Topic: How to lock a drawing before leaving ...

[Hangman]

Has anyone created a routine for locking a drawing before leaving for the evening ??
I am curious as to how it could be done as I have finished a Monday morning meeting which one of the users has had a problem (and many others have voiced their opinion) with users opening someone elses file to copy something, and ended up modifying the drawing and then saving it.
Now, mind you, these users are very new to ACAD.  They have been using Microstation for several decades and have within the last year, purchased autocad.  They are just beginning their conversion.  So they are getting frustrated and cussing up a storm.

I am wondering if a LiSP routine could be written to open a dwg, duplicated the DWL file and then close the dwg while leaving the DWL file so it couldn't be opened again until the DWL file is gone.
But I would want to copy the DWL file to somewhere on the server so if someone went and manually deleted the DWL file through windows explorer, the drawing still would NOT be editable.  The LiSP routine would have to be run again to unlock the drawing so the owner/user could edit the dwg.
Of course I (the administator) would need access to the LiSP so if the owner/user was out or dead, I would be able to unlock the drawing.
Well, my idea above won't work.

So, does anyone have any idea's or suggestions ??

Thanks.

[Lee Mac]

Password protect the drawing? just throwing it out there 

[MP]

www.cadlock.com

A routine (doesn't have to be lisp, could be c#, vb[a], python, whatever ... i.e. does not have to be done from within AutoCAD) could simply open the applicable drawings exclusively, but imo that's delicate ground for the casual programmer to stray into.

DO NOT PASSWORD THE DRAWING.

[Lee Mac]

DO NOT PASSWORD THE DRAWING.

Have I said something I shouldn't've    Sorry.

Why is it bad to do?

[Hangman]

Well, perhaps password protecting the drawing isn't a bad thing, IF ...
when the password is created, it is also written to a database on the server where I can access it.  So there is someone else who can access the drawing if need be.
I forgot to mention, this is a 'beginning user' type of problem which will continue to cause hours of lost time, and probably continue over the next 6 to 12 months (or until I can get them A: educated, and B: out of their old routines and habits from Microstation) but will eventually be a thing of the past.  Not to mention I don't have the purchasing capabilities to go after cadlock.  Thanks for the idea though.

[mjfarrell]

perhaps have then STOP using active drawings as a block library?

and explain why it is a bad thing....exiting and saving work one should not save....is a good starting point for that conversation

[Bob Wahr]

Change the attributes of the filoe and/or folder to read only.  Even better, educate your users.  The microstation excuse is BS.  For one, unless ms has changed since I used it regularly a hundred or so years ago, it constantly saves.  That being the case, they should be more aware of the problem, not less.  In either case, if they are really so stupid that they can't remember that they made changes to a file before they tell autocad to save the file, they are definitely too stupid to have a job, way too stupid to be allowed to reproduce, and quite possibly too stupid to live.

[Hangman]

perhaps have then STOP using active drawings as a block library?

and explain why it is a bad thing....exiting and saving work one should not save....is a good starting point for that conversation

I agree.  Unfortunately, I have two users specifically who are here for a paycheck.  They really don't care how the drawing is done, or what it looks like.  They have no pride in their work what-so-ever.  I know, they should be put out on the back porch, but I don't have a say in that either.

[cmwade77]

I would suggest that you create a reactor (someone else can chime in here on how to do that part, as I still haven't been able to get them right without someone pointing me in the right direction first) that automatically locks all layers when you close a drawing. This will not make it impossible to change, but make it a bit more difficult for them. Alternatively, yo would have to password protect the drawing and keep a record of the passwords somewhere else (I would recommend using one password for all drawings if you take this route, then you do not need to write them down, just not give the passwords to the users that cause problems).

[Hangman]

So the basic consensus for this dilemma is to use password protect.
The only thing I don't like about this is that I cannot open the drawing read-only.  I can't open it at all without the password.
Putting that aside, where does the information for the drawing password reside ??
I would like to put together a LiSP routine where it asks the user for a password to protect their drawing, and have that user variable (the password) be written to a document on the server as well as to the drawing (along with the users name, drawing name, etc).
That way, when the user loses his password or he is out of the office and the Boss has to get into the drawing and mess it up (I'm being facetious), I can get the password off the list on the server.
Thank you again for your thoughts and help.

[Kerry]

So the basic consensus for this dilemma is to use password protect.
< .. >

No, not for me. It's education.
If you can't convince them to behave perhaps consider making an archive copy before you leave work.

[nivuahc]

No, not for me. It's education.

Amen to that.

[mjfarrell]

So the basic consensus for this dilemma is to use password protect.
< .. >

No, not for me. It's education.

No, not for me. It's education.

No, not for me. It's education.

[nivuahc]

So the basic consensus for this dilemma is to use password protect.
< .. >

No, not for me. It's education.

No, not for me. It's education.

No, not for me. It's education.

Again, Amen to that!

[Bob Wahr]

So the basic consensus for this dilemma is to use password protect.
< .. >

No, not for me. It's education.

No, not for me. It's education.

No, not for me. It's education.

Again, Amen to that!

I'm not a praying man, but yeah, what he said.

If they are really that bad, you need to talk to management about them.  Often. until they give you the backup or power required to deal with it.