System variable that controls Shortcut Menus in the drawing area

This Is SHORTCUTMENU

Controls whether Default, Edit, and Command mode shortcut menus are available in the drawing area. The setting is stored as a bitcode using the sum of the following values:

0
Disables all Default, Edit, and Command mode shortcut menus, restoring AutoCAD Release 14 behavior.

1
Enables Default mode shortcut menus.

2
Enables Edit mode shortcut menus.

4
Enables Command mode shortcut menus whenever a command is active.

8
Enables Command mode shortcut menus only when command options are currently available from the command line.

16
Enables display of a shortcut menu when the right button on the pointing device is held down longer

My Lisp’s to toggle “shortcut menus in drawing area” on and off


(defun c:s0()
(command "SHORTCUTMENU""0")
(princ)
)

(defun c:s1()
(command "SHORTCUTMENU""1")
(princ)
)

Using Wildcards in the FIND and Replace in AutoCAD

Using Wildcards in the FIND and Replace in AutoCAD

---

Isaac Harper

November 14, 2014

Uncategorized

Since my last Blog was about Text features in AutoCAD, I recently got a support request from one of our clients that made us have to stop and scratch our heads for a minute on the capabilities of using the Find/Replace command with wildcards in AutoCAD. It seemed that in some cases the text would not me found and in others we would lose valuable information. So, after several trial and errors we finally were able to get the command to accomplish what the client needed (and after losing a few hair follicles along the way too!). So I thought this was a perfect time to add to last month’s Blog; so I wanted to share my findings with you…

First let me set the stage of what the customer wanted to do.
They had an AutoCAD Structural drawing with Mtext calling out the member sizes and some of them with the quantities if there were multiple beams, obviously to avoid unnecessary duplication and better drawing clarity. The naming convention was standard (i.e. W12X18 [24]) which denotes a Wide-flange beam 12” by 18” and a total count of 24 beams and so on.

Mission: The drawing consisted of hundreds of beam callouts that needed to be modified to only show the quantities and not the beam size. But beams without quantities needed to be left alone.

Note: This is a super small portion of the drawing just to show an example.

Solution: Find and Replace with Wildcards. Now the trick only works character by character, so with that said there are differences in the text (example. W8X16 Vs W16X24 has a different number of place holders.) And some of the callouts do not include a quantities so we don’t want to lose those callouts either, so logically we will have to work through several steps to address each scenario, as well as there are certain other things to be aware of to avoid making mistakes that the user could be unaware of.

Operation: In AutoCAD enter the FIND command, the FIND and Replace Dialog if you type in the following bold text in the Find field box.

W?X?? 

The results will find anything that starts with a W and any single character after (The 2^nd Character place holder) and the 3rd character has to be an X, then it will accept any characters after, but only the next 2 characters that follow the X will remain if you replace with nothing. (Meaning a voided blank box, not even a space) in the Replace field. Below I created a Matrix Chart  and summary for the client so they can easily; know what to enter in the find and know what the results of the changes would be.

With FIND, you can use several wild-card characters to broaden your search. Here is a list of the Character’s and their Definitions…

# (Pound)

Matches any numeric digit

 

@ (At)

Matches any alphabetic character

 

. (Period)

Matches any nonalphanumeric character

 

* (Asterisk)

Matches any string and can be used anywhere in the search string

 

? (Question mark)

Matches any single character; for example, ?BC matches ABC, 3BC, and so on

 

~ (Tilde)

Matches anything but the pattern; for example; ~*AB*matches all strings

that don’t contain AB

 

[ ]

Matches any one of the characters enclosed; for example, [AB]C matches

AC and BC

 

[~]

Matches any character not enclosed; for example, [~AB]C matches XC but

not AC

 

[-]

Specifies a range for a single character; for example, [A-G]C matches

AC, BC, and so on to GC, but not HC

 

` (Reverse quote)

Reads the next character literally; for example, `~AB matches ~AB

I hope this is useful information for you. I know that the Find command is one of the commands that most people forget about… So the next time you need to change a lot of text in your AutoCAD drawing, and if you know these tricks, it will drastically speed up the process… Now that is a FIND!!!

How to make AutoCAD Open Faster and Run Faster

---

Isaac Harper

March 28, 2017

2017, AutoCAD, autocad 2017, Uncategorized

A common goal for every AutoCAD user is to get the best performance out of your AutoCAD software. And some of the old tricks still hold true today–they are just done a little bit differently in the newer versions.

So, I thought I would take some time and show everyone how some of some old tricks that help AutoCAD run faster.

Reducing the Amount of Content to Load When Starting AutoCAD

Right-click on the AutoCAD desktop Icon and click Properties.

Click lick in the short and add the switch “/nologo” at the end of the line in the Target field.

Example: “C:\Program Files\Autodesk\AutoCAD 2017\acad.exe” /product ACAD /language “en-US” /nologo

Click Apply at the bottom. (You will need to have administrator permission to do this)

Click OK to exit the properties dialog box.

Setting the Priority in the Task Manager

Launch AutoCAD so the executable displays in the Task Manager.

Right-click on the Window’s start icon and open the Task Manager.

 

Click on the Details Tab.

Right-click on the ACAD.EXE file.

Click the Set Priority.

Select Realtime option.

Close the Task Manager by clicking the X in the upper-right corner of the dialog.

Setting the Hardware Acceleration

Open AutoCAD and check the Hardware Acceleration icon to see if it is ON.

 vs 

 

(If OFF, follow the steps below to turn it ON)

Right-click on the Hardware Acceleration icon and pick the [Graphics Performance] shortcut menu.

Other ways you can test to see if you are getting the best performance is to test some of the settings by turning them on and off.

For example: Open the Hardware Acceleration the same way you did in the last Item. You can also view the Tuner Log.

Additional Notes from the AutoCAD Help file:

Graphics performance tuning examines your graphics card and 3D display driver and determines whether to use software or hardware acceleration.

Features that might not work properly on your system are turned off. Some features might work with your hardware, but are not recommended because the graphics card or 3D graphics display driver that you are using did not pass the Autodesk certification process or was not tested. Features can be enabled at your own risk.

The tuner log reports which graphics card and 3D display driver were identified on your system and whether hardware effects are enabled. The Effects section displays the current state of the supported hardware effects of the current display driver.

The log file displays information about the current application driver, as well as available application drivers and supported effects. Use this information to determine whether it’s better to use an application driver for your graphics card or the software driver.

To display mapped object shadows in viewports and to use per-pixel lighting, hardware acceleration is required.

When Uncompressed Textures is turned on, the amount of video memory required to open a drawing that contains materials that utilize images is increased.

