Cannot Format Formula Fields

[seneca06]

There is a problem with my AutoCAD installation that is not allowing me to format my field if that field is a formula. The default unit is Architectural, and most times that is not what I need. I have uninstalled, and reinstalled, I have reinstalled only, and I have gone through and deleted all references to my AutoCAD 2013 installation before reinstalling. This is a huge issue as I am building templates and I need this functionality as I automate our drawings. Can anyone tell me where this is happening and how to fix it. I originally downloaded 2013 (Design Suite Premium) from this site through the subscrption center, so I thought it was a bad download, which it may have been, so I then ordered the physical media, which arrived today, and I tried uninstalling, deleting all traces and then reinstalling, but I get the same result. This leads me to believe that it is a problem which is stuck in the install file in my registry, and I need to delete that before reinstalling, but I don't know where it is. Help me please, and thank you in advance.

I am attaching pictures of the problem area from my 2013 version where this feature does not work, and my 2011 version where it did. The picture from the 2011 version is actually of the objects field section, but I should have a very similar screen for the formula field creation in the same area of the dialog box.


ACAD 2013 Capture.PNGACAD 2011 Capture.PNG

[arshiel88]

Click "Evaluate" and the formatting options will show. I hope so. I don't have 2013, so I can't confirm.

[seneca06]

Click "Evaluate" and the formatting options will show. I hope so. I don't have 2013, so I can't confirm.

Unfortunately, that is not the case. I am by no means new to AutoCAD (I've been using it since high school in 1996, I have a degree in Drafting and Design Technology, I have been using fields, palettes and sheet sets since their mass introduction in 2006, and I am a CAD administrator), and up until this install, clicking evaluate has produced more options, but if you notice from my screenshot, there are things missing that are there in previous versions before clicking evaluate (i.e. the entire upper right hand portion of the dialog box where the preview line is located; this is where the results of my evaluation should appear). There is a problem with my install. Clicking evaluate does absolutely nothing, that was the first thing that I tried. All of the other installs in my office work correctly, it is only mine that is not. I have contacted my reseller, and they have no answer for me either, I have also posted this question in the Autodesk forum to no avail. Thanks for trying though.

[arshiel88]

...but if you notice from my screenshot, there are things missing that are there in previous versions before clicking evaluate ...

Yes, I noticed that after I post my comment. Sorry. Since you already reinstalled AutoCAD, the problem might be in the OS or in the registry as you have suggested. Did you use a registry cleaner? You might also try to reinstall .NET framework. Just a guess, I'm running out of ideas here. Anyways, good luck.

[clshade]

Need to start with a Clean Install. I'm assuming you have tried the Autodesk recommended clean install procedures.
REVO UNINSTALLER does a great job of removing Programs. Use its most aggressive setting if you wish to go this route.
Failing that a Format of the hard drive is called for.
As the man said: Good Luck!

[seneca06]

Mr. Shade,

Thank you for your reply, and yes, I tried the clean install procedures, but I did it without uninstalling all of my other products (as I am using the design suite) and therefore I picked and chose which registry files to delete, and only deleted the references to AutoCAD in my AppData folders and in the program / user files. I now think that this may have been where my error occurred. This problem is probably in a shared folder somewhere that I did not think or know to delete. I will now try removing and reinstalling the entire suite (goodbye Thursday). Also thank you for the tip about Revo Uninstaller, I have never used this before, but I will try it this time. The one part that concerns me is it removing customization files. Hopefully I have them all backed up and none of them escaped my memory of where I stored them. Thanks to you as well arshiel88. I will let everyone know how this turns out.

[seneca06]

I have uninstalled every product again, and gone through and deleted all Autodesk references in the registry and then restarted before reinstalling and I get the same results. I did notice upon this reinstall that there is another section in my registry specific to AutoCAD and DWGTrueView and Inventor, that are not under the heading of Autodesk. I'm thinking that I will have to delete all of these files as well. Because I have deleted absolutely everything else. Revo Uninstaller doesn't even recognize AutoCAD as a program installed on my machine.

[seneca06]

I now have new information about the problem. I have done 9 clean installs / repairs / re-installs, and the problem persists under my user account, however, I signed in as someone else from my company's domain and everything works just as it should, so, that being said, can anyone offer any help as to how I may be able to fix this now? I think there is a file in my registry that I can delete and it will be recreated the next time I open AutoCAD, but I am not sure what this file is. As always, thanks in advance for any help.

[arshiel88]

I now have new information about the problem. I have done 9 clean installs / repairs / re-installs, and the problem persists under my user account, however, I signed in as someone else from my company's domain and everything works just as it should, so, that being said, can anyone offer any help as to how I may be able to fix this now? I think there is a file in my registry that I can delete and it will be recreated the next time I open AutoCAD, but I am not sure what this file is. As always, thanks in advance for any help.

Instead of messing with the registry, why not create a new user account. By this, all the files related to AutoCAD in the "Appdata" directories will be recreated. Besides, If we ever knew the registry entry (which I suspect should be in the HKCU entries), we are not sure it will be recreated upon running AutoCAD. Some entries, if not all might be created just once - and that is upon creating a new user account/or just the first run of AutoCAD.

[seneca06]

I have now gotten around the problem. Thank you for you solution arshiel88. This is similar to the way I was able to get around the problem. My profile is a part of a domain which is a part of a large company. It wasn't as simple as creating another profile, because my profile is tied to many different things on our server. What I ended up doing is :adding another user in our domain as an admin, deleting my profile on that computer entirely, and then signing into that computer again as the other user with admin access, and then re-adding myself as an admin. This process totally messed up the ability for my system to add me as an authenticated user and create the profile correctly, so I had to get my system administrator to remote in and force the machine to rebuild my profile. So, I lost all of my windows settings, and things, but I was able to get this issue fixed.