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Questions & Answers




A) Which are the minimum system requirements for ProgeCAD ?
  • Microsoft Windows® 2000 and Windows® XP
  • Intel Pentium® III or more processor (recommended)
  • 256 MB RAM (minimum), 512 MB (recommended for complex drawings)
  • 400 MB of hard disk space

B) When I open a drawing done with AutoCAD the text is not properly aligned. How can I solve this ?
It is a matter of font. The drawing opened uses an AutoCAD font. Anyone who owns a regular AutoCAD licence can use, besides the numerous fonts available with progeCAD Smart!, also the fonts supplied with AutoCAD. Just open the Tools menu. Under Options in Path/File in Fonts, add the fonts' installation path. For ex.: C:\Programmi\AutoCAD R14\Fonts. For the 2000 version of AutoCAD the simplex font can be found in \Support directory. You can add this path too (For ex.: C:\AutoCAD LT 2000\Fonts;C:\AutoCAD LT 2000\Support) or copy this font to the folder \Fonts of AutoCAD 2000. This guarantees a perfect display of any project using the simplex.shx font.

C) While using the program, the pointer leaves a trail on the drawing area. How is it possible to eliminate this problem?
To eliminate this problem, it is necessary to reduce the hardware acceleration of the graphic hardware. To do this, in the Screen section of the Windows Control Panel, use the advanced settings relative to the graphic hardware's properties.

D) Can I use AutoCAD's fonts (the .SHX files) with progeCAD Smart!?
Anyone who owns a regular AutoCAD licence can use, besides the numerous fonts available with progeCAD Smart!, also the fonts supplied with AutoCAD.
To do this, open the Tools menu, under Options in Path/File, in Fonts add the fonts' installation path. For ex.: C:\Programmi\AutoCAD R14\Fonts. For the 2000 version of AutoCAD the simplex font can be found \Support directory. You can add this path too (For ex.: C:\AutoCAD LT 2000\Fonts;C:\AutoCAD LT 2000\Support) or copy this font to the folder \Fonts of AutoCAD 2000. This guarantees a perfect display of any project using the simplex.shx font.
If when progeCAD Smart! was installed on your PC an AutoCAD installation is already present, the font path will be automatically added to the standard ones.
The fonts used for the drawing’s text depend on the text’s style.
With ProgeCAD it is possible to specify the font to be used in place of other fonts.
Sometimes it may be necessary to use only some types of font for a drawing, or to convert the fonts used into different fonts.
To this purpose the font mapping tables can be used.
If for example drawings are shared with other AutoCAD users, a font mapping table can be used in order to specify the alternative font ProgeCAD must use for the text originally created in a different font.
The font mapping table (FMP) is an ASCII file containing a font mapping for each line.
Each line contains the basic name of the font file (without the path) followed by a semicolon (;) and the name of the alternative font file with the relative extension (for example .shx or .ttf).
It is for example possible to type the following string in a font mapping table in order to specify that the romanc.shx font file must be substituted by the IC-romans.shx font file.

romanc.shx;IC-romans.shx

progeCAD Smart! comes with a default font mapping table included in the file ICAD.FMP, which is stored in theprogeCAD Smart! folder.
This file can be modified with any ASCII text editor. It is also possible to specify a different table file in the Options dialogue box or by means of the FONTMAP system variable.

How to specify a font mapping table

1 From the Tools menu choose Options.
2 In the Paths/File list
3 Insert the mapping file name (.fmp) in the 'Font Identification' box

progeCAD Smart!’s original setting uses icad.fmp; if no substitution of font is needed, delete or rename the ICAD.FMP file.
Also remember that...
Is it possible to use AutoCAD’s fonts (the .SHX files) with progeCAD Smart!?
Yes,progeCAD Smart! is compatible with AutoCAD fonts file .shx.
To do this, open the "Options" menu and select the "File Paths" tab; then add the fonts’ installation path under "fonts".
For ex: C:\Programmi\AutoCAD R14\fonts;c:\programmi\AutoCAD R14\support
If when progeCAD Smart! was installed on your PC an AutoCAD installation is already present, the font path will be automatically added to the standard ones.

If you have original AutoCAD Fonts and want to avoid font substitution of standard ones (Ex. ROMANS.SHX SIMPLEX.SHX)
You also must open the font mapping file, icad.fmp and either delete or comment out the line that makes a font substitution for your AutoCAD font.