By using this effect, it may decrease the time to load the images the first time that they are accessed, but the downside is it can increase the amount of video memory necessary to display the drawing. Also, there is a reduction in the quality of the images when they are displayed.

Finally, always make sure that your Hardware (including Graphics Card) is tested and Certified by Autodesk.

And when it comes to RAM, more is always better!

Remember, the recommend amount is just to run the software, not your business!

Good AutoLISP Programming Techniques

By Rachid Khouri on May 30, 2017 04:56 pm When creating AutoLISP routines, the programmer should keep in mind not only correct syntax, but also a well-structured program that is easy to comprehend, forgiving of mistakes, easy to debug, and easy to edit. Formatting You can format manually while you type. But Visual LISP includes helpful formatting tools. They automatically insert tabs and spaces where needed to give you added clarity and help you track parentheses. You can either Format edit window or Format selection. AutoLISP ignores spaces and carriage returns, so use them to make the routine more understandable to the programmer. Unformatted routine: (defun C:TRIANGLE () (setq PT1 (getpoint “Pick a Point: “) PT2 (getpoint “Pick another point: “) PT3 (list (car PT1) (cadr PT2))) (command “line” PT1 PT2 PT3 “c”)) Formatted routine: You can set the formatting options under Tools>Environment Options> Visual LISP Format Options. Commenting Comments help you and anyone else reading the file to understand the code. Use a semi-colon in front of any line to add comments to a file. Anything on a line to the right of a semi-colon is ignored. At the beginning of the routine be sure to include a comment that states the filename, what the function does, the author, the date, and the version. You may also want to break longer functions up into stages and explain what each stage does. While just one semi-colon will do the job, some people prefer two or three for visibility. Visual LISP automatically adds three semicolons in front of any comment starting at a blank line that is not indented, two semicolons when the new line is indented and one when tabbed over to a column location or after a closing parenthesis. To automatically add comments after a closing parenthesis on a separate line, check the “Insert form-closing comment” box in the dialog under Tools>Environment Options> Visual LISP Format Options. Comment Block/Uncomment Block To use these tools, simply select the lines you want to comment or uncomment and press the button. Comment Block adds semicolons at the start of the selected lines; Uncomment Block removes the semicolons. For example, you may want to test just a portion of your routine in AutoCAD. You can highlight the undesired portion and comment it out with the click of a button. When you are ready to test this section as well, highlight it again and press the Uncomment Block tool. Commenting Example ;;;This program draws a triangle based on the two ;;;endpoints of the hypotenuse. ;;;June 14, 2012 (defun C:TRIANGLE () (setq PT1 (getpoint “Pick a Point: “)           PT2 (getpoint “Pick another point: “)           PT3 (list                          (car PT1)                          (cadr PT2) )                    ;end list ) ;end setq (command “line” PT1 PT2 PT3 “c”) ) ;end defun Naming Use symbol names that make sense. Use a name that relates to the value such as, PT1, ReferencePoint, SCALE_FACTOR, etc. Visual LISP will complete a function or symbol name if you type the first few letters and the press Ctrl + Spacebar. Repeat if you don’t come up with the right name at first. Symbols are not case sensitive but capitalization can help you differentiate between symbols and functions when you are not in Visual LISP. Remember, don’t use PI, T, or any function name such as ANGLE as a symbol name. Give understandable file names for your LISP routines. For example, not DS.LSP but DATESTAMP.LSP. Prompting Use error control such as the (iniget) and (getkword) functions. Expect the unexpected input. Make the routine as easy to use as possible. Write prompts that look like AutoCAD’s. This makes a smoother interface between your LISP routine and the main package. For example: “Choose a color: Red or [Blue/Yellow/Green]: ” Don’t forget that AutoCAD 2000 has a new prompt style. Setting Local Variables Another good clarity practice is to keep the track of the variables you use as symbols and make sure you do not leave them active in AutoCAD if they will impact another routine. This is called localizing the variables. All variables in use in a session of AutoCAD are stored in the atom list. This also includes all the AutoLISP function names. Explanation: the (defun) function options A variable can be declared exclusive to a given function. These “local” variables are declared in the same parentheses as the argument list of the (defun): (defun function_name ([arguments / local_variables]) The optional arguments are the variables that you will want permanently assigned in a drawing session. These may be symbol information that you will use in another AutoLISP routine. Or they are the ones you must supply for the function to work. The optional local_variables set aside the name and value of local variables. They will not be added to the atom-list and will only be retained in memory while the function is executing. Arguments and local variables are separated by a forward slash “/”. Local variables remain in memory only while the routine is executing. This allows the use of longer and clearer variable names. You may need to exit and restart AutoCAD to remove any existing variables. Explanation: the (atoms-family) function The (atoms-family) function returns a list of all the symbols currently defined, called the atom list. This way you can know what symbols have been defined in the drawing session. (atoms-family format [symbol]) The format argument specifies whether the symbols will be returned as symbols or strings: 0 returns a list of symbols and 1 returns list of symbols converted to strings. The optional symbol argument is used to check whether each symbol in the symbol list exists in the current editing session. If the symbol exists, the argument returns a symbol name; otherwise it returns nil. Command: (atoms-family 1 ‘(“CAR”)) (“CAR”) Example: Localized Variables ;;;MATRIX.LSP ;;;C:MATRIX – A function to create a rectangular array ;;; by total row and column distance. (defun c:MATRIX ( / ROW-NUMBER COL-NUMBER STARTPT TOTAL-ROW TOTAL-COL ROW-DIST COL-DIST SS1) (command “graphscr”) (initget (+ 1 2 4) (setq ROW-NUMBER (getint “Number of rows (—): “)) (initget (+ 1 2 4) (setq COL-NUMBER (getint “Number of columns (|||): “)) (setq STARTPT (getpoint “Starting point: “)) (initget (+ 1 2) (setq TOTAL-ROW (getdist STARTPT “\nTotal row distance: “)) (initget (+ 1 2) (setq TOTAL-COL (getdist STARTPT “\nTotal column distance: “)) (setq ROW-DIST (/ TOTAL-ROW (1- ROW-NUMBER))) (setq COL-DIST (/ TOTAL-COL (1- COL-NUMBER))) (setq SS1 (ssget)) (command “array” SS1 “” “r” ROW-NUMBER COL-NUMBER ROW-DIST COL-DIST) (princ) ); close defun About Rachid Khouri R. Khouri is a CAD Engineer, CAD manager, Corporate trainer and Educator he has worked with big industries and create training institution in Quebec (Canada) and delivers training to corporate clients in AutoCAD. He is Currently Autodesk Developper and author authorized .You can get more on AutoCAD and Autolisp/Visual lisp from TutoCAD

Cистемная переменная WHIPTHREAD

Saved from: https://mikhailov-andrey-s.blogspot.co.il/2017/01/autocad-podderzhka-mnogoyadernyh-processorov.html

На данный момент AutoCAD использует несколько ядер многоядерного процессора (multi-threading или многопоточность) только в трех случаях:
•Регенерация 2D-графики (команды РЕГЕН/_REGEN и ОСВЕЖИТЬ/_REDRAW, равно как и команды зумирования и панорамирования)
•Рендеринг изображений в MentalRay
•Открытие файла с внешними ссылками (XREF)

Во всех остальных случаях AutoCAD использует лишь одно ядро процессора и это НИКАК не исправить и не победить. Думаю, что в обозримом будущем AutoCAD не будет поддерживать многоядерность, Хотя, например, Autodesk Inventor с недавнего времени поддерживает многоядерную архитектуру для большинства рабочих операций и процессов, и эта поддержка все растёт и растёт от версии к версии.

