Autocad Proxy Entity Not Displaying
Janyce Brits
I received an AutoCAD file from another company and the Proxy Entities all display as squares. We have solved this problem on our computer that is running AutoCAD 2013 by intalling object enablers, however, on my Computer I have AutoCAD 2016 and I can not resolve the issue.
I believe I installed all that were available on AutoDESK. Perhaps I am mistaken, but I tried 3 times so far to figure it out, and have uninstalled and reinstalled and intalled the enablers each time just hoping that I could figure it out on my own. If someone knows which enabler it is that will make this work, I will try installing only that one again.
I guess you won't get an object enabler for AutoCAD 2016 for that drawing.
When I open the drawing with Civil 3D 2016 I get the message that the drawing was created with a newer version of Civil 3D, so it seems to be created by Civil 3D 2017.
When the creator of the drawing is able to open that drawing again she/he should start command -EXPORTTOAUTOCAD and create a new dwg file ... that new file should be in a state that you (with Vanially AutoCAD 2016) can open it.
Thank you for the response/info. Makes sense, but unfortunately the person we get this from is not very cooperative with our requests, but I will request again that they export it so that I can use it. What is very strange to me is that the computer with Vanilla AutoCAD 2013 doesn't have an issue opening it at all, The CIVIL 3D Enabler worked fine for us. Again thanks for the input.
On 2013 we installed all of the enablers because we receive files from a lot of different companies and they all use different versions of AutoCAD. I do believe that it was the Civil3D enabler for 2013 that worked for files from this company but it is quite possible that you are correct and it is one of the enablers that do not exist for 2016 ( i noticed as well that there are not as many). I am going to attempt to get the info from the company we got it from, hopefully they will not ignore me this time. Haha.
Now, I am able to open and see everything in AutoCAD 2016. I suggest you contact the source of the file and ask for a cleaner file and perhaps one that has the proxy objects removed by using the ExporttoAutoCAD command.
As far as I can tell, on 2013 it shows all of the proxy graphics as they should look. I am not 100% on that because on 2016 they are just giant squares/rectangles. However, there are items on the 2013 open that are not shown on the 2016 open, which tells me 2013 is displaying it correctly, but again, without me seeing the file open in a newer version of autocad with the proxy display issue, there is no real way for me to know if everything is displayed or not.
If 2013 wouldnt have opened the file correctly, I wouldnt have been searching for a solution for 2016 for so long, that is what sent me jumping through hoops. Why is 2013 working and not 2016? Very strange to me. I am contacting the original creator, and requesting again that they send files dumbed down for my use. Thank you all for the input, glad to know it is not just me/autocad 2016.
We had a problem importing an Autocad file today. After multiple attempts, we started over and selected "scan file" in the import options and it listed all the entities, including 2 proxies. We didn't know what it was and thought maybe it was the problem.
We do support import of some proxy entities. Sometimes solids are saved from MDT as proxies, and those we can handle. Sometimes polyline data is written out as proxies, and those we can also handle. We also attempt to construct geometry based upon the saved 'proxy display data' which often appears in a DWG file. In that case, we don't know what the proxy entity is/was, but we can reconstruct the lines/arcs, etc used to display it in AutoCAD.
There are some other proxy types that we just can't handle. The whole idea behind proxies is that they are application-specific entities for any program using the ARX API. AutoCAD itself can often have trouble opening these files.
I'm not sure that this will work all of the time but if you can bring your file back into AutoCad, use the "explode" function. You may need to do it a couple of times but this may allow you to bring in the proxy entities into Mastercam.
Here's the problem I had. After importing the .dwg file, if I Screen-Fit, all the entities disappear and scale factor says something like >1000000. Repaint or regenerate don't help. The entities are supposedly still there but they can't be seen or selected.
If I don't Screen-Fit, then everything seems OK. When I create a solid from the profile of the part, the solid gets created, but it's transparent, regardless of the shading settings. This file had a section line (not cross hatch) when in Autocad, but it doesn't get imported into MC. If I go back into the .dwg file and delete the section line (which shows where the section is cut), and import it into MC, then everything functions normally. This section line has to be the proxy that MC detects because if I scan the file when importing, it says 2 proxies. If I delete the section line in Autocad and import that file, the scan doesn't list any proxies.
