Questions & Answers

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Question

I have some crap here. Will you help?

If you are unable to describe the problem, then try to use typical solutions to problems from this page. There you will find a description of how to properly report bugs and request support. Questions and problems of AutoCAD can be discussed in the user community here, for this you do not need to own licenses, but you need to clearly state the essence of the problem.

Question

What programs do these plugins work with? What versions?

All A>V>C> plugins work with the latest versions of AutoCAD and BricsCAD. More details here

Question

Where are the plugin files? Where to write a plugin if I get it like 7z archive?

All plug-ins for AutoCAD are in the folder

c:\Users\<login>\AppData\Roaming\Autodesk\ApplicationPlugins\

Each plug-in there own folder with the extension .bundle

AppData folder is in the user's profile and is marked as hidden. If you do not see the AppData folder, it means that the Explorer does not show hidden files. You can simply type appdata in the address bar or go to Explorer settings and enable the display of hidden files and folders. Or just copy path

%APPDATA%\Autodesk\ApplicationPlugins

and past it in Windows Explorer address line.

You can install a new plug-in for AutoCAD simply writing files in ApplicationPlugins. And for remove any plug-in, you can simply erasing the “.bundle” folder (when closed AutoCAD course). AutoCAD constantly monitors what is in the folder and itself loads the new plug-ins. At the same time it copies menus-files to folder Support. It is also sometimes necessary to clean from unnecessary menu-files (.cuix and .mnr)

There are two more places from which AutoCAD itself will download bundle-plugins. This is the common folder c:\ProgramData\Autodesk\ApplicationPlugins and the AutoCAD’s own folder c:\Program Files\Autodesk\AutoCAD 2020\Plugins. In order to avoid confusion, I recommend keeping these folders empty.

BricsCAD does not work with the bundle folders and will not download anything. You can unpack the plugin in any folder and then configure the launch from BricsCAD.

If you have the system of automatic updates of plugins enabled (and it is enabled by default), then new versions of plugins will be launched from the folder:

c:\Users\<login>\AppData\Roaming\AVC\Plugin\<last version>

Question

I installed the plug-in and see new buttons in AutoCAD. But click on any of them leads to the error message "Unknown command xxx".

This problem is artificially invented for you Windows developers. Any file downloaded from the Internet can be marked as blocked. A blocked library AutoCAD will not load. Therefore, you will see a button, but you cannot run the command from the blocked plugin. So that Windows could not lock the files I publish 7z-archives, rather than ZIP. But this does not always save. You will have to find a locked file, go to properties and click the Unlock button. The main library is in each plugin directory

\AVC_xxx.bundle\Content\Windows\AVC_xxx.dll

Locate the file, open its properties, and check whether the Unlock button does not appear on the first tab of properties. Click it and restart AutoCAD.

Question

Plugin buttons / menu disappeared. But its commands can be run from the command line

If you see that the plugin itself is loaded (there is a message in the command line about loading) and you can call commands from the plugin by simply typing their name in the command line, then you have a problem loading the Partial Customization File.

You can try using the "Reload Menu" button, which is located on the "Common Options" tab in the A>V>C> Options Palette. Call the palette with the AVCOptions command. But if this does not help, try to solve the problem using standard AutoCAD tools.

In AutoCAD, everything is done from the Customize User Interface window. Call it with the _CUI command.

Expand the "Partial Customization File" branch and find a file with the name of the plugin in it. For example, AVC_PRO. If there is such a file, unload it. The unload command is in the context menu of the file. Apply the settings with the Apply button. And then reload the partial adaptation file "AVC_xxx.cuix" from the plugin folder. The plugin folder contains these files for different languages. For example, for the Avc_Pro plugin and English menus, you need to load the file:

c:\Users\<your username>\AppData\Roaming\Autodesk\ApplicationPlugins\AVC_Pro.bundle\Contents\Resources\En\AVC_Pro.cuix

After saving the settings and closing the dialog, buttons and menus should appear immediately. If not, try one more trick: switch the workspace to any other, and then back.

If this does not help, try cleaning the Support folder (see the next question) and doing it all over again.

In BricsCAD, unloading and loading partial customization files is done using the _CuiLoad or _CuiUnload command. And file has extension ".cui" , not ".cuix"

Question

At the first launch, the plugin swears at the lack of connection to the server

Indeed, new versions of plugins necessarily require an Internet connection to the server. More details about this and about ways to solve problems - in this article.

Question

I installed the new version of the plugin, but the new buttons are displayed, all of the buttons from the old version

You can try using the "Reload Menu" button, which is located on the "Common Options" tab in the A>V>C> Options Palette. Call the palette with the AVCOptions command. But if this does not help, try reinstalling the plugin "clean":

Close AutoCAD. Remove AVC_xxx.bundle plugin folder.

c:\Users\<login>\AppData\Roaming\Autodesk\ApplicationPlugins\AVC_xxx.bundle\

Next, go to the folder "Support"

c:\Users\<login>\AppData\Roaming\Autodesk\AutoCAD 2018\R22.0\enu\Support\

In this folder, it is necessary to find files and AVC_xxx.CUIX AVC_xxx.MNR and delete them.

Start AutoCAD 1 times. You should see that the old buttons have disappeared.

Now close AutoCAD and install the new version again.

If you created your own ribbon or toolbars or workspace or drag the plug-in command on the Quick Launch toolbar, you may have to adjust all manually again for each version of the plugin. For this reason, I try not to change the names of commands and keys figures. And if I do this I'll warn users in the description of the new version.