Для управления использованием дополнительного процессора или ядра многоядерного процессора в AutoCAD используется системная переменная WHIPTHREAD, которая может принимать значение:

0 – не использовать многопоточность

1 – использование многопоточности только при регенерации чертежа

2 – использование многопоточности только при перерисовке чертежа

3 – использование многопоточности при регенерации и при перерисовке чертежа

По умолчанию установлено значение 1, желательно присвоить 3.

AutoCAD only supports multi-core technology in specific areas of the product, including:

• 2D regeneration
• MentalRay rendering

To fully benefit from multi-core processors, you need to use multi-threaded software; AutoCAD is predominantly a single-threaded application.

Send us Performance Feedback 
If you are having performance problems, consider using the Performance Feedback tool, available in AutoCAD 2015 and later.

It can be found on the Performance tab:

This tool makes it easy for you record performance and then send Autodesk a log file, which helps us diagnose program areas that need to be addressed.

---

Note: A CPU-intensive operation that uses 100% of the resources of a single-core processor only uses a maximum of 50% of the CPU for that same operation on a dual-core computer, and only 6% of each CPU on a 16-core computer. This is shown in the following image:

Due to the lack of multi-threading, AutoCAD is not capable of using more than 50% of the CPU on a dual-core computer, so there is no significant performance gain over a single CPU computer except for the areas noted above.

 

Using BigFonts..

Asian alphabets contain thousands of non-ASCII characters. To support such text, the program provides a special type of shape definition known as a Big Font file. You can set a style to use both regular and Big Font files.

Asian Language Big Fonts:
Font File Name

Description

@extfont2.shx

Japanese vertical font (a few characters are rotated to work correctly in vertical text)

bigfont.shx

Japanese font, subset of characters

chineset.shx

Traditional Chinese font

extfont.shx

Japanese extended font, level 1

extfont2.shx

Japanese extended font, level 2

gbcbig.shx

Simplified Chinese font

whgdtxt.shx

Korean font

whgtxt.shx

Korean font

whtgtxt.shx

Korean font

whtmtxt.shx

Korean font

When you specify fonts using the STYLE command, the assumption is that the first name is the normal font and the second (separated by a comma) is the Big Font. If you enter only one name, it’s assumed that it is the normal font and any associated Big Font is removed. By using leading or trailing commas when specifying the font file names, you can change one font without affecting the other, as shown in the following table.

Double-Byte Character Issues

Data Source Names
•Character codes (such as 0x??41 and 0x??61) that are used for data source names may not be handled correctly. This problem occurs when you create multiple data sources using optional names (Japanese) specified in the database configuration. As a result, some of the data source names may not be listed. When this problem occurs, you can change the name of the unlisted data source to another name.

Subobject and Object Cycling
•Subobject and object cycling using CTRL + SPACEBAR and SHIFT + SPACEBAR does not work in Chinese (PRC and Taiwan) versions of Microsoft Windows. When using the Chinese IME, these key combinations do the following: ◦CTRL + SPACEBAR toggles Chinese IME.
◦SHIFT + SPACEBAR toggles double-byte and single-byte English characters.

 

Text Display

Vertical Text for Asian Languages
•SHX fonts – Text can be created with SHX fonts and Big Fonts for vertical display in the same way as for previous releases. For best results, use the single-line TEXT command, not MTEXT. You can select a vertical style in the Text Style dialog box.

TrueType fonts – You still select fonts starting with the @ sign, but now the text is automatically rotated 270 degrees. (In AutoCAD 2005 and earlier versions, you had to manually rotate this text.) Vertical cursor movement is now supported for vertical text.

Font Display
•If the default font doesn’t support the characters you enter using the In-Place Text Editor (MTEXT command), an alternative font is usually substituted.
•CIF or MIF codes entered with the In-Place Text Editor (MTEXT command) or with the DTEXT command are now automatically converted to display the actual characters.

Updated bigfont.ini
•AutoCAD 2007 and AutoCAD 2008 are handling custom SHX Big Fonts differently than AutoCAD 2006 and earlier versions. If custom SHX Big Fonts are used in your drawing files, you need to add the SHX Big Font names and their code page ID into the bigfont.ini file in your Support folder. Please refer to the header section of this bigfont.ini file to learn how to add them.

Некоторые факторы влияют на выбор, ввод и представление на чертеже текста на разных языках.

Программа поддерживает стандарт кодирования символов Unicode. SHX-шрифт, закодированный с использованием шрифта стандарта Unicode, может содержать намного больше символов, чем описанный в системе пользователя; поэтому для использования символа, не доступного непосредственно с клавиатуры, можно ввести последовательность \U+nnnn, где nnnn представляет собой шестнадцатеричное значение Unicode для символа.

Начиная с версии AutoCAD 2007, все контурные SHX-шрифты кодируются с учетом стандарта Unicode, за исключением “Больших шрифтов”. При выборе шрифта для международных работ можно воспользоваться или шрифтом TrueType, или “Большим шрифтом”.

SHX-файлы азиатских “больших шрифтов”

Азиатские алфавиты содержат тысячи символов, не относящихся к стандарту ASCII. Для поддержки такого текста программа позволяет работать с особым типом файлов описания форм, называемых файлами большого шрифта. При этом текстовому стилю можно одновременно назначать обычный и большой шрифт.

