Loosing Shapes for Linetypes

[caddcop]

I have a file that will not retain the shapes in my custom linetypes. I have made sure the path to the SHX files is at the very top of the support files list. If I reload all of them, and regen the drawing, they all look fine. But if I save the drawing and then re-open it, the SHX symbols are all missing again.

All of the font characters in the linetypes are retained. but no named shapes in SHX files are. I have been using the same lin file for other files without issue. Some of the definitions had the shx file name with .SHX while others did not.

I inserted & exploded the drawing into another file and in that file, the linetypes are retained.

An Audit with repair did nothing.

Help!

[rkmcswain]

My *guess* would be that the path to the shape file is hardcoded in the style definition§. I have seen this before and the only way I know to get rid of this is to purge the linetype(s) and shape, and then add the linetype again.

 

§(If you want to post the drawing, erase all, (do not purge), zip up and post.)

[caddcop]

Good guess, but I had read an old solution (2003) about purging all and had already tried that to no avail.

This is the same template file that contains blocks that we use for LD AEC Points that will not scale when my descriptor keys are set to scale using a parameter.

When I did the insert & explode, I used a different template. So I tried with the same template that created the original file and the result was that the linetypes do not retain the SHX shapes.

[rkmcswain]

Just for grins, try this if you want....

 

• At the AutoCAD command prompt, type in VLIDE.
  
• In the VLIDE, choose the View menu > Browse Drawing Database > Browse Tables.
  
• In the window that appears, double click on .
  
• In the next window that appears, look for a style with no name. It will probably be just two brackets like this and there may be more than one.
  
• Double click on this entry, and then double click on the second line in the next dialog that starts with {raw-data}
  
• Finally, ignoring the line numbers, look for a line that starts with {3. - whatever is after that is your saved shape name (and possibly path).
  
• Repeat the last two steps for each entry.
  

Edited November 5, 2010 by rkmcswain
correct mistake

[caddcop]

Well, the Views item does nothing, but there is a LineTypes item. Double clicking on it lists linetypes in no empty brackets, though. Double clicking on one of the offending linetypes, like TREELINE_L opens a box with this:

{raw-data} ((0 . "LTYPE") (2 . "TREELINE_L") (70 . 0) (3 . " Tree Line left side") (72 . 65) (73 . 3) (40 . 0.25) (49 . 0.0) (49 . -0.13) (49 . -0.12))

I can double click on {raw-data}to see this:

(0) (0 . "LTYPE")

(1) (2 . "TREELINE_L")

(2) (70 . 0)

(3) (3 . " Tree Line left side")

(4) (72 . 65)

(5) (73 . 3)

(6) (40 . 0.25)

(7) (49 . 0.0)

( (49 . -0.13)

(9) (49 . -0.12)

 

Just so you know, many of the offending linetypes are from acad.lin

 

BTW, there was an in my text styles and it listed this when double clicked:

((0 . "STYLE") (2 . "") (70 . 1) (40 . 0.0) (41 . 1.0) (50 . 0.0) (71 . 0) (42 . 0.2) (3 . "ltypeshp.shx") (4 . ""))

WTF is up with a text style using a SHX that is not a font file?

Edited November 5, 2010 by rkmcswain
disable smilies

[rkmcswain]

caddcop --- sorry, I don't know why I wrote "Views".... I meant "Styles" (I corrected it in the original message).

 

Your next to last line is what I was driving at.... The (3 . "ltypeshp.shx") is what we were looking for specifically.

 

What version of AutoCAD is this? And is this vanilla AutoCAD or a vertical?

There was a bug in LDT 2008 that caused AutoCAD to "not find" shape files. See: http://www.texupport.net/blog/2007/11/14/complex-linetypes-which-contain-shapes-to-not-display-properly/ --- but I don't know if this was LDT specific or even 2008 specific.

 

I seem to remember there was a set of circumstances that caused this behavior, but I can't remember what it was at the moment... If I recall, I'll post back...

[caddcop]

I found I could insert/explode the DWT into an empty file and save it back out as the DWT and the new DWT does not exhibit this behavior. I may keep the routine for those times when a quick fix is needed.

As one who is far from an AutoCAD guru, it's nice to know, it was not my inexperience, but some obscure bug.

[CyberAngel]

This same thing has happened to me before, in different drawings and with different linetypes. Now it's happening again. If I purge the linetype and reload it, I get the correct shapes ... until I try to plot. There's a phantom text style, too, that I swear was not there the first time I checked for it--could it be a symptom of the problem rather than the cause?

 

Interesting. I audited and purged the linetype again, and another item that got purged was a text style named "AUDIT" ... and as soon as I try to plot, the shapes are gone again. And when I reload the linetype, the bogus style comes back. Frustrating.