Undo limiting to one undo

[mjsregister]

The Undo control setting is set to ALL. Yet, I can only perform one undo.

AutoCAD ADT 2004.

Thanks.
Matthew

[mjfarrell]

Curious, do you get different results
when you use UNDO than you get when
you use (U) for undo?

[BrenBren]

Check your command line. There may be an comment there, something to the effect of cannot undo, type back to continue.

I can't remember the exact words, but if something like that is there, do what it says, it will fix the problem.

Also, does this always occur, or just in this particular drawing?

[dfuehrer]

Hello all,

Has anyone ever gotten an answer here that actually works for this problem? I have been reading the post relevant to this subject, and see lots of people asking questions, but few, if any answers!

I just got back from AU 2004, where AUGI's forums were touted as being a WONDERFUL resource for this sort of thing.

I too, have the UNDO command the originator of this thread has. Is there anyone out there who can help mjsregister, as well as myself?? it appears to be a global setting, and I have tried all the options at the command prompt after the UNDO command is typed. System variables UNDOCTL and UNDOMARKS are set to "read only". Apparently, I should change the settings at the command line after typing UNDO, this however does no good.

BTW, I am using plain vanilla AutoCAD 2004. Help.

Don

[jhohman]

I have always known there to be a difference between simply typing "U" and typing "undo". The "undo" will allow you to control more things than typing "u". The AutoCAD help file explains the difference all-be-it a bit bleak:

REDO Reverses the effects of previous UNDO or U commands
U Reverses the most recent operation
UNDO Reverses the effect of commands

System Variables
UNDOCTL Stores a bitcode indicating the state of the Auto and Control options of the UNDO command
UNDOMARKS Stores the number of marks placed in the UNDO control stream by the Mark option

I personally have never found much use for the "undo" command. I mean seriously, how many people at any given time know how many commands they need to undo. :screwy: I personally have too much to pay attention to to allow the extra space in my brain to be used for counting the amount of commands I have used. I simply use the default hot-key for undoing an action in AutoCAD, "u". :grin: But hey, perhaps there is some usability to the "undo", I haven't found it though.

[mjfarrell]

I think that these users are attempting to use UNDO as a feature.
Undo is NOT a design tool, it is a way of recovering basically from
bad decisions.
If one want to use the 'features' of undo one must think ahead and
set beginning and end marks so that they can undo to those mileposts.

One would almost be better served in establishing a baseline for the design.
And then perform multiple save-as to design alternatives in these
files built on the base. In the end keeping only the good or approved design
alternative and deleting those other files.
This is the essence of what you are trying to do with undo and not exactly
what it is designed to do. Think of UNDO as an electronic eraser
for getting rid of your bad choice, not as a design tool because it is not that.

[dfuehrer]

OK then,

Aside from the fact that I am not using AutoCAD the way mjfarrell thinks I should be using it, how do I regain the functionality of the UNDO command to go back more than one step? Please don't tell me that AutoCAD can't be configured that way, as I know it is already configured that way, right out of the box.

Still waiting for that answer!

Don

[thomas.stright]

I personally have never found much use for the "undo" command. I mean seriously, how many people at any given time know how many commands they need to undo. :screwy: I personally have too much to pay attention to to allow the extra space in my brain to be used for counting the amount of commands I have used. I simply use the default hot-key for undoing an action in AutoCAD, "u". :grin: But hey, perhaps there is some usability to the "undo", I haven't found it though.

Could a lisp be written to count how many commands have been issued since the last undo???
just a thought....

[mjfarrell]

Don, sorry if you took my suggesting that your method
might be part of the problem. I was merely offering an
alternative for you to consider, but by all means use
AutoCAD any way you want to.

Now as to UNDO.....

With AutoCAD, you can backtrack your recent actions using one of several methods.

Undo a Single Action
The simplest method of backtracking is to use Undo on the Standard toolbar or theU command to undo a single action. Many commands include their own U (undo) option so that you can correct mistakes without leaving the command. When you are creating lines and polylines, for example, enter u to undo the last segment.

Undo Several Actions at Once
Use the Mark option ofUNDO to mark an action as you work. You can then use the Back option of UNDO to undo all actions that occurred after the marked action. Use the Begin and End options of UNDO to undo actions you've defined as a group.

You can also undo several actions at once with the Undo list on the Standard toolbar.

UNDOCTL System Variable Concepts Procedures Reference
(Read-only)
Type: Integer
Not saved
Stores a bitcode indicating the state of the Auto and Control options of theUNDO command. It's the sum of the following values:

0 UNDO is turned off
1 UNDO is turned on
2 Only one command can be undone
4 Auto is turned on
8 A group is currently active


This from my command line:

UNDOCTL = 5 (read only)
Command: setvar
Enter variable name or [?] <UNDOCTL>:

UNDOCTL = 5 (read only)
Command: undo
Enter the number of operations to undo or [Auto/Control/BEgin/End/Mark/Back]
<1>: beg

Command: undoctl

UNDOCTL = 13 (read only)

Notice the Value does change despite being READ ONLY?

UNDOMARKS System Variable Concepts Procedures Reference
(Read-only)
Type: Integer
Not saved
Stores the number of marks placed in theUNDO control stream by the Mark option. The Mark and Back options are not available if a group is currently active.



Correct Mistakes (even Autodesk deems this to be the use of UNDO not just me)
To undo a specific number of actions

At the Command prompt, enter undo.
On the command line, enter the number of actions to undo.
For example, to undo the last ten actions, enter 10. AutoCAD displays the commands or system variable settings that were undone.

Use the Mark option of UNDO to mark an action as you work. You can then use the Back option of UNDO to undo all activities that occurred after the marked action. You also can use the Begin and End options of UNDO to undo actions you've defined as a group.