Большие шрифты азиатских языков, входящие в продукт
Наименование файла шрифта	Описание
@extfont2.shx	Японский вертикальный шрифт (некоторые символы повернуты для корректного использования в вертикальном тексте)
bigfont.shx	Японский шрифт, подгруппа символов
chineset.shx	Традиционный китайский шрифт
extfont.shx	Расширенный японский шрифт, уровень 1
extfont2.shx	Расширенный японский шрифт, уровень 2
gbcbig.shx	Упрощенный китайский шрифт
whgdtxt.shx	Корейский шрифт
whgtxt.shx	Корейский шрифт
whtgtxt.shx	Корейский шрифт
whtmtxt.shx	Корейский шрифт

При вводе имен шрифтов в командной строке в ответ на запрос команды -СТИЛЬ предполагается, что первым вводится имя обычного шрифта, а вторым (через запятую) – имя большого шрифта. Если вводится только одно имя, предполагается, что это имя обычного шрифта, и любой связанный с ним большой шрифт удаляется из стиля. Вставляя запятые перед именами файлов шрифтов или после них, можно переназначить только один из шрифтов, не изменяя другой, как показано в следующей таблице.

Автокад поддерживает стандарт Unicode, при котором в шрифте может содержаться до 65 тыс. символов из различных языков, правда ввести такие символы непосредственно невозможно, приходится пользоваться последовательностями \U+nnnn, где nnnn – шестнадцатиричный код символа. Все AutoCAD SHX-шрифты являются Unicode. Предыдущие релизы Автокад вплоть до 13, не поддерживают эту возможность. Шрифты BIGFONT используются для представления символов алфавиты которых содержат тысячи “букв”. Пример изменения файла шрифтов:

Sub ChangeFontFiles()
    ThisDrawing.ActiveTextStyle.BigFontFile = "C:/AutoCAD/Fonts/bigfont.shx"
    ThisDrawing.ActiveTextStyle.fontFile = "C:/AutoCAD/Fonts/italic.shx"
End Sub

How to convert Lsp Files to Fas

1) Open Cad program

2) Open Visual LISP Console Editor : Command VLIDE

3) Open lsp file

4) Click File > Make application > New Application Wizard…

5) Select Expert > next

6) Click Browse

7)Find a directory > click OK

8)Fill name of FAS file > click next

9).Select Separate namespace > next

10) Click Add > select a file lsp > click next

11) Click add > select a file lsp > click open

12) Click next

13) Click next

14) Click Finnish

Or use this lisp:

;;; CADALYST 11/07 http://www.cadalyst.com/code
;;; Tip 2256: complisp.lsp Convert LISP to FAS (c) 2007 Jim Dee

;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;
; Purpose: Compiles a directory of lisp files to FAS in another folder.
; Note: Be sure to change the lspfolder & fasfolder variables below.
;
; Written by Jim Dee at http://www.caddee.com
;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;

(defun c:l2p ( / file compdate lspfolder fasfolder filelst itm)
(princ "\n***Written by Jim Dee at http://www.caddee.com***")
(setq lspfolder "c:\\temp\\") ;Modify the path in quotes for the location of your uncompiled LSP files.
(setq fasfolder "c:\\temp\\") ;Modify the path in quotes for the location of the compiled FAS files.

(initget "All Modified")
(setq compwhat (getkword "\nCompile All/Modified: "))
(if (= compwhat "All")
(vl-file-delete (strcat lspfolder "compile.upd"))
);if

;;;;;;get date of previous compile begin
(if (not (findfile (strcat lspfolder "compile.upd")))
(progn
(setq file (open (strcat lspfolder "compile.upd") "w"))
(write-line "0" file)
(close file)
);progn
);if
(setq file (open (strcat lspfolder "compile.upd") "r"))
(setq compdate (read-line file))
(close file)
;;;;;;get date of previous compile end

(textscr)
(Alert "ALERT:\n\nAfter the Visual LISP editor launches, you will need to click on the AutoCAD program window to begin compiling.\n\n\t\t\t Written by Jim Dee at http://www.caddee.com")
(princ "***Click here to begin compiling.***")
(c:vlide)
(setq filelst (vl-directory-files lspfolder "*.lsp" 1))
(foreach itm filelst
(if (> (ConvertFileDate (vl-file-systime (strcat lspfolder itm))) compdate)
(if (not (vlisp-compile 'st (strcat lspfolder itm) (strcat fasfolder (substr itm 1 ( - (strlen itm) 4)) ".fas")))
(princ (strcat "\n" itm " failed."))
)if
);if
);foreach
(setq file (open (strcat lspfolder "compile.upd") "w"))
(write-line (rtos (getvar "cdate") 2 6) file)
(close file)
(princ)
);defun

(defun ConvertFileDate (DateList / )
;Converts list containing [Year, Month, Day of Week, Day of Month, Hours, Minutes, Seconds] to a string like that returned by (rtos (getvar "cdate") 2 6)
(strcat
(rtos (nth 0 DateList) 2 0)
(RTOSAddLeadingZero (nth 1 DateList) 2)
(RTOSAddLeadingZero (nth 3 DateList) 2)
"."
(RTOSAddLeadingZero (nth 4 DateList) 2)
(RTOSAddLeadingZero (nth 5 DateList) 2)
(RTOSAddLeadingZero (nth 6 DateList) 2)
);strcat
);defun

(defun RTOSAddLeadingZero (numb digits / strnumb)
;converts a number to a string adds leading [digits] number of zeros to the left end.
(setq strnumb (rtos numb 2 0))
(while (< (strlen strnumb) digits)
(setq strnumb (strcat "0" strnumb))
);while
strnumb
);defun
(c:l2p)
 

Difference Between PRINT, PRINC and PRIN1

• The princ function sends a string after formatting any contol characters. E.g. (princ “\”this is quoted\””) will show as “this is quoted” on the command line.
• The prin1 function does the same without formatting. E.g. (prin1 “\”this is quoted\””) will show as “\”this is quoted\””. This is usually used when sending to a file so you can later use the read function to get the same value. Also say you have a list of strings, it’ll send the text to the file so a later read would produce the same list of strings – princ will ommit the quotes and the read would fail.
• The print function does the same as the prin1, but prefixes the string with a newline “\n” (which is formatted). This so that you can send a control code string to a new line in a file in one instruction, otherwise you’d have to do a princ for the new line, then a prin1 for the data.
• There’s also the prompt function which does exactly the same as princ with 2 caveats:
  • It can’t send to a file (only the command line)
  • It has to have some text to send to the command line. The princ can be used without any string – this is usually wanted when you end a defun with (princ) so nothing is displayed on the command line. Otherwise the last line of the defun will basically issue a prin1 with its value.

AutoLISP programs often need to inform the user of an error or request for input.