For example, suppose you have simplex.shx located at C:\ACADFONT and you click on Tools on the menu bar and then Options to identify C:\ACADFONT as an alternate font directory. But when you open a drawing that uses simplex.shx, the program continues to substitute ic-simplex.shx.

The solution is to open icad.fmp with a text editing program and either delete the line simplex;ic-simplex.shx or comment it out so that it reads:

;simplex;ic-simplex.shx

Then the next time you launch the program it will no longer substitute ic-simplex.shx for simplex.shx.


E) The movement of the cursor on the drawing area is erratic; what can I do ?
This is a problem that generally depends on the settings of the FlyOver snap (advanced snaps).
Fly over snaps are a special mode of object Snaps which allow a user of progeCAD Smart! to display immediately the relevant points of objects (endpoint, centre, midpoint, intersection, etc.).
For complex drawings (several drawn entities) or if a PC is not very fast, the use of this mode can overload the computer.
Should any problem arise, only one value at the time should be set (for ex. only End, Centre, Intersection, etc.); alternatively this function should be disabled and object Snaps should be used only when necessary by means of the relative toolbar.

To set the Object Snaps, position the cursor over the Esnap writing situated on the right at the bottom of the IntelliCAD screen and press the mouse's right button.
From the menu, select 'Settings'


The required snaps should then be selected from the control window.
The FlyOver button can be used for activating the settings of FlyOver Snaps.

To activate or deactivate the function, the 'Activate Advanced Snap' should be used

F) When my IntelliCAD drawing is opened the 'Document cannot be opened' error message appears. What should I do?
See faq G and H

G) I inserted a bitmap image in my drawing and now I cannot re-open it anymore. What should I do ?
This problem arises from the use of the 'Paste Special' command used for inserting an image.
If you have this problem, you just need to delete the file with .vbi extension and the same name as your drawing found in the same directory as the .dwg file.
The drawing file can then be re-opened and the inserted bitmaps deleted.
To insert images without incurring into any problem, use 'Paste' or, better still, the commands of the 'Image Enabler' module found in the drop-down menus of progeCAD Smart!.
Image Enabler allows the user to have a control of images directly integrated within CAD and to set the parameters relative to light, transparency, position with respect to vectorial graphic entities (front, back), etc.


H) I inserted an OLE Object and now I cannot open it anymore. What should I do ?
This problem arises when external references (Xrif) are used and its re-occurrence can be erratic.
It could happen even after opening and saving the drawing several times.
It relates to all OLE objects that can be inserted (images, Excel Spreadsheets, Word Documents, etc.)
If you have this problem, you just need to delete the file with .vbi extension and the same name as your drawing found in the same directory as the .dwg file.

I) I cannot print my drawings?
- Update your printer drivers from the website of printer's supplier
- Verify from drivers configuration, printer job is managed by the computer not by the printer. Some printers doesn't have enought memory for print drawing from IntelliCAD
- Expecially on Win 9x and Win ME systems, RAM manegent is weak and some complex drawing cannot be printed. If you have error message or system hangs, please add RAM to your computer.

L) Some print options are not available?
- Update your printer drivers from the website of printer's supplier
- If available, download and install an updated driver for printer supplier website.
- If IntelliCAD doesn't accept some settings available from your system driver, please try to set them directly from the control panel.

m) Printing rotation doesn't work?
- Update your printer drivers from the website of printer's supplier
- System drivers shipped with operating systems, could be not full compatible with your printer, so some options supported by your printer, could be unavailable. If available, download and install an updated driver for printer supplier website.
- Landscape plot works

n) Text string have wrong fonts else if I copied them on my computer
- Check if font path is right specified into IntelliCAD options. From Tools->Options choose Path/Files tab and insert the correct path for your fonts. You can add more differente path separeted with a semicolon ;
- IntelliCAD make an automatical substitution of fonts not available, check file icad.fmp (it is stored into IntelliCAD mai directory), if a font substitution is present for one you have on disk, delete this row. Font substitution sintax is OriginalFont;OptionalFont

o)Where are print information stored?
Stored Into the system registry :
- 'Save changes to Layout' check box value
- 'Use Setting from' check box value
- Header and Footer
Stored into the drawing:
- Print Area
- Fit print area to size of page
- Scale
- Print origin
- Use Line Weight
- Printer
- Paper Landscape/Portrait
- Units
- Upside down set
Stored into CTB files :
- Pens color related to colors table
- Lineweight related to colors table
- Linetype