Topic: Ideal 'Support Pathing' Recommendations

[M-dub]

Whether it's for a brand new installation of AutoCAD or you're just doing some major spring cleaning on the network, do any of you have suggestions on what an ideal directory structure for all of AutoCAD's support files might be? <Insert a quick gripe about pathing>

Do you keep all of your files in one directory or do you have detailed subdirectories for all different file types?  File types such as fonts, menus, templates, blocks, linetypes, hatch patterns, .ctb / .stb files, and anything else you can think of.

Do you create your directory structure to suit AutoCAD or do you have your own directory stucture mapped accordingly in AutoCAD?  ( Did that make sense? )

[alanjt]

we have separate folders for:
symbols
legends, abbreviations, notes
details
title blocks
ctb
.lin
lsp, etc.

most everything can be easily accessed through tool palettes and what folders need to be added to the support path are.

[Willie]

We also have separate folders for lisp, ctb, blocks line etc.  It just makes life easier.

[M-dub]

We also have separate folders for lisp, ctb, blocks line etc.  It just makes life easier.

Same here... just getting ready for our 2008 rollout... yes, I said two thousand and EIGHT (don't ask)

I'm just thinking about changing it a little bit from what we currently have.

One thing I was also thinking about was which files should be shared and which ones should be user-dependant.

[alanjt]

Same here... just getting ready for our 2008 rollout... yes, I said two thousand and EIGHT (don't ask)

we've had 08 since release, and we're still running 06. not exactly sure why we haven't made the switch.

[M-dub]

Same here... just getting ready for our 2008 rollout... yes, I said two thousand and EIGHT (don't ask)

we've had 08 since release, and we're still running 06. not exactly sure why we haven't made the switch.

For us, it's been Available Time vs. Priority

[alanjt]

Same here... just getting ready for our 2008 rollout... yes, I said two thousand and EIGHT (don't ask)

we've had 08 since release, and we're still running 06. not exactly sure why we haven't made the switch.

For us, it's been Available Time vs. Priority

i'm sure that' the same reason here.

[TimSpangler]

At home this is the setup:

Mappped drive T:

Block Library
Development
Drawing Procedures
Fonts
Hatch Patterns
Linetypes
Menu Files
Plot Styles
Plotters
Slides
Standard Details
Support
Titleblocks
System

At work it is somewhat similar with the exceptions of the block library.  We use adt so the block library is in the content folder.  It takes alot of drilling to get to the block through explorer but they show up in the Design Center.

We are running 06 at the moment but are slated to move to 08 soon. (crosses fingers)

[Birdy]

similar here:
mapped thusly in options-files
server\\ share\autocad\support
company standards, etc,
server\\ share\user\autocad\support
individual user custom files.

[pmvliet]

Ironically, colortable sub-folders will be seen by Autocad. If you have c:\colortable set as your path with 1 ctb file and create a sub-folder c:\colortable\temp and have 12 colortables in this folder, Autocad will see 13 colortables. Strange, but it does work this way at least in 2002, 2004, 2005 and probably 2006. Not sure about 07, 08 or 09.

Another option that you might want to play with is shortcut directories. Place these shortcut directories
in a set path location and see if Autocad looks at the shortcuts placed there as well. I've played with
that in the past, but don't remember what it did...

Pieter