Messages that are displayed should try and not interrupt the flow of a command, and when they do the text displayed should be short and precise as to what the problem is or the input that is being requested. AutoLISP offers the following functions to display messages to the user:

• prompt – Displays string at the AutoCAD Command prompt.
• princ – Displays a value at the AutoCAD Command prompt or to an open file. Strings are displayed without the enclosing quotation marks.
• prin1 – Displays a value at the AutoCAD Command prompt or to an open file. Strings are enclosed in quotation marks.
• print – Displays a value at the AutoCAD Command prompt or to an open file, but a blank line is placed before the value and a space is placed after the value. Strings are enclosed in quotation marks.
• alert – Displays a dialog box containing an error or warning message.
• terpri – Prints a newline to the AutoCAD Command prompt.

The write-char, write-line, getXXX, and entsel functions can also display messages at the AutoCAD Command prompt.

When entered from the Visual LISP Console window prompt, the prompt function displays a message (a string) in the AutoCAD Command window and returns nil to the Visual LISP Console window. The princ, prin1, and print functions all display a value (not necessarily a string) in the AutoCAD Command prompt and returns the value to the Visual LISP Console window.

Note: Visual LISP is available on Windows only.

The following examples demonstrate the differences between the basic output functions and how they handle the same string of text.

(setq str "The \"allowable\" tolerance is \261 \274\"")
(prompt str)
outputs The "allowable" tolerance is 1/4"
returns nil

(princ str)
outputs The "allowable" tolerance is 1/4"
returns "The \"allowable\" tolerance is 1/4\""

(prin1 str)
outputs "The \"allowable\" tolerance is 1/4""
returns "The \"allowable\" tolerance is 1/4\""

(print str)
outputs<blank line> "The \"allowable\" tolerance is 1/4""<space>
returns "The \"allowable\" tolerance is 1/4\""

prin1
(prin1 [expr [file-desc]])
Arguments
expr A string or AutoLISP expression. Only the specified expr is
printed; no newline or space is included.
file-desc A file descriptor for a file opened for writing.
Return Values
The value of the evaluated expr. If called with no arguments, prin1 returns a
null symbol.
Returns the UCS 3D point at a specified angle and distance from a point
Prints an expression to the command line or writes an expression to an open file
142 | AutoLISP Reference
Used as the last expression in a function, prin1 without arguments results in
a blank line printing when the function completes, allowing the function to
exit “quietly.”
Examples
Command: (setq a 123 b '(a))
(A)
Command: (prin1 'a)
AA
The previous command printed A and returned A.
Command: (prin1 a)
123123
The previous command printed 123 and returned 123.
Command: (prin1 b)
(A)(A)
The previous command printed (A) and returned (A).
Each preceding example is displayed on the screen because no file-desc was
specified. Assuming that f is a valid file-descriptor for a file opened for writing,
the following function call writes a string to that file and returns the
string:
Command: (prin1 "Hello" f)
"Hello"
If expr is a string containing control characters, prin1 expands these characters
with a leading \, as shown in the following table:
Control codes
Code Description
\\ \ character
\" " character
\e Escape character
\n Newline character
\r Return character
\t TAB character
\nnn Character whose octal code is nnn
princ | 143
The following example shows how to use control characters:
Command: (prin1 (chr 2))
"\002""\002"
SEE ALSO “Displaying Messages” in the Visual LISP Developer’s Guide.
princ
(princ [expr [file-desc]])
This function is the same as prin1, except control characters in expr are
printed without expansion. In general, prin1 is designed to print expressions
in a way that is compatible with load, while princ prints them in a way that
is readable by functions such as read-line.
Arguments
expr A string or AutoLISP expression. Only the specified expr is
printed; no newline or space is included.
file-desc A file descriptor for a file opened for writing.
Return Values
The value of the evaluated expr. If called with no arguments, princ returns a
null symbol.
SEE ALSO “Displaying Messages” in the Visual LISP Developer’s Guide.
print
(print [expr [file-desc]])
This function is the same as prin1, except it prints a newline character before
expr, and prints a space following expr.
Arguments
expr A string or AutoLISP expression. Only the specified expr is
printed; no newline or space is included.
Prints an expression to the command line, or writes an expression to an open file
Prints an expression to the command line, or writes an expression to an open file
144 | AutoLISP Reference
file-desc A file descriptor for a file opened for writing.
Return Values
The value of the evaluated expr. If called with no arguments, print returns a
null symbol.

An Introduction to ‘acetutil’ Functions

The acetutil modules (acetutil.arx, acetutil*.fas) provide a number of utility functions which can be called from LISP.

This documentation covers all functionality present in version 1.37 of acetutil.arx, along with a few functions provided in acetutil.fas. Functions that do not have a specific library designation appear in acetutil.arx.

Entity Functions

acet-ent-geomextents ename) Returns the geometric extents of the given object. Arguments ename

The entity name of an object.  Return Values A list containing two points (such as ((1.0 1.0 0.0) (2.0 2.0 0.0))) describing the geometric extents. 

Error Handling Functions

(acet-error-init args) Error handler. Note: This function should be paired with (acet-error-restore) below to encapsulate error handling for LISP functions or commands that may be aborted by the user. Arguments args

A list containing up to three elements (described below).  Arguments are provided in a list to allow for future enhancements. The list can currently be nil or can contain up to three elements:  A list containing pairs of system variable names along with an initial value for each variable, in the form:  (“sysvar” value “sysvar” value …)  The (acet-error-init) function will preserve the initial value of these variables (see (acet-error-restore) below) and then set the new values.  A flag value indicating whether UNDO should be used as part of the error handling operation. This value can be one of:

• nil Do not use undo. 

• 0 Enable Undo and place begin and end marks, but do not issue the UNDO command in the event of an error. 

• 1 Enable Undo and use the UNDO command in the event of an error. 

 

A quoted function call that will be executed as part of the error handling operation. A nil argument indicates that no additional error handling is required.

  Return Values nil  Example (acet-error-init ‘((“CMDECHO” 0) 1 (if ename (redraw ename 4)) ) )

(acet-error-restore) Reset error handling.  This function restores the values saved by the matching call to (acet-error-init). It should be called after all user input has been completed. This function ends with a (princ) call for a quiet finish.  Return Values nil Library: acetutil.fas 

File Functions

(acet-file-attr filename [attr]) Gets or sets the protection attributes of a specified file or directory. Arguments filename: Name of the file or directory.  attr: If provided, a combination of one or more attribute flags.  Return Values Returns the new or existing attributes, or -1 on error. Note: The following pre-defined constants are provided: 1 = Acet:READONLY 2 = Acet:HIDDEN 4 = Acet:SYSTEM 16 = Acet:DIRECTORY 32 = Acet:ARCHIVE Library: acetutil.arx 

(acet-file-chdir directory) Changes the current working directory. Arguments directory: New directory name.  Return Values Returns a string containing the expanded name of the new current working directory. Library: acetutil.arx 

