1. I
allowed Cadet 2004 to setup all my AutoCAD/IntelliCAD products/profiles, but I receive an
"unknown command" error when I try to use it. What can
I do?
A. First, try manually loading Cadet. Enter the
following at the AutoCAD/IntelliCAD command line:
(LOAD(STRCAT(GETENV"CADET2004")"CADET"))
B. If you receive an error, skip to C below. If
Cadet loads without error, you have encountered a situation where AutoCAD/IntelliCAD
did not honor its new configuration. If certain CAD support files (acad.lsp, icad.lsp and/or
acad.pgp) exist in either the AutoCAD/IntelliCAD startup folder or in the drawing
folder, they will be used instead of the support files defined by the
user's profile. If Cadet manually loaded, it can correct this situation. At the AutoCAD/IntelliCAD command
line, enter: CADET,
pick Set
Cadet Options
from the Cadet dialog, then pick Fix
Cadet.
This will send the actual support file path(s) in use to Cadet Setup
and check them for you. Click OK
on the Cadet Setup dialog to finish, then restart AutoCAD or
IntelliCAD.
C. If you receive an error when manually loading Cadet as described
above, AutoCAD/IntelliCAD is not yet seeing the environment variable
CADET2004. With Windows 98/ME, a reboot is necessary before Cadet can
be recognized. With Windows NT4/2000/XP, you must exit
AutoCAD/IntelliCAD completely, then reopen it following a Cadet 2004
installation so that new environment variables are read. Sometimes
AutoCAD/IntelliCAD do not completely remove themselves from memory on
exit (Windows Task Manager will still display them under Processes).
If these cases, you must also reboot your Windows NT4/2000/XP
system.
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2. I had the previous version 5.0 of Cadet installed
in AutoCAD, and it still loads after Cadet 2004 has been installed. How can I uninstall Cadet 5.0 so that Cadet 2004 can be used?
First try the procedure outlined in
the answer to question 1 above. If this fails, it is
likely that someone had installed Cadet 5.0 in an undocumented fashion.
There are many AutoCAD support files which can automatically load
AutoCAD utilities; acadrXX.lsp, acadXXXX.lsp, acadXXXXdoc.lsp,
acad.mnl, and other menu source files.
You can use Window's Find
or Search applet to search your AutoCAD folder, AutoCAD
start-up folder and drawing folders. In the 'All or
part of the filename' box, enter: *.lsp;*.mns;*.mnl.
In the 'A word or phrase in the file' box, enter: cadet.
Include subfolders in the search. Using NotePad or Cadet as an editor,
open the files turned up by the search and check for Cadet 5.0 load
statements, which are similar to the following:
(if(=(load
"C:\CADET\CADET" "f")"f")(princ
"*<CADET load failed>*"))
If found, add a semicolon in front of the load statement to comment it
out, or delete the statement.
As an alternative method, or if the
search fails to turn up the Cadet 5.0 load statement, simply make
Cadet 5.0 unavailable to AutoCAD. Use Windows explorer to rename the
Cadet 5.0 folder to a new name. For example, rename C:\CADET to
C:\CADET5OLD. If you've uninstalled Cadet 2004, reinstall it. Cadet 2004
will then be available for use.
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3.
Fonts are light gray, faint or difficult to read in the Cadet editor. What can I do?
This is a common problem with TrueType equivalents to SHX fonts supplied by CAD programs. Unlike ordinary TrueType fonts, these are very thin, so will they appear faint or light gray in two situations:
One, when you have Cadet's "Scale Fonts" on, and the fonts are larger than about 12 or 14 points. The cure for this is to turn off Cadet's "Scale Fonts" when using SHX fonts. You can do this in Cadet's View menu, or go to Tools|Editor options and uncheck "Scale CAD fonts" on the Display tab. So long as you are not using ClearType (see below), this should make the fonts legible.
Two, because of the thinness of these particular fonts, Windows XP's ClearType font smoother wipes out too many pixels and causes this lightness problem no matter what the font size. Clear Type was actually designed for laptops only, but some XP users use it on desktop computers as well. To turn off ClearType, right click on any empty spot of your desktop screen and pick Properties from the shortcut menu that appears. Click the Appearance tab, click the Effects button, and on the dropdown under "Use the following method to smooth edges of screen fonts", choose Standard instead of ClearType. Click OK, Apply and exit the dialog. The SHX fonts in Cadet will then be legible.
