Topic: land desktop 2008 'multiple' session issues HELP HELP HELP

[alanjt]

ok, so i've noticed in 2008 (finally made the switch) that if you have more than one session open (or even worse, the "drawing1.dwg" is open because you opened a session of cad then found your file with "_open") it will give you this error if you try and execute any land desktop commands.

Command:
***************************************************************
    Autodesk Land Desktop cannot initialize when
there is more than one drawing open.  Please close all but one
drawing before continuing.
***************************************************************

is there a way around this? this is seriously the DUMBEST thing i believe i've ever seem come from autodesk. i only hope this is just some setvar.

[Gliderider]

I believe that, as in prior versions of LDD, you can only have one dwg open to use LDD (as you've discovered). If you use Civil 3D, you can have multiple dwgs open.

[alanjt]

I believe that, as in prior versions of LDD, you can only have one dwg open to use LDD (as you've discovered). If you use Civil 3D, you can have multiple dwgs open.

see, that's just it. in 06 i could have 10 sessions open and they all would allow me to execute ldd commands.

[Jeff_M]

Make sure you use the OPEN command, not .OPEN. Open has been redefined to use AECOPEN, using this ensures that not more than one drawing is open in a session and avoids that problem.

[rkmcswain]

see, that's just it. in 06 i could have 10 sessions open and they all would allow me to execute ldd commands.

Are you sure you don't mean 2007 LDT?

[alanjt]

see, that's just it. in 06 i could have 10 sessions open and they all would allow me to execute ldd commands.

Are you sure you don't mean 2007 LDT?

quite. we are in the process of switching from land desktop 2006 to land desktop 2008.

[Jeff_M]

I have 4 sessions open right now and have no problem using LDT commands in any of them. Have you applied the Service Pack(s) for 2008?

Also, do not use Windows Explorer to locate the file and dbl. click from there. This used to work, sort of, for some users, but doesn't at all AFAIK now.

[rkmcswain]

quite. we are in the process of switching from land desktop 2006 to land desktop 2008.

My mistake. I was thinking multiple "drawings", but you said multiple "sessions"....
I'm running LDC2008 and I can open multiple sessions and execute LDT commands in each. Nothing has changed in that respect.

[alanjt]

quite. we are in the process of switching from land desktop 2006 to land desktop 2008.

My mistake. I was thinking multiple "drawings", but you said multiple "sessions"....
I'm running LDC2008 and I can open multiple sessions and execute LDT commands in each. Nothing has changed in that respect.

odd, i wonder why i'm getting that retarded error message. time to do a little digging. thanks guys.

[rkmcswain]

odd, i wonder why i'm getting that retarded error message. time to do a little digging. thanks guys.

So when you get that message, does SDI = 1?

I see that error when you start LEM and then you try and open a drawing that contains LDT objects. LDT tries to start, but can't because SDI=0.

[alanjt]

has anyone had any success with setting land desktop 2008 to open separate (multiple) sessions of autocad when you double click on a file in explorer. i was able to set it in file types (options in windows explorer) and it works. problem is, if i just open 08, it resets everything back to the dwglauncher (or if i open 06, it resets to that). is there a way to completely get rid of the dwg launcher or something?

[Keith™]

Without knowing exactly your setup, I can offer a few items that you might check ...

Do you use a network licensed version?
If Yes Then
Do you have enough free licenses to open LDT2008 (each session requires a different license)
If Yes, then I can't offer any more guidance except to open the drawings in MDI mode (single application multiple documents SDI = 0)

Is your license stand alone? If so, you only have a single license ... LDD may report the license is in use.

FYI ... Whatever version of AutoCAD is the last version to open a drawing, is the default version used to open all drawings by double clicking on the drawing file. This happens because AutoCAD sets the CurVer setting in the registry to the current version running, it could be AutoCAD.Application.15 or AutoCAD.Application.16 ... etc ... and it is referenced in the AutoCAD.Application key .. as such a double click reacts with the AutoCAD.Application key and not the other versions. Thus it could be pointing to the last version used successfully.

[alanjt]

Without knowing exactly your setup, I can offer a few items that you might check ...

Do you use a network licensed version?
If Yes Then
Do you have enough free licenses to open LDT2008 (each session requires a different license)
If Yes, then I can't offer any more guidance except to open the drawings in MDI mode (single application multiple documents SDI = 0)

Is your license stand alone? If so, you only have a single license ... LDD may report the license is in use.

FYI ... Whatever version of AutoCAD is the last version to open a drawing, is the default version used to open all drawings by double clicking on the drawing file. This happens because AutoCAD sets the CurVer setting in the registry to the current version running, it could be AutoCAD.Application.15 or AutoCAD.Application.16 ... etc ... and it is referenced in the AutoCAD.Application key .. as such a double click reacts with the AutoCAD.Application key and not the other versions. Thus it could be pointing to the last version used successfully.

it's on a network. there must be plenty of licenses because we could all open multiple sessions (and still can) in 06 version. as far as setting back to the default version for startup, the problem is that it doesn't set back to acad.exe (version 2008) it sets to the dwg launcher. is it possible to get rid of this or have it not default to it?

