I’ve thought about posting this for a while and was triggered by a question in Autodesk’s discussion group for AutoCAD 2009.
Even if you select “Clear Recent Document List” the Sheet Sets comes back to Recent Documents in the Menu Browser after a while. They actually comes back if you run the Sheet Set manager (command SSM) and have anything in that SSM Recent list. A side effect is that today’s date is used even if you have not even used that Sheet Set for a long time.
There are three locations AutoCAD 2009 uses for the Resent File List that is related to Sheet Sets (DST-files).
To completely clear also the Sheet Sets you would need to first clear the Sheet Set Recent List.
The Sheet Set Recent List is saved in the profile. This is used if you click on Recent in Sheet Set Manager. Only edit this file when AutoCAD is not running.
%APPDATA%\Autodesk\AutoCAD 2009\R17.2\enu\Support\Profiles\FixedProfile.aws
In recent versions the settings are saved here instead:
%APPDATA%\Autodesk\AutoCAD 2014\R19.1\enu\Support\Profiles\<Profile>\Profile.aws
<Profile> is the name of the AutoCAD profile. Default is “Unnamed Profile”.
AutoCAD 2009\R17.2\enu are parts of the path that is different depending on AutoCAD version, vertical and language.
Right now there is is a bug in AutoCAD 2009 that makes it impossible to select any of the recent Sheet Set files because the menu collapses the second it opens. Not sure why this comes or how to fix it. Could be related to that I have so much on my machine like older AutoCAD versions, etc. Any solution to this problem?
The aws files are XML files and can easily be edited using the Microsoft freeware XML Notepad or even plain Notepad. Make sure you have a backup of the aws file in case you unintentionally do something that corrupts the aws file.
Search for MRU_FILES and delete the MRU_FILE “folders” that you don’t want to keep.
After that you can select Clear Recent Document List and it will be completely cleared.
Here is the registry location for Recent Documents:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Autodesk\AutoCAD\R17.2\ACAD-7001:409\Recent File List
This location is cleared if you right click on one of the recent documents.
Here is the History location that is used if you click on History in the Open Sheet Set dialog box from the Sheet Set Manager:
%APPDATA%\Autodesk\AutoCAD 2009\R17.2\enu\Recent\AcSmNavOpenSheetSet
Wondering what %APPDATA% is?
In XP: C:\Documents and Settings\%username%\Application Data
In Vista: C:\Users\%username%\AppData\Roaming
Another tip is to group the recent list by type instead of group by date and the sheet set will show at the bottom. Update: Rick Moore informed me that this is not always the case. It seems like the type that is last used is what is on top using Group by Type. But if you have SSM to automatically open when you start AutoCAD the sheet sets will be on the top when you start AutoCAD.
A tip that is a bit related is that you can set the number of recently-used files in the Menu Browser to anything between 0 and 50. You find it in Options>Open and Save.
This logic also applies to AutoCAD verticals like AutoCAD Architecture and some of it probably applies to older AutoCAD versions like where the Sheet Set recent history is located.
If you have read this far you probably use the Sheet Set Manager and I recommend you take a look at SSMPropEditor that will make your life easier by allowing you to edit Sheet Set Properties on multiple Sheets at a time.
Another "feature" that requires a "hack" to workaround. Would this have been addressed if not for the rushed 12 month release cycle? We'll never know.
ReplyDeleteYou're probably right but on the other hand if everything just worked I would need to find something else to do. ;-)
ReplyDeleteQuite informative nice post! Thank you.
ReplyDeleteRight now there is is a bug in AutoCAD 2009 that makes it impossible to select any of the recent Sheet Set files because the menu collapses the second it opens.
ReplyDeleteThe recent Sheet Set files menu will stay open if you avoid the "New Sheet Set" and "Open..." lines (look at how wide the menu below the new menu is and go outside of that) by moving your mouse all the way to the right end of the white pulldown box before you move down. You can move the mouse around as you like as long as you don't move it back over those two lines. I don't know any fix for it, but it can be worked around. (If you're trying to open one of the last two sheet sets you worked with, you can click in the white space directly to the right of the sheet set to get past the menu collapsing.)
Jon, thanks for sharing the workaround.
ReplyDeleteI found a workaround using the arrows to be able to access the recent sheet sets.
ReplyDeleteSee this discussion in Autodesk's discussion group