To redo the last UNDO action, you can use the REDO command.


And UNDO Back will undo from the moment you opened the file.

You need to investigate the use of Mark, Begin and End to have better control
over the function of UNDO if you persist in using in the manner you are want to use.

[jhohman]

Good answer mjferrell
:beer: :beer:

[dfuehrer]

mjfarrell and jhohman,

First off, let me say that I appreciate that there are people here that are TRYING to assist with this UNDO issue I am having.

Be that as it may, I am not a newbie to AutoCAD. I have been using it since 1989, release 9 to AutoCAD 2004. I am however a newbie to the AUGI forums. Is there some unwritten code somewhere that says that others who have been posting longer are supposed to be condescending to the new people??

I had already researched the entire UNDO command, with all of the options available, and I might add, tried them all. All to no avail. The UNDO (U) command STILL will only undo back once. As a side note, it will undo multiple times within the LINE or PLINE command, however.

Thank you mjfarrell, for at least attempting to explain the command options, etc. to me.

As for jhohman's "Good answer mjferrell cheers, cheers" -- I find your attitude a little disturbing. Nothing of assistance in it, just the old, "That will put him in his place" attitude. The originator of this message thread apparently dropped out because of similar feelings, or because the discussion drifted away from his/her original question.

Is there anyone out there that has solved this particular UNDO (U) problem, or will all I get here is personal opinions as to the proper usage for the UNDO command, and how I am not planning ahead when I draw. I could really use a little help here, short of reinstalling AutoCAD.

Don

[scwegner]

I've heard that certain add-on programs can cause this problem by erasing the undo cache.

[jhohman]

Don,
I believe you took my response in the wrong manner, I was merely praising Michael's post due to the amount of information that he covered, I considered it to be a very thorough explanation and I applaud his ability to share information and spend so much time to try and resolve issues. As for condescending, I don't understand which post you are referring to, everyone who has posted in this forum has done so in an attempt to understand the issue and discuss possible solutions to the issue at hand. Initially you considered Michael's first response as him telling you that you are not using AutoCAD the way HE wants. I only see negativity in posts from you, sorry I could not be of any assistance to the issue at hand, here I thought I was helping to find a resolution, how silly of me. I meant no disrespect to you or the post originator.

[Mike.Perry]

Hi

AutoCAD ADT 2004
BTW, I am using plain vanilla AutoCAD 2004. Help
I've had a read through some threads within the Autodesk Discussion Groups that deal with this particular issue/problem in AutoCAD 2004 & ADT 2004 - It appears to be some kind of issue/problem directly related to AutoCAD 2004 based products.

For ADT 2004 Service Pack 2 might offer a cure -

Autodesk® Architectural Desktop 2004 Service Pack 2 (http://usa.autodesk.com/adsk/servlet/ps/dl/item?siteID=123112&id=3572905&linkID=2475897)

For AutoCAD 2004 you might try Service Pack 1a (The Readme file doesn't make the same kind of statement as the Readme file for ADT 2004 Service Pack 2) -

AutoCAD® 2004 Service Pack 1a (http://usa.autodesk.com/adsk/servlet/ps/dl/item?siteID=123112&id=3539376&linkID=2475161)

+

While searching I found the following on the CADalyst web site in the Bug Watch pages (might prove of some interest to yourselves) -

Bug Watch September 2003 - Undo in AutoCAD 2004 (http://aec.cadalyst.com/aec/article/articleDetail.jsp?id=101605)

Bug Watch January 2004 - Underhanded Undo (2004 SP1) (http://aec.cadalyst.com/aec/article/articleDetail.jsp?id=101608)

Have a good one, Mike

[mjfarrell]

Don,

Should Mike's links not provide a working solution to your
issue with UNDO. Time and geography being an issue the
remainder of the week prevents me from extending my
phone number to you so that we may put the issue to rest.
However, if you use my contact information and provide me with
your number (if required) I will happily call you Monday of
next week to assist with a satisfactory resolution to it.

[dfuehrer]

Hello all,

First of all, let me apologize to everyone if my frustration to resolve this issue came through on my posts a bit too strong. I am truly sorry if I ruffled anyone's feathers. I promise that I will show more restraint in future postings! I would like to be a contributing member to these forums, rather than a fly in the ointment!

Thank you to scwegner, as his response put me on track to the answer I was looking for! Scwegner's response of:

"I've heard that certain add-on programs can cause this problem by erasing the undo cache."

got me to look at just what I had going on. I had been trying out a trial version of a commercial add-on program that imports excel worksheets into AutoCAD (the name escapes me at the moment), when I uninstalled it, my UNDO command began working properly again! Thank you for the tip.

I will take a look at Mike Perry's links when I get a chance, as I want to learn more about AutoCAD's undo cache. Is anyone out there familiar with this?

Thank you one and all.

Don

[tim.ashton]

I'm just getting 2004 up and running.
in 2002 if you hit undo you have the ability to undo back to when you saved the drawing.
in 2004 if I hit the undo button on the file toolbar. it undoes only the last thing done. and that is it and I can't hit it again to continue to the undo to the last save. Is this how it works now in AutoCAD or is there a setting to set this button?

[Mike.Perry]

Hi

Have you tried the links provided in post -

RE: Undo limiting to one undo (http://forums.augi.com/showthread.php?p=71086#post71086)

Have a good one, Mike

[tim.ashton]

Just got threw looking at them.
We are running 2004 map series with sp1.
can't go to map 2005 because vb programs don't load at start up.

[tim.ashton]

nope when mark is set still only one undo.
Looks like i'm going to have to wait for 2006 before I can upgrade my 2002 seats
map 2005 wont load vb programs on start up

[Glenn Pope]

map 2005 wont load vb programs on start up
I have not had a problem with this. How are you loading them?