Topic: AutoCAD Profiles? (2002-2007)

[Robb]

I was wondering if it was possible to save one standard profile for all my users to load into AutoCAD and have the same preferences. What I have been doing in the past was configuring their settings manually for each system then exporting the .arg file in case it somehow gets reset. We have had issues where profiles get switched back to default and all of their preferred setting that were attached to a custom profile were lost. Well not lost but reset to default. We notice this usually happens when they try to open a file directly from Windows Explorer. If they open AutoCAD first and then open the file from AutoCAD then the proper profile loads.

I've tried exporting profiles from one user (with proper settings) and then importing into another users AutoCAD settings but it seems that the custom paths, paths directed to the local machine and current user are still in that profile.

Any way to create one profile and use that for my entire office? one that will use that users settings/folder whenever the default folders are used in "Documents and Settings".

Thanks

[pmvliet]

Robb,

If you do a search at TheSwamp on profiles, you will find some good, helpful information.
What you are looking to do is possible. Do you current us the /p switch in your Autocad start-up
icon? This specifies the profile Autocad uses when launched.  When users double-click on a drawing
via windows explorer, Autocad uses the last used profile.

If you create a profile for all your users, you need to be aware of any customization they may have added
in or any additional search paths which may be only available to that users. ie: if your users have a home drive
just for their stuff that is not accessible to anyone else.

You have an option of setting the majority of profiles settings via lisp as an alternative.
This will make sure that all your users are using the same settings. To get around user settings or search
paths, you can set environment variables for your users.

Any more questions, ask away. I can also forward you the handout from AU 2006 where I taught a class
on profiles.

Pieter

[Robb]

Thanks so much. Sure i'll take the handout if you have it. How do I use the /p switch? I think I've tried putting the entire path to the template file to use and "kinda" got it to work but I have not used the /p switch before? Shortcut Icon has: "C:\Program Files\Autodesk Architectural Desktop 3\acad.exe", what do I change in order to get a specific profile to be used? Say the profile is called swamp.arg

Appreciate it.

[pmvliet]

"C:\Program Files\Autodesk Architectural Desktop 3\acad.exe" /p "network path\\swamp.arg"

you want quotes around it if there is a space in your network path.
If the profile is found locally, you do not need the path.

If you add swamp.arg, you will get an error notice that the profile cannot be found and Autocad will
use the current profile.

Pieter

[Robb]

Resurrecting this thread from the dead.

If I create a generic profile on my workstation and save it as an .arg file. The problem I am having is some of the profile settings are configured for the current user, in this example it is me. So paths are going to "c:\documents and settings\"current_user"\local settings\temp". Is there a code I can enter into these field of the profile template so that when this default profile is loaded into another users AutoCAD preferences, it will automatically path into that current users directory. "c:\documents and settings\"new_current_user"\local settings\temp".

- or is there a script or lisp that I could run to "add" entries and modify this .arg file?

TIA

[sinc]

The .ARG file is really just a .REG file with a different extension.  It can be edited with any text editor.

Be careful, though, because editing this file is much like editing the registry.

[pmvliet]

Robb,

When Autocad and Windows path's your login name into the search path, it may or may not be using a %%user%% variable in the background. If it isn't, you can set it up to do that if you create a windows environment variable.
The other option would be to create a lisp routine that would set your search paths as you would like them, but you still would want to consider the first two points that I made...

Pieter

[ronjonp]

You could do a find and replace of "c:\documents and settings\current_user" with %userprofile%.

You could also do this for the application data location: %appdata%\Autodesk\AutoCAD 2008\R17.1\enu

[joseguia]

Robb,
  This is what I have done in the past, I have a standard "CAD" directory on the users machines, and therefore all of the customizations DWGs,Templates,PC3s,LISP are all there , .. lets say something like:

c:\RobbCad\..
DWG\
LISP\
Plotters\

And that way the profiles should ALL point to the SAME locations for their files.

[sinc]

We do something similar, but the directories are on the server, and not on the local user's machine.  So if I change anything, the new stuff is automatically available to all users, and I don't have to do anything else.

I have to admit, the places Autodesk sticks customization files drive me completely batty.  I guess they were trying to be "XP Compliant", but it seems like a disaster to me.  It's always difficult to remember if Autodesk puts a particular item in userhome/ApplicationData, or in userhome/Local Settings/Application Data, or in allusers/Application Data, or wherever...  And now, with C3D, it's even worse, because now userhome/Application Data contains both an "AutoCAD Civil 3D 2008" directory and a "C3D 2008" directory.  What a mess.

Things got SO much simpler when I moved all customizations to a single directory on the server.

This creates a little problem for laptops.  A lot of the customizations are database files, and by default, it is impossible to use Windows Synchronization on these files.  I think we found a way to enable Windows Synchronization for it, so all the files were copied to the laptop and available when the laptop was not on the network.  But then our only laptop died, and we haven't gotten another, so I can't remember what all I did there.