Question

I want to use the old version of the XXX plugin, but after installing another plugin, I found that all the plugins were updated. How do I get the old version back?

It is fundamentally impossible to use simultaneously different versions of different A>V>C> plugins. All A>V>С> plugins are always run from one dll file and always have the same version. By updating one of the plugins, you update the others. By installing a new plugin using the installer, you update all plugins to the latest version. This behavior cannot be changed in any way. However, you can use the automatic update system to rollback to older versions of plugins. That is, after installing the plug-in, go to the A>V>C> Options Palette on the Update Programs tab, select one of the old versions and click "Roll back". All plugins will revert to the old version.

Question

I run the plugin installer, downloaded from the Autodesk App Store. I checked that there was a plug-in folder in the folder ApplicationPlugins. But it does not work; new buttons will not appear.

Alternatively, it is possible that you have is not a pure AutoCAD, one of the add-ons (verticals), Architectural, for example. I test the plugins in pure AutoCAD and AutoCad Mechanical. And I cannot guarantee that my plugins will work correctly in other AutoCAD verticals. So I mark plugins published on Autodesk App Store only for these two options. And you will not see my buttons and commands in Architectural, Electrical etc. If you still want to take the risk, you can download the 7z archive from my site. In the archives I have always observed all verticals. Anyone who tried to use my plugins in Architectural satisfied, everything worked.

You can also self-prepare any plug-in for any verticals. To do this, you need to find PackageContents.xml file in the plugin folder, open it for editing (it is plain text, you can edit in Notepad)

Start the search parameter Platform = and replace it with the value of AutoCAD|ACADM to AutoCAD* . The asterisk means that the plug is suitable for all verticals. This text should appear in a file many times. It is necessary to replace all.

Save the file and start your AutoCAD vertical.

Question

I upgraded the Autocad to the new version and all my plugins disappeared somewhere.

Yes, when changing versions of the AutoCAD and even just when installing the service pack, the internal number of AutoCAD changes. And all the plugins in the PackageContents.xml file are written, with which specific versions of AutoCAD versions this plug-in works. You will have to urgently change all the plug-ins along with the Autocad. I try to update my plug-ins quickly and in a few days (if it does not happen terrible), then you will see new archives with new versions on this site. With the App Store, things are much worse. There the publication of the new version takes a month or more.

But in most cases you can patch the plugin yourself. After Autodesk has not changed anything in AutoCAD for a long time, it is not necessary to reprogram plug-ins, it is only necessary to change the version number. Try to do so: find the PackageContents.xml file in the plugin folder, open it for editing (this is plain text, you can edit it in Notepad) Start the search for the SeriesMax parameter and replace it with a new version of the AutoCAD everywhere. When upgrading Autocad 2021 to AutoCAD 2022, find SeriesMax="R24.0" , replace with SeriesMax="R24.1"

If such a substitution of the numbers does not work, then you will have nothing to do but wait for the release of a new version of the plug-ins.

Question

Every time AutoCAD starts, it displays the message "AVС_ххх.dll File not found". But everything works.

This message occurs if AutoCAD searches for a long-deleted plug-in. It turns out AutoCAD itself writes some plug-ins into autoload via the Windows registry. It's easy to remove. It is only necessary to find unnecessary records. Open the registry editor on section

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Autodesk\AutoCAD\R25.0\ACAD-1001:409\Applications

(Revision R25 and localization number 409 of the AutoCAD can be different in your system)

And find there all the subsections in which there is a LOADER key containing the path to the AVC_ххх.dll file.

Question

Sometimes I see some empty buttons in A>V>C> toolbars and ribbon panel. Or instead of the icons a cloud is depicted.

• • Close AutoCAD

  • Go to folder

c:\Users\xxx\AppData\Roaming\Autodesk\AutoCAD 2018\R22.0\enu\Support\

• • Delete all AVC_xxx.cuix and AVC_xxx.mnr

  • AutoCAD will create them again at startup.

Question

When I use Smart Leader I cannot seem to force it to read the part number that’s assigned by the SAW/LAY tool. I’ve tried the %n% script and neither works. Is there a way for it to list the part #?

The numbers of items that the LAY and SAW command can output (%#% substitution) are not saved anywhere. You will not be able to use them in Smart Leader. But it's not a problem. Use the Names and Numbering plugins to give the name=number for each part. I specially created these programs to solve your problem (It all included into the package AVC_KIT) Now you can display this number in Smart Leader using %n% substitution. And you can use properties Kind and Info for long description of part. They accessible in Smart Leader too (use %k% and %i% substitutions).

Question

How to replace the plugins AVC_Kit and CNC_Prepare with AVC_Pro?

You will have to undergo the procedure of re-activation. No donations are required (but not forbidden, of course)

• • Close AutoCAD and delete all AVC_xxxx.bundle folders from the ApplicationPlugins folder

  • Download from my site file AVC_Pro_xxxx_xx.7z

  • Unpack the contents in ApplicationPlugins

  • Start AutoCAD and in it any command from the menu A>V>C>

  • The activation dialog is displayed. Click the Send Request button

  • The form for sending the request will open. Your e-mail should already be written in the form. Enter a note: "Replace AVC_Kit and CNC_Prepare" and click Send Request

  • Wait for the new key to be received on your mail. Do not forget to check the mail and, possibly, the Spam folder

  • Enter the key in the activation window when it appears.

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