A final method is to turn Cadet's CAD fonts off entirely. Then Cadet will use Courier New or whatever you set the default font to be. With this method you will not see the same fonts as AutoCAD uses, but you should not have to resort to this. One of the above solutions should be all you need.
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4.
Cadet 2004 does not edit MText, will MText be supported in a future
version?
We plan to add limited MText support in the near future. Cadet has remained popular over the years in spite of the
introduction of MText in AutoCAD R13. Frustrations with and limitations of MText has led many users to avoid it, and for most purposes the use of Cadet makes regular AutoCAD
and IntelliCAD text more flexible and easier to edit than MText.
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5.
My notes are a mess, different drafters have added text with varying justifications, and the text entities are not perfectly aligned.
Cadet has two utility routines that are ideal for cleaning up notes. Cadet
JustifyText is used to change the justification of any selection of
AutoCAD/IntelliCAD text, so you can select the entire column of notes and change
them to a consistent justification. Cadet AlignText corrects
misaligned text columns by moving selected text entities horizontal to
the UCS so that their insert points are vertically aligned to any
point you choose. Together, these utilities are great for
pre-processing notes before they are edited with Cadet Edit Notes.
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6.
I want to create a table, but the Cadet editor shows only one column.
Perhaps this is a misunderstanding of how the Cadet editor works with tables. Text tables appear in Cadet as a linear list, sorted by columns or rows. The sort order can be toggled back and forth.
Rows are numbered, columns are lettered. Here is an example of a 3 column, 4 row table.
Sorted by Columns:
1a Part Name
2a Handlebar
3a Frame
4a Seat
1b Part Number
2b 110-H
3b 120-F
4b 130-S
1c Part Color
2c Chrome
3c Red
4c Black
Sorted by Rows:
1a Part Name
1b Part Number
1c Part Color
2a Handlebar
2b 110-H
2c Chrome
3a Frame
3b 120-F
3c Red
4a Seat
4b 130-S
4c Black
When you exit the Cadet editor, the table appears in the drawing with multiple columns as you would expect.
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7.
I need to reformat notes on a
drawing where someone has entered two separate text entities on the
same line. How can I piece these together?
This is best explained by example. Say you have these notes in AutoCAD or IntelliCAD, where each
sentence is a separate text entity:
Some line 1 text.
Some line 2 text. More
line 2 text.
Some line 3 text.
Some line 4 text. More
line 4 text.
First, edit these notes with the general purpose Cadet Edit. In the
editor, change the sort order to Rows, and you see:
1a Some line 1 text.
2a Some line 2 text.
2b More line 2 text.
3a Some line 3 text.
4a Some line 4 text.
4b More line 4 text.
Select line 2b, cut it, then paste it onto the end of line 2a. Next
select line 4b, cut it, then paste it onto the end of line 4a. Do not
try to delete the lines you cut from, just leave them empty. You end
up with this:
1a Some line 1 text.
2a Some line 2 text.
More line 2 text.
2b
3a Some line 3 text.
4a Some line 4
text. More line 4 text.
4b
Save and exit Cadet, and then you will be able to edit the notes with
Cadet Edit Notes.
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8.
If I use Cadet 2004, will my clients be able to edit my drawing text without Cadet?
Absolutely. Cadet adds nothing to the drawing files, it only makes
your life easier. But do your client a favor, tell them about Cadet!
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9. I am still using AutoCAD R13,
can I use Cadet 2004?
Yes! Although the installation program does not support it due
to a different registration process used by AutoCAD R13, you can
manually install Cadet 2004 with just a few steps. First, you
need to find out where your AutoCAD R13 support files acad.lsp and acad.pgp files are located. At the AutoCAD
R13 command prompt, first enter:
(findfile"acad.lsp")
Write down the result, then enter:
(findfile"acad.pgp")
Take note of the full path names to these files that AutoCAD reported, then edit
both acad.lsp and acad.pgp files with a text editor such as NotePad or Cadet.
(If there is not an acad.lsp file, create one in the same folder as
acad.pgp.)
