MX in AutoCAD Drawings and Their Distribution

This document applies to MX in AutoCAD version 2.4 in Release 14 and 2000 of AutoCAD, including Map and LDDT variants.

MX in AutoCAD Version 2.4 uses intelligent custom objects to extend the power of AutoCAD to make it applicable specifically to MX software for civil engineers. AutoCAD loads on demand the required object enabler or warns what application is missing when loading the drawing. For further information on custom objects and the technology behind them please read the TechNote entitled "MX in AutoCAD".

This FAQ outlines the methods available for the production and distribution of MX in AutoCAD generated drawings and how you can make the most of them.

Index:   

1. What are the object enabling applications that are needed when distributing MX produced drawings?
2. Do I really need to distribute the object enablers?
3. What happens if I do not have the object enabling application?
4. What do I do if I can't view the drawing?
5. How can I easily distribute MX drawings?

Question 1: What are the object enabling applications that are needed when distributing MX produced drawings?

Answer: The required enabling application will depend on the environment the drawings have been produced in and to which environment you will be viewing the files in.

In simple terms the files required by MX inside AutoCAD are:

AutoCAD R14 – MOSSCUST.ARX
and
AutoCAD 2000 – MXACcustcomA2K.dbx, MXACcustA2K.dbx and MXACcustuiA2K.arx

With AutoCAD 2000 the single file previously required in R14 has been broken down into 3 smaller components each handling different aspects of the object functionality. Drawings produced in R14 are forward compatible into AutoCAD 2000 and are capable of round trip back to R14 by saving back to this drawing format.

Question 2:  Do I really need to distribute the object enablers?

Answer: The simple answer to this is "No" you do not have to distribute the object enabler with the drawing. To do this though, the drawing has to be produced with the AutoCAD variable"PROXYGRAPHICS" set to 1 – ie enabled. This effectively saves a vectorised representation of the objects into the drawing so that it can be viewed.

This method of distribution is fine if the drawing is simply required for viewing, plotting and sending to other non-ARX enabled applications or even early versions of AutoCAD like R12 and LT. However if editing and possibly round trip to update the MX model is required then the object enabler should really be distributed.

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Question 3:  What happens if I do not have the object enabling application?

Answer:When an AutoCAD drawing containing custom objects is opened without the enabling application available, by default you will be prompted by the proxy warning dialogue (the proxy warning dialogue is controlled by the PROXYNOTICE command variable and is covered in Summary of Common AutoCAD commands For proxy objects).

The proxy warning notice gives the name of the missing application and for MX applications a link to the web site where the latest version can be found.

With the proxy warning notice displayed the user normally has three options for viewing the drawing:

• 1 = no proxy graphics are shown
• 2 = show proxy graphics
• 3 = show proxy bounding box

Option 1 will not show any MX produced information in the drawing i.e. the drawing will most likely appear empty.

Option 2 will only become available if proxy information has been saved into the drawing. This is reliant on the issuer of the drawing setting PROXYGRAPHICS command variable to 1 before generating it (this is not the default AutoCAD setting).

Note: Important AutoCAD command variables are covered later in this document in the section Summary of Common AutoCAD commands For proxy objects.

Option 3 the drawing appears as a series of boxes, which when windowed in on have the object type and the missing application as a label in the bottom left corner.

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Question 4:  What do I do if I can't view the drawing?

Answer: The proxy warning indicates the application that is required to view the drawing and a location on the web to download the required files. Before doing anything further check to see if you have been sent the enabling applications. If:

1. No other applications have been sent with the drawing

   The proxy warning notice gives the web address to download setup files for the version of AutoCAD being used. The file downloaded from the website is an executable application that creates a sensible location for the application files and registers them with AutoCAD, so that the next time AutoCAD is run and the application is required it will be demand loaded.

   http://www.infrasoft-civil.com/supportframe.htm

   Note: if you have been sent an R14 drawing, but you will be using AutoCAD 2000 to edit and view the drawing you need to download the AutoCAD 2000 files, not the MOSSCUST.ARX file as indicated in the proxynotice dialog. This is because the DWG file was saved with the R14 version of the MX application and it has no way of knowing that you are using AutoCAD 2000 now.

2. The enabling application have been issued with the drawing

   If you have been issued with the object enabler for the version of AutoCAD you will need to load the application. This can be done in one of two ways:

   either by dragging and dropping the application onto the drawing

   or

   by using APPLOAD. Once registered the application can be demand loaded as required. It is advisable to create a specific folder for these files in an area that is not temporary like a project folder.

   With R14 the single file MOSSCUST.ARX is simple to manage, however with 2000 the order of registration of the files is important and should be done in the following order:

   1 - MXACcustA2K.dbx
   2 - MXACcustcomA2K.dbx
   3 - MXACcustuiA2K.arx

   Note that in either of these cases you only need do this once on any machine.

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Question 5:  How can I easily distribute MX drawings?

Answer: MX provide a bonus tool similar in use to AutoDESK's "Pack and Go" that also checks the drawing for dependencies like raster images, shape files, etc as well as any object enablers for the proxy graphics.

Two variants of the packing application exist:

MOSSPACK.ARX for AutoCAD R14
and
MXACPACK.ARX for AutoCAD 2000

These bonus tools distributed with MX and can be found on the CD if they have not been installed with MX. Readme instructions are available in the same location.

Summary of Common AutoCAD Commands for Proxy Objects

Set to 0 (default) – only stores the proxy objects in the drawing
Set to 1 - saves vectorised information into the drawing and allows viewing without the object enabler.

PROXYSHOW command variable

Set to 0 – all proxy warning dialogue boxes are disabled
Set to 1 (default) - proxy warning dialogue boxes are enabled

PROXYNOTICE command variable

Set to 0 – No proxy warning is displayed Set to 1 (default) - Proxy warning is displayed

Summary of MX In AutoCAD Drawings and their Distribution