progeCAD and AutoCAD Forum

[bazzab]

looking to upgrade from progecad 2007 to 2009... downloaded the free trial to check it out before purchasing it and have encountered a problem.
i have 2 printers which i use, an A3 canon printer and a HP plotter. i can print to the A3 canon without issue. but when i try to print to the plotter i get this message: "error writing print data to layout". cant seem to avoid that message, and the program will usually crash soon after.
this is a major problem for me and i must be sure that it can be resolved before upgrading.

one more thing to add, ive opened a few drawings with the 2009 version and it seems to substitute some of my fonts for new ones? and they aren't facy font styles either, it substitued Arial for Stylus BT.
and one last question, how do i change the size of the little box in the moddle of the crosshair?


cheers,

baz.

[caddit]

Hi bazzab,


The easy question about "the size of the little box in the moddle of the crosshair": you can change the size of this PICKBOX by changing the value of the PICKBOX system variable (3 is default).

progeCAD looks for fonts along a path defined in the FILES/PATHS tab of the CONFIG dialog box (Menu:Tools:Options...:Files/Paths). Check the path listed for "Fonts" (second one down) to make sure it includes a directory having the font you want. Also make sure that font exists, of course.

I am more concerned about your plotter. I need more information:
1) Can other programs use this plotter without problem?
2) What is the EXACT make and model of your plotter, inkjet or laser, paper size etc.
3) Have you recently updated any drivers for this plotter?
4) Does the plotter crash only occur with certian DWG drawing files or ALL of the time? try with to plot a few lines created from scratch (without your title block etc)
5) Does the crash happen in paper space model space or both?
6) Try progeCAD as another user on that computer or from another computer
7) Are you using Vista?
8. Check the "Event Viewer" in your control panel for any errors logged by your operating system during a crash.
9) Try different configuration options for the plotter from the control panel like not spooling (direct printing) and other driver options.
10) Is this a network plotter? How is it being shared? Are you using a Jet Direct network card in it, sharing it from a windows server? etc
11) What file format are you sending to it (PCL? HPGL? HPGL2?)
12) Run the "audit" command on your drawing to make sure it isn't an error(s) in particular drawing file causing the crash.

Printing plotting problems tend to be ellusive and plotting can be easily broken when anything in the chain of support from the Windows driver to the spool file to the opertating system to the network and hardware goes wrong, so I will need you to check everything.

Also have your IT department have a look.

[bazzab]

thanks for the speedy reply.

ok, pickerbox fixed.
font still isnt working. the font path for progeacd 2009 was empty, copied wverything from the 2007 folder into and still wants to substitute text...

as for the plaotter:
1) other programs can use the plotter (including progecad 2007) without probs.
2) HP designjet 500
3) no drivers have been updated recently
4) crashes with all DWG's including brand spanking new ones.
5) both paper and model
6) runs on network, doesnt like when i log onto that comp with another user name, and dont want to install in on other machines just yet.
7) winXP
?
9) ?
10) network...?
11) ?
12) audit comes up with nothing.

thats about all i can come up with, sorry. im contacting our IT guys to see what they can do too.

cheers,

baz.

[caddit]

font still isnt working. the font path for progeacd 2009 was empty, copied wverything from the 2007 folder into and still wants to substitute text...

This tells me something went pear-shaped with your install or configuration.

progeCAD 2009 Professional normally has a default font path looking something like:

C:\Documents and Settings\<username>\Application Data\progeSOFT\progeCAD 2009\R9\PRENG\Fonts;C:\Program Files\progeSOFT\progeCAD 2009 Pro ENG\\Fonts

It shouldn't be blank. Try re-installing AS ADMINISTRATOR?

?
9) ?
10) network...?
11) ?

This is stuff your ICT or systems administrator should know about.

[bazzab]

ok an update on my printing problems.

tried to uninstall as you reccomended...and i get this message "could no open INSTALL.LOG file", same error when i try to uninstall from control panel. tried to do a repair on the installed version, came up with another missing file about 3/4 of the way through the repair.

back to printing now, ive worked out that progecad 2009 can print to the plotter when the file size is roughly under 1MB, if its bigger than that it crashes at the print preview or select print area stages.
also, i can print larger files from paper space...but we do not like to use paper space in the office so this doesnt really help us.

any more thoughts?

cheers,

baz.

[caddit]

tried to uninstall as you reccomended...and i get this message "could no open INSTALL.LOG file", same error when i try to uninstall from control panel. tried to do a repair on the installed version, came up with another missing file about 3/4 of the way through the repair.

So your progeCAD 2009 installation is definitely corrupt. I would really suggest you fix that before we try anything else.

First you MUST be ADMINISTRATOR to install progeCAD. Make sure you or IT log in as administrator before attempting to fix your install as follows:

1) start the downloaded progecad installer program again.

2) Use or accept the same installation target folder location to which you installed progeCAD 2009 the first time. Then click the "Next >" button.

3) A little window should appear asking if you want to "Uninstall the previous version before continue with installation?" SELECT "NO" (see picture) - we are going to install OVERTOP of your previous installation because of the missing INSTALL.LOG (and who knows what else).



4) Confirm that setting and progeCAD should begin installing overtop of the previous version - it will not try to uninstall first.

Afterward do a reboot to be safe. Then log in as your normal user and see if things run any differently for you. I am not sure if this will resolve your printing problem though.

AFTER ALL THAT are you able to send a screen shot of you printing crash error to:
?

Are you using an A0/E size HP 750 or the smaller A1/D size version? Is it the color or B&W? Is it the Postscript enabled version? You didn't say what your IT dept. determined as far as the FORMAT your driver is sending to the plotter. You also didn't mention the networking/sharing method used for it in your network that we asked about before. PLEASE ALSO GIVE US THIS INFORMATION.

Also: Some users suggest setting the Windows HP 750 plot driver to "Print as Image" in the driver settings if you are encountering an "out of memory" type error with the 750.

[HarryS1]

I was evaluating progecad 2008/09 and found the same problem while printing. An error comes while printing any drawing from progecad on hp plotter. Can't get rid of the problem

[sanusi]

I am also facing same problem with proge 2009. Dash line type when printed become Continuous. however no problem when print out using ACAD. I'm using Plotter HP Designjet 110plus. Some drawing line also not appear after printing but look ok on screen. Seems not WYSWYG scenario. how to overcome this problem?

[caddit]

Hi sanusi,


Are you using WINPRINT driver in ACAD, or one of the Autodesk drivers for your Plotter HP Designjet 110 plus? As previously explained, progeCAD Plotting quality depends largely on the quality of the windows driver for your plotter, which progeCAD uses to print. progeCAD does not include plotter drivers of its own.

Make sure you are using the latest version of progeCAD (9.0.18 ) and try plotting directly (without queue) and also try "plot as image" option if available. Check which "Print Style Table" you are using and try a different one (see below):



An updated version of your windows driver for the plotter might also help? Are you using PCL emulation for this plotter? Some drivers allow you to try different PCL variations - you might experiment a little to see if any improve your performance.

PLEASE ALWAYS REMEMBER TO RECORD PLOTTER SETTINGS BEFORE MAKING CHANGES (so you can change it back if needed).