(acet-file-copy from to [force]) Copy a file. Arguments from: Name of file to copy.  to: Name of new file.  force: If provided and non-nil, forces any existing file to be overwritten.  Return Values Returns T on success. Note: This function will not overwrite read-only files. The read-only flag can be cleared with (acet-file-attr). Library: acetutil.arx 

(acet-file-cwd) Returns the current working directory. Return Values A string containing the current working directory name. Library: acetutil.arx 

(acet-file-dir pattern [attributes] [starting-directory]) Locate files. Arguments pattern: A file specification, which may include wildcards and/or a directory name.  attributes: If provided, contains a bitmap of file attributes to match (see (acet-file-attr).  starting-directory: If provided, this function will also search subdirectories for files that match pattern: (which can also contain a directory name). Uses the current working directory (see (acet-file-cwd)) if a relative path is provided.  Return Values A list of matching file names, or nil if no matching files are found. Library: acetutil.arx 

(acet-file-mkdir directory) Creates a new directory. Arguments directory: New directory name.  Return Values Returns T on success. Library: acetutil.arx 

(acet-file-move from to) Moves or renames files. Arguments from: Original file name or location.  to: New file name or location.  Return Values Returns T on success. Library: acetutil.arx 

(acet-file-remove filespec [force]) Deletes one or more files. Arguments filespec: File specification, which may include wildcards.  force: If provided and non-nil, indicates that even read-only files should be deleted.  Return Values The number of files removed. Library: acetutil.arx 

(acet-file-rmdir directory) Changes the current working directory. Arguments directory: Name of directory to remove.  Return Values Returns T on success. Library: acetutil.arx 

Help Functions

(acet-help [topic]) Display a help page. Arguments topic: A keyword that identifies the help page to display. If not supplied, the Table of Contents will be displayed.  Return Values nil 

(acet-help-trap command [topic [file]]) Install a F1 key monitor. Arguments command: The name of the command to monitor, as would be passed to (setfunhelp).  topic: The topic name in the help file. If this argument is nil or not supplied, any help trap attached to command will be released.  file: The name of the help file to use. If not provided, acet.chm is used.  Return Values T if successful. 

Initialization File Functions

(acet-ini-get inifile [section [key [default]]]) Retrieve data from INI file. Arguments inifile: Name of the INI file to search.  section: Section name within the INI file.  key: Key name within the section.  default: Default value to return if key cannot be located.  Return Values The return value depends on the parameters provided. If only inifile is given, this function returns a list of section names (or nil if inifile cannot be opened). If a section name is given, a list of key names will be returned. If a key is given, returns the value associated with the key (or default, if the key cannot be located). Returns nil if no information can be found. 

(acet-ini-set inifile section [key [value]]) Write data to INI file. Arguments inifile: Name of the INI file to modify.  section: A string containing the name of the section for the given data. If the section does not exist, it will be created.  key: A string containing the name of the key to be associated with a value. If the key does not exist in the given section, it will be created. If this parameter is not given, the entire section (including all entries within the section) will be deleted.  value: A string to be assigned to key. If this parameter is not given, the key will be deleted.  Return Values T on success.

Registry Functions

(acet-reg-del key [name]) Delete key or value from Registry. Arguments key: Key name to delete. Will not delete subkeys.  name: If given, value name to delete.  Return Values T on success. 

(acet-reg-get key [name]) Return value from Registry. Arguments key: Key name to retrieve.  name: If given, value name to retrieve.  Return Values The selected value, or nil if the entry cannot be located. 

(acet-reg-prodkey) Return current product key. Return Values The current product key (Registry path for the current installation). 

(acet-reg-put key [name value]) Write a Registry key or value. Arguments key: Key name to use.  name: If given, value name to write.  value: If given, value to assign to name.  Return Values T on success. 

Selection Set Functions

(acet-ss-drag-move ss pt [prompt] [highlight [cursor]]) Drag a selection set to change location. Arguments ss: The selection set to drag.  pt: The base point.  prompt: A message to display before dragging is started.  highlight: If given, causes a rubber-band line to be drawn from pt to the current cursor position while dragging; this parameter can be nil to draw a rubber-band line in the inverse of the screen color, or non-nil to draw a highlighted line.  cursor: The cursor form to display while dragging (0=crosshairs, 1=no cursor, 2=target).  Return Values Normally returns the selected point, but will honor initget settings and can return arbitrary text or keywords. Returns nil if the dragging operation is aborted. Note: The acet-ss-drag-move function does not move the selection set, but allows selection of a new position while showing how the result will appear. 

(acet-ss-drag-rotate ss pt [prompt] [highlight [cursor]]) Drag a selection set to change rotation. Arguments ss: The selection set to drag.  pt: The base point.  prompt: A message to display before dragging is started.  highlight: If given, causes a rubber-band line to be drawn from pt to the current cursor position while dragging; this parameter can be nil to draw a rubber-band line in the inverse of the screen color, or non-nil to draw a highlighted line.  cursor: Gives the cursor form to display while dragging (0=crosshairs, 1=no cursor, 2=target).  Return Values The selected rotation value, or nil if dragging is aborted. Note: The acet-ss-drag-rotate function does not rotate the selection set, but allows selection of a rotation value while showing how the result will appear. 

(acet-ss-drag-scale ss pt [prompt] [highlight [cursor]]) Drag a selection set to change scale. Arguments ss: The selection set to drag.  pt: The base point.  prompt: A message to display before dragging is started.  highlight: If given, causes a rubber-band line to be drawn from pt to the current cursor position while dragging; this parameter can be nil to draw a rubber-band line in the inverse of the screen color, or non-nil to draw a highlighted line.  cursor: Gives the cursor form to display while dragging (0=crosshairs, 1=no cursor, 2=target).  Return Values The selected scale factor, or nil if dragging is aborted. Note: The acet-ss-drag-scale function does not scale the selection set, but allows selection of a scaling factor while showing how the result will appear. 

String Functions

acet-str-collate left right [matchCase]) Compare for sort order. Arguments left, right: The two strings to compare.  matchCase: If provided and non-nil, indicates that case sensitive comparison should be used. Normally case is ignored.  Return Values Returns -1, 0 or 1 to indicate relative sorting order (left < right, left == right and left > right, respectively). Displays a usage message if either of the first two arguments are not strings. Note: The acet-str-collate function uses multibyte comparison appropriate for the current codepage. 

(acet-str-equal left right [matchCase]) Compare strings for equality. Arguments left, right: The two strings to compare.  matchCase: If provided and non-nil, indicates that case sensitive comparison should be used. Normally case is ignored.  Return Values Returns T if the strings are identical, otherwise nil. Also returns nil if either of the first two arguments are not strings. Displays a usage message if less than two arguments are supplied. Note: The acet-str-equal function uses multibyte comparison appropriate for the current codepage. 