Here's the kicker. Not all section lines from Autocad cause these problems. Another file comes in with multiple section lines and Screen-Fit works fine. Solids can also be created correctly. I'll probably send these in to QC.
I opened that file you sent in AutoCAD and was presented with a choice of whether or not to show Proxy graphics (since it recognized the file as not having been created in AutoCAD). I said 'yes' and then I did "Zoom/Extents" (i.e. "Fit") and everything went off the screen, just like in Mastercam.
Our AutoCAD import functionality creates a temporary 'dump' file in the CommonAcadData folder after a DWG/DXF file is read. The dump file created after reading this file included the following "Proxy" polyline graphics....
I have an AutoCAD file with many layers and some object data tables (ODT). FME crashes when I try to read it as a Map 3D file. I can't find out what the reason for the crash is, and it reads fine when using a regular AutoCAD reader. When I export out the objects that are just on the layers I need (most of the PR_* layers) I can then read the file as a Map 3D type. I can't tell what is causing FME to crash on the original file. I can't even read the file contents as a Map 3D type.
I don't want to have to export out the needed layers all the time, what if the issue is on the needed layers next time, and I am setting up a Server app for users to use and I can't expect them to create separate files all the time.
Can someone tell me what is causing FME to crash so that I can tell users what the issue is when they run across it. Is it something in the AutoCAD file and/or FME version? I have attached a file that is producing crashes, but that ran fine a few months ago.
I'm using 2020.0.2 and it works fine for me. At least, I'm not sure what the data should look like, but it certainly doesn't crash. Interestingly I don't see any updates between your build and mine that would account for a solution.
You could upgrade your FME (if possible) and try it again, to see if there is a better outcome, but I think in this case the best thing is to file a case directly with our support team. That way they can do more rigorous testing and talk to the developers if necessary.
So visit safe.com/support and create a new support case (select "Report a Problem"). I don't think live chat is going to help, since it's likely to need developer intervention if it's truly producing a crash.
I can't upgrade at this time. But the proxy entity reason seems likely the cause of the issue as users are drawing in Civic 3D and such and providing the files without cleaning them up. I hope that when we do have time to upgrade the newer version will resolve the issue.
Option 2 would be to use a past version of FME to run this workspace/publish to FME Server (assuming FME Server does not experience the same issue). Alternatively, if you know the build number of FME that you were using earlier this year, I'd be happy to track down the installer and put it on our ftp for you to download if it isn't already on the downloads page.
For example, software such as AutoCAD Mechanical uses custom entity technology to create objects such as walls, doors, title blocks, BOM tables, balloons, symbols, etc. When these custom entity objects are opened in the CAD platform, they are displayed as proxy entities because there are no tools to parse these objects. Some software displays them as proxy objects or "PROXY ENTITY".
When some proxy entities are selected, they cannot be copied (CTRL+C) or moved. They cannot be used as trimming boundaries to trim objects, and external references containing proxy entities cannot be bound.
Note:
In the CAD options window, you can also set the default display option for proxy graphics for custom objects, as shown in the figure below. This allows you to control whether to display the proxy info dialog box when opening a drawing and how to display proxy objects.
The AutoCAD Architecture-MEP 2014 Object Enabler makes AEC objects come to life in 2014 releases of AutoCAD, AutoCAD Electrical, AutoCAD Mechanical, AutoCAD Map 3D, AutoCAD Civil 3D, Autodesk 3ds Max, Autodesk 3ds Max Design, Autodesk Navisworks Manage, and Autodesk Navisworks Simulate. For earlier versions of these products, VIZ, and AutoCAD Mechanical Desktop please refer to www.autodesk.com\enablers for the correct version to download. This new release leverages ObjectDBX technology allowing object data created in AutoCAD Architecture or AutoCAD MEP to be accessed outside the AutoCAD Architecture and AutoCAD MEP environments.