Plotdate value does not automatically update

[gjburkett]

Hey all,

I am running AutoCAD 2006. What am I doing wrong? Is there a setting somewhere that I have to adjust? Currently, my fieldeval is set to 31. Anyway, I have created a titleblock that I XREF into all my drawings. I have a "PLOTDATE" field on there that I would like to use so that when I plot the drawing, the date would automatically update whenever I plot. That's not what I'm getting. Matter of fact, I don't get a date at all. Just 4 dashed lines in it's place. (See Attached File)

I'm kind of having the same problem with the "SAVEDATE" field. However, at least it gives me a date eventhough it's not correct. When I save my file, it doesn't update like I thought it would. Only when I go to the atribute, right click and go to update field or use the UPDATEFIELD command. Is there a setting that I need to change? I have attached my file if that makes it easier to figure out. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[Mike.Perry]

Hi Mark

Please note I have *moved* this thread from the AutoCAD Customization (http://forums.augi.com/forumdisplay.php?f=118) Forum to this one as I feel this particular Forum is a more appropriate place for such a topic.

Thanks, Mike

Forum Moderator

[Mike.Perry]

Hi

Have a browse of the following threads -

Date field does not update automatically (http://forums.augi.com/showthread.php?t=17562)

PlotDate field plots right, but doesnt show up in dwg (http://forums.augi.com/showthread.php?t=20300)

Have a good one, Mike

[gjburkett]

Thanks for moving it to the appropriate location. I got confused as to where it would work best.

Anyway, I did read both of those threads before posting this, but it doesn't sound like it's the same problem I'm having. Did you happen to open my .dwg? If so, did it to work for you? If you did and it worked, that means you have changed a setting and I need to figure out which setting it is. If not, than this has to be a bug, right?

[Mike.Perry]

Thanks for moving it to the appropriate location. I got confused as to where it would work best.

Anyway, I did read both of those threads before posting this, but it doesn't sound like it's the same problem I'm having. Did you happen to open my .dwg? If so, did it to work for you? If you did and it worked, that means you have changed a setting and I need to figure out which setting it is. If not, than this has to be a bug, right?Hi

No worries.

Yes I did look at the drawing file you posted.

You have to use the UpDateField command as given in "ID: TP00134", referenced in thread "Date field does not update automatically (http://forums.augi.com/showthread.php?t=17562)".

"Bug" personally I would call it an oversight...

Have a good one, Mike

[gjburkett]

Thanks Mike. That is so weird. You're right, an oversite is more like it. It almost takes away the benefits of having those fields. I mean at least I don't have to manual insert the dates everytime... I just have to use the UpDateField command. Still, why even have it come to that instead of just doing it automatically? :screwy:

Do you know if it's always been like this in past versions and this is just Autodesk trying to fix things that aren't broke?

[Mike.Perry]

Do you know if it's always been like this in past versions and this is just Autodesk trying to fix things that aren't broke?Hi

Fields arrived in AutoCAD 2005 - "ID: TP00134" - "Applies to:" AutoCAD 2005 - therefore it has always been like that...

Have a good one, Mike

[RobertB]

I am running AutoCAD 2006. What am I doing wrong? Is there a setting somewhere that I have to adjust? Currently, my fieldeval is set to 31. Anyway, I have created a titleblock that I XREF into all my drawings. I have a "PLOTDATE" field on there that I would like to use so that when I plot the drawing, the date would automatically update whenever I plot. That's not what I'm getting. Matter of fact, I don't get a date at all. Just 4 dashed lines in it's place. (See Attached File)

I'm kind of having the same problem with the "SAVEDATE" field. However, at least it gives me a date eventhough it's not correct. When I save my file, it doesn't update like I thought it would. Only when I go to the atribute, right click and go to update field or use the UPDATEFIELD command. Is there a setting that I need to change? I have attached my file if that makes it easier to figure out. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
I think there are a couple of issues here, not really related to the direction that Mike went with you. You mention that you are XRef'ing in the titleblock. And then you later mention editing an atribute [sic]. I have not looked at the drawing you posted yet, however I think the root problem is that the fields you are using sound like attributes in an xref. Therefore, the attribute's values are valid for when the XRef is saved/plotted, not the intended drawing. I believe that if you place the fields directly in the target drawing they will behave as expected.

As a side commentary, both Mike and you are mistaken in the belief that the behavior of Date is incorrect. The Date field was always meant to be a field that required a manual update. This would permit the creation of features such as a revision block, where you don't want the date to change unless an update was intentionally performed.

[Mike.Perry]

As a side commentary, both Mike and you are mistaken in the belief that the behavior of Date is incorrect. The Date field was always meant to be a field that required a manual update. This would permit the creation of features such as a revision block, where you don't want the date to change unless an update was intentionally performed.Hi Robert

I personally said it was "an oversight".

Why? - Autodesk could have (and should have in my humble opinion) added an additional value to system variable FieldEval to allow automatic updates of the DATE field.

By doing so would have offered the greatest possible flexibility to end users; this would have allowed them to select either an automatic approach or a manual approach (UpDateField command).

:beer: Mike

[gjburkett]

I guess I should have posted an update. I got it to work. Basically, the titleblock was created before I started using 2006. What I had to do was open a new drawing from scratch. Then, I copied everything from the old titleblock file and pasted it into the new file. Now I'm using the new titleblock file and ever since then, it works! Everytime I save the titleblock, the date automatically updates. Everytime I plot any of the files, it plots with the current date. The only oversight now seems to be that it has to be a new 2006 file and you can't just add the new stuff to an old titleblock.

[RobertB]

I personally said it was "an oversight".

Why? - Autodesk could have (and should have in my humble opinion) added an additional value to system variable FieldEval to allow automatic updates of the DATE field.

By doing so would have offered the greatest possible flexibility to end users; this would have allowed them to select either an automatic approach or a manual approach (UpDateField command).
That idea only makes sense if you use the Date field in a single place. In the case of a revision block, you will have multiple Date fields, with different dates, and it is unlikely that you ever want all those fields to update to the current date.

The other date fields cover all the cases where someone wants an automatically updating date field, or so I've found.

I think the real oversight is that Autodesk didn't explicitly document which fields update only via the command, which led to misunderstandings in many cases. (After all, if someone wants a date, they naturally go to the Date field first, before considering Save/PlotDate.)