(acet-str-find find string [ignoreCase [useRegExp]]) Find substring in string. Arguments find: The substring to locate.  string: The string to search.  ignoreCase: If provided and non-nil, indicates that case insensitive comparisons should be performed.  useRegExp: If provided and non-nil, indicates that regular expressions should be used for searching.  This function uses the following definitions for regular expressions:  . Matches any single character.  * Postfix. Preceeding item 0 or more times.  + Postfix. Preceeding item 1 or more times.  ^ Matches empty string at beginning of text.  $ Matches empty string at end of text.  [chars] Matches any character in the given class. If the first character is ^, match any character not in the given class. A range of character may be specified by first-last, as in [A-Z] to specify upper case alphabetic characters.  \( Mark the beginning of a subexpression.  \) Mark the end of a subexpression.  \digit Matches a repeat of the text matched earlier by the subexpression inside the nth opening parenthesis. Subexpressions may also be referenced in replace strings.  Return Values The 1-based index if found, or nil if not found. 

(acet-str-format format [arg …]) Format a message with embedded arguments. Arguments format: A string containing plain text and argument specifiers. Argument insertions appear in the format string as the percent (%) character followed by an argument number.  arg …: A list of argument values to be converted and inserted. Only INT, REAL and STR arguments can be converted. Other argument types must be converted to one of these three. REAL arguments are converted using the current LUNITS and LUPREC values; you may wish to first use the (angtos) or (rtos) functions for proper display.  Return Values A string with appropriate substitutions.  Example The call:  (acet-str-format “%1/%2 or %2/%1.” “one” “two”) will return the string:  “one/two or two/one.”

(acet-str-replace find replace string [ignoreCase [useRegExp [count]]])

Replace one substring with another. Arguments find: The substring to locate.  replace: The replacement substring.  string: The string to search.  ignoreCase: If provided and non-nil, indicates that case insensitive comparisons should be performed.  useRegExp: If provided and non-nil, indicates that regular expressions should be used for searching.  count: The number of times to perform the replacement in string. If count is zero or not supplied then all occurrences are replaced.  This function uses the following definitions for regular expressions:  . Matches any single character.  * Postfix. Preceeding item 0 or more times.  + Postfix. Preceeding item 1 or more times.  ^ Matches empty string at beginning of text.  $ Matches empty string at end of text.  [chars] Matches any character in the given class. If the first character is ^, match any character not in the given class. A range of character may be specified by first-last, as in [A-Z] to specify upper case alphabetic characters.  \( Mark the beginning of a subexpression.  \) Mark the end of a subexpression.  \digit Matches a repeat of the text matched earlier by the subexpression inside the nth opening parenthesis. Subexpressions may also be referenced in replace strings.  Return Values Returns the resultant string with replacements (if any) made. 

(acet-str-wcmatch string pattern [matchCase]) Performs a wild-card match similar to (wcmatch), but allows control over case sensitivity. Arguments string: The string to search.  pattern: The wildcard pattern to match. See (wcmatch) for details.  matchCase: If provided and non-nil, indicates that case sensitive comparison should be used.  Return Values T if string and pattern match. 

System Functions

(acet-sys-beep sound) Make a noise. Arguments sound: A sound selector value. Can be one of: -1: Standard beep using computer speaker  0: SystemDefault 16: SystemHand 32: SystemQuestion 48: SystemExclamation 64: SystemAsterisk  Return Values nil 

(acet-sys-command shell-command) Run a command in a shell. Waits for the shell to complete execution before returning. Arguments shell-command: A string containing the command to execute.  Return Values An integer containing the exit code from the shell command, or -1 on error. 

(acet-sys-foreground) Forces AutoCAD’s main window to be the topmost window and to receive focus. Return Values nil 

(acet-sys-keystate keycode) Check state of virtual key. Arguments keycode: The code for the virtual key to test.  Return Values The status of the specified virtual key: If the high-order bit is 1, the key is down; otherwise, it is up. If the low-order bit is 1, the key is toggled. A key, such as the CAPS LOCK key, is toggled if it is turned on. The key is off and untoggled if the low-order bit is 0. A toggle key’s indicator light (if any) on the keyboard will be on when the key is toggled, and off when the key is untoggled.

(acet-sys-lasterr) Report last error. Return Values Returns the error code of the last error encountered by routines in the acetutil library.

(acet-sys-procid) Returns the current process identifier. Return Values The current process identifier. 

(acet-sys-sleep msecs) Delay, allowing other processes to run. Arguments msecs: The (minimum) number of milliseconds to release control.  Return Values nil Note: The system may delay the current process for more than the requested amount of time. 

(acet-sys-spawn flags command [argument …]) Execute an external program. Arguments flags: A bitmap of flags indicating how the external program should be executed. Supported flags: 1 = wait for the program to complete 2 = run program minimized  command: A string containing the name of the external program.  argument …: A set of arguments to be passed to the external program.  Return Values If this function waits for program completion the return value is the exit code from the program, otherwise the return value is the process ID for the new process. See (acet-sys-term) and (acet-sys-wait). 

(acet-sys-term processID) Terminate the given process. Arguments processID: The process ID of the process to terminate.  Return Values T on success. 

(acet-sys-wait processID [time]) Wait for a process to complete. Arguments processID: The process ID for the sub-process.  time If given, the number of milliseconds to wait.  Return Values The exit code from the given process, or -1 if an error occurred or time expired. 

User Interface Functions

(acet-ui-message message ]) Displays a message box. Arguments message: A text string containing the message to display. Multiple lines may be separated by ‘ ‘ characters.  caption: If provided, the caption for the dialog. Defaults to “Error”.  type: If provided, a bitmap of various flags used to achieve different effects.  The following type flags are available:  Base types 0 = Acet:OK 1 = Acet:OKCANCEL 2 = Acet:ABORTRETRYIGNORE 3 = Acet:YESNOCANCEL 4 = Acet:YESNO 5 = Acet:RETRYCANCEL Icons 16 = Acet:ICONSTOP 32 = Acet:ICONQUESTION 48 = Acet:ICONWARNING 64 = Acet:ICONINFORMATION Default buttons 0 = Acet:DEFBUTTON1 256 = Acet:DEFBUTTON2 512 = Acet:DEFBUTTON3 768 = Acet:DEFBUTTON4 Return Values Returns one of the following values:  1 = Acet:IDOK 2 = Acet:IDCANCEL 3 = Acet:IDABORT 4 = Acet:IDRETRY 5 = Acet:IDIGNORE 6 = Acet:IDYES 7 = Acet:IDNO 8 = Acet:IDCLOSE 9 = Acet:IDHELP Library: acetutil.arx 

