on the command line. Please help. I guess that some setting got messed up but have no idea which one it was. I am used to looking at the box which shows the last folder that I saved a file in and I want it back. Thanks in advance, Carolyn

Reply to
Carolyn
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Type FILEDIA at the command line, set it to 1 to display the dialog box.

Enjoy! Michael (LS)

Reply to
Michael (LS)

Michael, you are a life saver. How in the heck did you know that command? I figured that it was something like that (0 or 1) but could not find the right command that did the trick. Is there a web site that lists these commands for future reference? I have a list that I have compiled but it did not include that one. Again, you cannot imagine how happy I am to get this straightened out. Many Thanks, you are my hero. Now I can only wonder how it got changed because I did nothing out of the ordinary. Carolyn

Reply to
Carolyn

Carolyn,

CMDDIA and ATTDIA are two more handy ones to remember. If an AutoCAD routine abends, it may switch one or more of these settings off also.

Actually surprised you have not run into this already as it is one of the most often asked questions.

Howard

Carolyn wrote:

Reply to
Weird

In two years, this is the first time that I have run into this problem. The only other problem that has come up is when the crosshairs get stuck in a "slanted" position and won't go back to 90 degrees. I suspect that this is another instance of a setting that can be fixed from the command line. It happens when I am dimensioning on an angle and it somehow doesn't reset. I must admit that my solution for the crosshairs thing has been to copy the drawing over onto a new sheet. Not pretty, but it works. :o) I did find a web site that has a lot of information on system variables and there is a pdf file to download with the information. It can be found here:

formatting link
for anyone who is interested. I would still have to go through the entire list to try to find the right setting, though, so I do appreciated the help from this group. Carolyn

Reply to
Carolyn

I have a Keynote file where I put all my notes about running AutoCAD and I added all your comments to this file. If this ever happens again, I will have the information on hand. Thanks, Carolyn

Reply to
Carolyn

SNAPANG ___

Reply to
Paul Turvill

I just opened the HELP file for AutoCad and searched for "dialog box" to find the answer. I have had it happen to me a couple of times over the years but not enough to have memorized the solution. FWIW, if you're not familiar with the AutoCads HELP file I recommend taking a look at it, there's a ton of info in there that can help with most questions.

Glad you're "back to normal"!

Michael (LS)

-At least I'm someone's hero!

Reply to
Michael (LS)

Thanks Paul. I put that in my file for future reference. After two years of running AutoCAD, it is probably amazing that I have not run into more things going wrong. Maybe I have been lucky. :o) Carolyn

Reply to
Carolyn

I looked through the help file but to use the help file effectively you must know the proper name or be able to describe the annoyance using the proper term. I didn't have enough experience to know that I was missing a "dialog box". Sad isn't it? This is probably what happens when you are "self taught". It appears that my knowledge of AutoCAD is mirroring my knowledge of XP. I learn what I need to survive and consequently my knowledge base has these gaping holes in it. :o) I did notice that someone else asked the same question to this group (worded differently of course) not long after I did. It does appear to be a common problem that I escaped by sheer luck for the last two years. People, such as yourself, have contributed greatly to my education. Once I have the answer, I won't ask that particular question again. Unfortunately, there always seem to be additional questions. Carolyn

Reply to
Carolyn

I'm pretty fussy (to put it politely) about people getting to know, and then using the correct terms for things, and this is exactly why. You can't have an intelligent exchange if you say potato but really mean tomato. I recommend adopting the language in the help as much as possible to help make the help more helpful, and to help you get good answers quickly from your buddies at alt.cad.autocad.

Reply to
Michael Bulatovich

I can understand why somebody not using the proper terms could be extremely annoying. In my defense, I am self employed and could not take the time to learn the software like I should. I literally got it on a Friday and started making drawings about a week later. I cannot afford to pay $900 for a course or take the time out to go to a class since my livelihood depends on production. This causes you to learn what you need and then panic when something goes wrong. :o) I gain knowledge when I have to do something different or when something goes haywire. I have, from time to time, used some of the courses that you can find online and hope to learn more as time goes by. When I went to school, drafting was done on a table with a T-square. Everyone who learned AutoCAD in school, or at a large company that gave them time to explore the software, is extremely lucky. Carolyn

Reply to
Carolyn

I agree with Carolyn, and learned cadd by reading books and by trial and error (lots and lots of trial and error). I have several books on Cadd but my favorite is "Autocad 2000 instant reference" by Sybex. I find it very useful.

Reply to
Mike Harrison

It's not so much annoying as frustrating. Much time is spent trying to figure out what the other person means, instead of fixing the problem. As for being self-taught, most of us are in the same boat. I learned from a book. Perhaps that forced me to focus on the printed word, and therefore the "lingo".

Between deadlines, there are many opportunities buried in everyday use of the application. Ever have some command in some situation not work the way you expect? Ever move on to using another method without understanding why the first one didn't work? That's a missed opportunity. Take the time, when you can, to understand what you were doing wrong, which is the case 19 times out of 20, instead of assuming something else is at fault. The software is not perfect, but it's pretty good. (Better than most operators.)

Indeed. You have to make the most of the opportunities presented to you. I had to teach myself the rudiments, after having demonstrated some skill on another platform, before someone would pay me to draw on acad.

Reply to
Michael Bulatovich

I used to keep a concise command reference at hand too. After you get to know the terrain, the help tells all.

I used to pester the cad "experts" who were willing to waste their time on me, until I knew everything they knew. I now use the net the same way.

Reply to
Michael Bulatovich

I think the biggest difference between the current generation of "self-taught" AutoCAD users and those of us who were using it in the days of

1.x is that in those days Autodesk supplied the software along with literally *volumes* of printed documentation. Self-teaching with documentation written by the software provider gave us the advantage of getting all of the proper terminology directly from the, er, experts at Autodesk.

Further, among those docs were very comprehensive LISP and Customization manuals, complete with tutorial exercises. Anyone with moderate reading comprehension could learn not only AutoCAD, but how to do some pretty sophisticated customization as well. Alas, the days of printed documentation are long gone, and not just at Autodesk. ___

Reply to
Paul Turvill

I still have a two-inch thick, hard-covered R12 manual under my thermal fax machine to keep the curly bits from clogging up the machine...

The online help is a bit harder to read, I'll grant you, but you can still get by with it. I Didn't take on any customization until r14, and got that all from a screen, and these newsgroups.

Reply to
Michael Bulatovich

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