[mjfarrell]

First and foremost users of Land Desktop should NEVER open a DWG using any other method than the Project Navigator due to the project database. I shudder to think of all the bad (nested) project paths on your system. 
You can configure separate Icons on your desktop to write to different TEMP fie locations to work around this issue.
Also why do you need to have multiple drawings open at the same time? If not performing actual Land Desktop tasks; you could or might consider using MAP to work on the data from multiple files using a Query process and negate the need, to have multiple files open entirely.

[alanjt]

First and foremost users of Land Desktop should NEVER open a DWG using any other method than the Project Navigator due to the project database. I shudder to think of all the bad (nested) project paths on your system. 
You can configure separate Icons on your desktop to write to different TEMP fie locations to work around this issue.
Also why do you need to have multiple drawings open at the same time? If not performing actual Land Desktop tasks; you could or might consider using MAP to work on the data from multiple files using a Query process and negate the need, to have multiple files open entirely.

i would agree with you there, but we did it that way (we have a interface program that we access our files from the server, it checks the files out so only one person can edit them) for 2006 and 2005 and i'm quite certain they were doing it for 2003 (before i started working there) and before that. i have never noticed problems with the project paths (nested, etc.).

there are always instances where you need multiple files open (copy files from one to the other, check dimesions, etc. that require the ldd commands).

[rkmcswain]

Do you use a network licensed version?
If Yes Then
Do you have enough free licenses to open LDT2008 (each session requires a different license)

Not true.
Identical serial number/hostname combinations only pull a single license, no matter how many "sessions" are open.

[alanjt]

Do you use a network licensed version?
If Yes Then
Do you have enough free licenses to open LDT2008 (each session requires a different license)

Not true.
Identical serial number/hostname combinations only pull a single license, no matter how many "sessions" are open.

i was wondering about that.

[Keith™]

Do you use a network licensed version?
If Yes Then
Do you have enough free licenses to open LDT2008 (each session requires a different license)

Not true.
Identical serial number/hostname combinations only pull a single license, no matter how many "sessions" are open.

Well, if that is the case, then the company I just visited on Friday (300 seats) had better get on the phone with their reseller and find out what the heck is going on. They are having issues with multiple licenses being used on the same computer, with multiple applications open. They are using 2006 ...

[mjfarrell]

Have to wonder did they botch the admin image? Or did autodesk, send them the wrong feature codes for the license server? Some one should run a diagnostic at the server with the FLEX tools and see how many of what product IT thinks it has to offer. (It does happen, more than you might think)

[rkmcswain]

Well, if that is the case, then the company I just visited on Friday (300 seats) had better get on the phone with their reseller and find out what the heck is going on. They are having issues with multiple licenses being used on the same computer, with multiple applications open. They are using 2006 ...

Actually, I used the wrong terminology. It's not the S/N, it's the feature code in the license file. Because actually, two different products can share the same S/N.

So it's feature code/hostname combinations.

We had an issue with this and a reporting tool we were using. The reporting tool showed that multiple licenses were being pulled by the same user on the same machine for the same product - which we found was impossible (or at least it was not designed to do that...) -- we put the blame on the reporting tool since we could never catch it "in the act" of doing this - despite many tests....

[Keith™]

Actually, I used the wrong terminology. It's not the S/N, it's the feature code in the license file. Because actually, two different products can share the same S/N.

So it's feature code/hostname combinations.

We had an issue with this and a reporting tool we were using. The reporting tool showed that multiple licenses were being pulled by the same user on the same machine for the same product - which we found was impossible (or at least it was not designed to do that...) -- we put the blame on the reporting tool since we could never catch it "in the act" of doing this - despite many tests....

I don't know what other software they are using, but they are using 2006 C3D .. so are you saying there is a potential bug in the FLEX license server or is it by design? My initial recommendation to them was to utilize a single instance. That would still be my recommendation, but the issue does need to be addressed.

[mjfarrell]

Kieth I am with you; If they are using Land Desktop, they should only be launching ONE (single) instance of the application.  Otherwise I suspect they are actually using Land Enabled MAP (ACAD), and IF that is the case they are using MAP poorly, and should also only NEED one instance of MAP to work on every drawing they have on the server simultaneously.

Not that there may not be an issue with the License Server, it's feature codes, and wether it is releasing the licences correctly. There might be, howeve this seems to be more a problem with PROCESS than the program.  I am happy to assist them harness the power of MAP, should they decide to employ the tool properly.

[rkmcswain]

I don't know what other software they are using, but they are using 2006 C3D .. so are you saying there is a potential bug in the FLEX license server or is it by design? My initial recommendation to them was to utilize a single instance. That would still be my recommendation, but the issue does need to be addressed.

All I am saying is that as an example, if a user working on machine "CAD-STA1" opens LDT 2006 and then opens another LDT 2006 and then opens 6 sessions of Land Enabled Map 2006 - only one (1) license will be checked out of the LM. And if I recall correctly, LDT was included in the C3D license in the 2006 release, so that same user could open multiple sessions of C3D also - still pulling a single license from the LM.

Yes this is by design.