(acet-ui-pickdir [message [startDir ]]) Displays a directory selection dialog. Arguments message: If provided, a message to be displayed in the space above the directory tree control.  startDir: If provided, the initial directory to be selected.  caption: If provided, the dialog caption.  Return Values A string containing the name of the selected directory, or nil if the dialog was canceled. Library: acetutil.arx 

(acet-ui-progress [label [max]]) (acet-ui-progress current) Display progress meter. Arguments label: If provided, a text string that will appear as a label for the progress meter.  max: If provided, the maximum value in the range to be displayed (starting with 0).  current: If provided, gives the current value, which should be less than max; positive values are absolute while negative values increment the current position.  If no parameters are provided, the progress meter is removed.  Return Values The return value depends on the action performed:  Initialize: returns T if successful, otherwise NIL.  Update: returns current.  Restore: returns NIL.  Example: ;; init meter (acet-ui-progress “Working:” (length theList)) ;; process each item (foreach item theList ;; perform action (doSomethingTo item) ;; update meter by one item (acet-ui-progress -1) ) ;; kill meter (acet-ui-progress) Library: acetutil.arx 

(acet-ui-status [message ]) Displays a modeless status dialog. Arguments message: If provided, a text string to be displayed in the dialog.  caption: If provided, a text string to be used as the dialog caption.  If no parameters are provided, the dialog is hidden.  Return Values nil Note: The status dialog may be moved by the user. It will remember it’s position and contents during the current session. Library: acetutil.arx 

(acet-ui-txted [text ]]) Display a multi-line text editing dialog. Arguments text: If provided, a text string to be displayed as the initial contents. Lines can be separated with “\r\n” sequences.  caption: If provided, text to be used as the dialog caption.  note: If provided, an additional text string to be displayed above the text editing control.  Return Values A string containing the text contents if the user presses the OK button, or nil if the user presses the Cancel button. Library: acetutil.arx 

Utility Functions

(acet-util-ver) Identify module version. Return Values Returns a REAL value containing the current version number of the acetutil.arx library.

 

Drawing preview is not visible within the Select File dialog box when using AutoCAD

Saved from: https://knowledge.autodesk.com/support/autocad/troubleshooting/caas/sfdcarticles/sfdcarticles/Drawing-preview-is-not-visible-within-the-Select-File-dialog-box-when-using-AutoCAD.html

 

Applies to AutoCAD 2014, AutoCAD 2015, AutoCAD Architecture 2014, AutoCAD Architecture 2015, AutoCAD Civil 3D 2014, AutoCAD Civil 3D 2015, AutoCAD Electrical 2014, AutoCAD Electrical 2015, AutoCAD LT 2014, AutoCAD LT 2015, AutoCAD MEP 2014, AutoCAD MEP 2015, AutoCAD Map 3D 2014, AutoCAD Map 3D 2015, AutoCAD Mechanical 2014, … Applies to AutoCAD 2014, AutoCAD 2015, AutoCAD Architecture 2014, AutoCAD Architecture 2015, AutoCAD Civil 3D 2014, AutoCAD Civil 3D 2015, AutoCAD Electrical 2014, AutoCAD Electrical 2015, AutoCAD LT 2014, AutoCAD LT 2015, AutoCAD MEP 2014, AutoCAD MEP 2015, AutoCAD Map 3D 2014, AutoCAD Map 3D 2015, AutoCAD Mechanical 2014, AutoCAD Mechanical 2015, AutoCAD Plant 3D 2014, and AutoCAD Plant 3D 2015

 

Issue:

In the open dialog box, the drawing preview does not show up (see the image below).

Causes:

Registry key for PreviewVisible set to 0.

Solution:

To resolve this, the registry key must be changed back to 1.  Each AutoCAD program has its own registry key.  The key format is as follows:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Autodesk\AutoCAD\Rxx.x\ACAD-xxxx:xxx\Profiles\<<xxx>>\Dialogs\Select File

In addition, most of the AutoCAD programs will have multiple profiles.  For instance, AutoCAD Mechanical comes default with both the “<<ACADMPP>>” and “<<Vanilla>>” profile.  This is so a user can decide to run AutoCAD Mechanical as Core AutoCAD (or Vanilla AutoCAD).  It is suggested that the registry keys for all program profiles be checked.  This can be done by (using AutoCAD Civil 3D 2014 as an example)

1.      Close Civil 3D 2014 and go to Start | Run
2.      Type regedit and press OK
3.      Select the following; HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Autodesk\AutoCAD\R19.1\ACAD-D000:409\Profile\<<C3D_Imperial>>\Dialogs\Select File
4.      Double click “PreviewVisible” on the right side of the window to bring up the Edit DWORD (32-bit) Value box
5.      If the Value is set to 0, change it to 1 and press OK and launch Civil 3D 2014 and you should be able to check the option for Initial View and that should display the preview of the drawing selected
6.      If the Value was set to 1, change it to 0 and press OK
7.      Launch Civil 3D 2014 and check the Open dialog window, the entire right pane should be gone
8.      Exit Civil 3D 2014 and repeat steps 1 to 5, and change the Value back to 1 and press OK
9.      Launch Civil 3D 2014 and see if the program now shows preview

For AutoCAD Mechanical 2014 English version, it should be:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Autodesk\AutoCAD\R19.1\ACAD-D005:409\Profiles\<<ACADMPP>>\Dialogs\Select File

See Also:

Other Registry Keys:

• AutoCAD 2014: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Autodesk\AutoCAD\R19.1\ACAD-D001:409\Profiles\<<Unnamed Profile>>\Dialogs\Select File
• AutoCAD Architecture: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Autodesk\AutoCAD\R19.1\ACAD-D004:409\Profiles\AutoCAD Architecture (Global)\Dialog\Select File
• ​AutoCAD MEP 2014: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Autodesk\AutoCAD\R19.1\ACAD-D006:409\Profiles\AutoCAD MEP (Global)\Dialog\Select File
• AutoCAD Plant 3D 2014: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Autodesk\AutoCAD\R19.1\ACAD-D017:409\Profiles\<<Unnamed Profile>>\Dialogs\Select File
• AutoCAD P&ID 2014: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Autodesk\AutoCAD\R19.1\ACAD-D016:409\Profiles\<<Unnamed Profile>>\Dialog\Select File
• AutoCAD Electrical 2014: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Autodesk\AutoCAD\R19.1\ACAD-D007:409\Profiles\<<ACADE>>\Dialog\Select File
• AutoCAD LT 2014: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Autodesk\AutoCAD LT\R20\ACADLT-D001:409\Profiles\<<Unnamed Profile>>\Dialog\Select File