Topic: dwg file 42MB, but nothing in dwg!

[MP]

In my opinion Robert there is nothing bloated about the drawing per se.

Let's start with a simple point. Without an extension dictionary or xdata, a point requires about 63 bytes of storage space (entity type, coordinates, layering info, color etc).

Your drawing sports 457162 entities in modelspace.

Using a nominal 63 bytes per, that yields a drawing close to 27.5 MB (disk image will be bigger), so the 42 MB is reasonable assuming the majority of entities in the drawing are more complex than points.

Having said that, of those 457162 entities it's quite possible many of them are bogus / superfluous -- it's not too much of a reach to assume it could duplicated / superfluous instances of some of those 478 anonymous block definitions. Please note that the number beside the block name in that report identifies the number of entities defining the block, not the block instance count.

What does this statement (sslength (ssget "x" '((0 . "insert")(2 . "`*U*")))) return?

[Notsober]

I've been hearing about layer filters. We don't use them here at my office, but if there were a fat chance of that being the problem, I don't find any layer filters to delete.

I basically have a blank dwg (black background, with nothing *visible* to select) that's 42 megs and growing!

So you see nothing in model space?

You have a ton of stuff in model space

Modelspace.Count = 457162

I literally selected everything and erased it, purged it, saved it, then reopened it before I ran COUNTS. So to answer your question, yes I see NOTHING in modelspace and nothing in both paperspace layouts. There are still 6 layers left in the dwg that I cannot get rid of. So that tells me there are hidden objects that I don't know how to "appear" or at least reveal themselves.

[deegeecees]

In the Layers Dialog, set the layer filter status to "Show All Layers", then:

Thaw all layers
Turn all layers ON
Then erase all
Then Purge

I know it sounds easy, but I'm thinking you just may be missing these steps.

[Notsober]

In my opinion Robert there is nothing bloated about the drawing per se.

Let's start with a simple point. Without an extension dictionary or xdata, a point requires about 63 bytes of storage space (entity type, coordinates, layering info, color etc).

Your drawing sports 457162 entities in modelspace.

Using a nominal 63 bytes per, that yields a drawing close to 27.5 MB (disk image will be bigger), so the 42 MB is reasonable assuming the majority of entities in the drawing are more complex than points.

Having said that, of those 457162 entities it's quite possible many of them are bogus / superfluous -- it's not too much of a reach to assume it could duplicated / superfluous instances of some of those 478 anonymous block definitions. Please note that the number beside the block name in that report identifies the number of entities defining the block, not the block instance count.

What does this statement (sslength (ssget "x" '((0 . "insert")(2 . "`*U*")))) return?

returns: ; error: bad argument type: lselsetp nil

[Notsober]

In the Layers Dialog, set the layer filter status to "Show All Layers", then:

Thaw all layers
Turn all layers ON
Then erase all
Then Purge

I know it sounds easy, but I'm thinking you just may be missing these steps.

I cannot DELETE what AutoCAD says is still in use!

[deegeecees]

Check the xref, and image manager's to see if there are unreferenced images/xref's?

[T.Willey]

Does this show you anything

Code: [Select]

(vlax-for lo (vla-get-Layouts (vla-get-Activedocument (vlax-get-Acad-Object)))
(vlax-for obj (vla-get-Block lo)
(vla-put-Visible obj :vlax-true)
)
)
This should make everything visible in the drawing that has been turned invisible.

[Notsober]

Does this show you anything

Code: [Select]

(vlax-for lo (vla-get-Layouts (vla-get-Activedocument (vlax-get-Acad-Object)))
(vlax-for obj (vla-get-Block lo)
(vla-put-Visible obj :vlax-true)
)
)
This should make everything visible in the drawing that has been turned invisible.

returns a 'nil'

[Notsober]

Check the xref, and image manager's to see if there are unreferenced images/xref's?

NOBODY in my office knows how to use xref. And we certainly don't use images.

But no, there aren't any xrefs nor any images in the dwg.

[T.Willey]

Does this show you anything

Code: [Select]

(vlax-for lo (vla-get-Layouts (vla-get-Activedocument (vlax-get-Acad-Object)))
(vlax-for obj (vla-get-Block lo)
(vla-put-Visible obj :vlax-true)
)
)
This should make everything visible in the drawing that has been turned invisible.

returns a 'nil'

As it should, but did anything show up in model space?  If not, then maybe a regen.

[Notsober]

Does this show you anything

Code: [Select]

(vlax-for lo (vla-get-Layouts (vla-get-Activedocument (vlax-get-Acad-Object)))
(vlax-for obj (vla-get-Block lo)
(vla-put-Visible obj :vlax-true)
)
)
This should make everything visible in the drawing that has been turned invisible.

returns a 'nil'

As it should, but did anything show up in model space?  If not, then maybe a regen.

no, nothing showed up. Regen didn't do anything either except think too long.

[jonesy]

Are there any zero length lines or text in there? (sorry if this has already been asked)

[Notsober]

Are there any zero length lines or text in there? (sorry if this has already been asked)

I don't know. How would I check for that?

[MP]

Very interesting.

Just to be clear. You purged the drawing ad infinitum, ran the counts report, and then subsequently tried that lisp statement and it bombed?

It suggests the anonymous block definitions are referenced yet there are no anonymous block instances. Like I mentioned earlier, could be a nesting issue.

Aside from the visibility issue (Tim, to be truly effective you need to perform same on every entity in every block definition to absolutely ensure / force visibility) you can also force qtext to force display of text / attribute entities that sport no content (i.e., empty string). I remember diagnosing that very sick instrumentation drawings about a decade ago that were bloated. Qtext revealed approximately 70000 empty text entities.

Try qtext [enter] on [enter] regenall [enter] zoom [enter] extents [enter].

Poof, "OMG, it's full of stars!"

There's other maladies like zero length lines et al ... I'm intrigued Robert, care to send me a copy of the drawing? Results as confidential as you want.

I've got about 15 minutes before my wife gets home and the honey dos start.

cad labs at g mail dot com

[Notsober]

oh, and there are 3 dwgs like this now... he just informed me. Dwg files that are entirely too large. Never do we have dwgs larger than 3mb!