At the bottom of your acad.lsp file, add a new line and type in the Cadet 2004
load command as shown below:
(load(strcat(getenv"CADET2004")"CADET"))
Note: If you previously used
Cadet 5.0, find its load statement and either add a semicolon to the front of it as
indicated below, or delete it:
;(if(=load "C:\\CADET\\CADET"
"f")"f")(princ "*<CADET load failed>*"))
Save your acad.lsp file and exit the
editor. Next, edit your acad.pgp file. At the bottom of your acad.pgp file,
add a new line and type in the Cadet 2004 command statement as shown
below:
CADET6,%CADET2004%CADET,4,*
Note: If you previously used
Cadet 5.0, find its command statement and either add a semicolon to
the front of it as indicated below, or delete it:
;CADET5,C:\CADET\CADET,0,*,4
Save your acad.pgp file and exit the editor.
Exit and restart AutoCAD R13, and Cadet
2004 will be available for use.
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10.
Can I use Cadet 2004 with AutoCAD LT?
Cadet 2004 requires AutoLisp capabilities that, out of the box, AutoCAD LT lacks.
Up until a few yeasrs ago you could add AutoLISP capabilities to AutoCAD LT fairly inexpensively with a third-party program named
LT-Extender
www.lt-extender.com.
Unfortunatly the development, distribution and support of LT-Extender software
ceased in 2009.
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11. Cadets did not
install or does not work in IntelliCAD. What can I do?
Cadet's installation program may encounter problems due to changes in the way some "brands" of IntelliCAD store
their support path in the registry structure. The Cadet setup installs properly in some brands, identifies
properly but fails to actually install in others, and fails to identify some entirely. This problem is easily corrected.
All Cadet needs to run in IntelliCAD is an icad.lsp file, located in the same folder as the IntelliCAD program (icad.exe). This
IntelliCAD folder will be named C:\Program Files\BricsCad\IntelliCAD, C:\Program Files\Cadopia\IntelliCAD 5, or something similar.
Do a Windows search for icad.exe if necessary.
Depending on the brand of IntelliCAD, there may or may not be a default icad.lsp. You must create one if none exists. Edit icad.lsp with NotePad, add a new line at the bottom of the file and type in the Cadet 2004 load command as shown below:
(LOAD(STRCAT(GETENV"CADET2004")"CADET"))
Save the icad.lsp file and exit NotePad. Exit and restart IntelliCAD (you might also need to reboot at this point), and Cadet 2004 will be available for use.
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12. Using Cadet in Windows 7 and Vista, and with AutoCAD 2010 and up.
In Windows 7 (and some versions of Vista) Cadet 2004 needs to be installed to a folder where you have full control permission. These later versions of Windows prevent full control in the Programs folders by default, so rather than trying to override the operating system the simplest solution is to install Cadet under the root drive, i.e. "C:\Cadet 2004\" instead of a subfolder of Programs or Programs (X86).
If you are using AutoCAD 2010 or later, Autodesk has a new customization file format with "cuix" extension. AutoCAD does not seamlessly open or convert the older "cui" formats, such as cadet.cui. Cadet.cui file is just a version of cadet.mnu, compiled by AutoCAD into xml format, and "cuix" files are no more than updated xml formats.
You can use the CUI Editor in AutoCAD 2010 and up to compile cadet.mnu into a new cadet.cuix (cadet.mnu will be found in the foler where you installed Cadet):
1. Click Manage tab
2. Click User Interface (the CUI editor opens)
3. Select the Transfer tab
4. Click Open Customization File to open a Legacy Menu (MNS/MNU), Legacy Customization (CUI), or a CUIx file
5. Specify the type of file you want to open by using the Files of type combo box (choose Legacy menu files (*.mns, *.mnu)
6. Navigate to the Cadet 2004 folder and select cadet.mnu.
7. Click Open to load the selected file into the CUI Editor
8. The CUI Editor creates a temporary customization file based on the contents of the selected file (cadet.cuix)
9. Click Save Customization File and save the new cadet.cuix file back into the Cadet 2004 folder.
At this point Cadet should load normally the next time you reopen AutoCAD. If you want, you can continue in the CUI editor and transfer (drag) cadet.cuix to a specific spot in your AutoCAD system menus.
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