BAD CAD - an
Overview
I
had an opportunity (nice way to put it) to investigate some CAD
files that were not in optimal shape recently. They had a
checkered history of creation, so I was wary of the files and
knew they needed to be checked out.
They
were created with a combination of data that included client
files, prior architects files and my in-house crew. They
we opening very slow and sometimes failing altogether.
I
started looking into the troubles and followed a process that I
have used over the years to finding out the
problems.
I
have seen a lot of BAD files in my day. It is often a
combination of many factors that all combine to make a file unusable
or unproductive.
Here
is my definition of BAD CAD:
A
CAD File that is created or modified in such a way as to cause one
of the following:
-
System
Failure
-
Corrupt
objects
-
Software
lockups
-
Failure
to Export, E-Transmit, Save As... , etc
-
Strange
layering quirks
-
Bad
Reference files
-
General
decrease in productivity
-
Plotting
failure
-
Bad
output to hardcopy
I
look in five areas for my troubleshooting:
The
Files - This is the first place I look. Most often the file or
an object in the file is corrupt. I need to find out if the
problem is resident in the files as they were created, edited,
plotted, etc. I look here first and spread my investigation to
the following areas in order
The
Machine - Next I look to the persons PC. Does the problem
only happen on one machine? Is it a machine or system
variable that is set incorrectly? Is it hardware troubles?
The
User - I always talk to the user to find out what has happened,
what happened before it broke and how they got to where they
are. It is quite often a mistake, a misunderstood tool or a
bad click that got them here.
The
Server - Sometimes the network or server hardware acts up.
Don't forget to look here.
The
Software - There are always "bugs" in the
software. A tool that is not yet mature, not designed to be
used in the way it is used or just not programmed correctly.
I
will expand each one of these in the next few Journals, looking
deeply into the causes and effects of BAD CAD
We
will start with the files.
The
Files
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