My experience of AutoCAD 2009 aka Raptor.

New and/or enhanced functions
Still missing. Wish list for the next time
Existing bugs
Removed
Tips & Tricks
Readme
Updates & Service Packs
Links
New Commands
Changed Commands
Removed or Obsolete Commands
New System Variables
Changed System Variables
Removed or Obsolete System Variables
JTB World's software compatible with AutoCAD 2009

The DWG file format is the same as in AutoCAD 2007 and AutoCAD 2008.

New and/or enhanced functions and some bug fixes.

User Interface

The user interface is similar to Microsoft Office 2007 with the Office Fluent UI including elements like the Ribbon, Quick Access Toolbar, contextual tab sets.

Access Common Tools

• Menu Browser

Click on the big red "A" button to open the Menu Browser.

Search for menu commands using the search field displayed at the top of the menu browser. Search results can include menu commands, basic tooltips, command prompt text strings, or tags.

By using tags, you can group commands according to your drawing needs. For example, a group of menu commands that you use frequently for a particular project can be assigned a tag named for that project. To create and edit tags, open the Tag Editor in the Customize User Interface dialog box.

You can view recently used files and menu commands in the menu browser. You can also view a list of open files. The Recent Documents, Open Documents, and Recent Actions views are available at the bottom below the menus.

Click the push pin icon to keep a file available to view in the list regardless of files that may be saved later.

Recent documents show thumbnails, date modified, version info, last saved by, and currently opened by.

You can group recent files by date or type.

Recent Actions show recently performed actions such as file>open, tools>options for playback.

• Quick Access Toolbar

To the right of the big "A" is the Quick Access Toolbar (QAT).

On the Quick Access toolbar, you can store commands that you frequently use.
Right-click the Quick Access toolbar and click Customize Quick Access Toolbar. The Customize User Interface dialog opens and displays the list of commands available.
Drag commands you want to add from the command list pane in the Customize User Interface dialog box to the Quick Access toolbar.

If you right-click on QAT you have the option to show or hide the classic menu bar.

• InfoCenter

The top of the application window displays InfoCenter, Communication Center and Favorites. The new is that the InfoCenter box can be hidden by clicking on the arrow to the left of it. This will make more room to show the full path of the current drawing to the left of it.

When searching the AutoCAD help system for a topic, you can specify which document to search, decreasing the amount of time you spend trying to locate a topic.

InfoCenter Search Bar connects searches directly into Autodesk knowledge base and forums.

One new setting in InfoCenter Settings is the options "Did You Know messages" as balloon notifications.

• Ribbon

The Ribbon provides a single, compact placement for operations that are relevant to the current workspace. It eliminates the need to display multiple toolbars, reducing clutter in the application window. The Ribbon maximizes the area available for work using a single compact interface.

The Ribbon can be toggled to "minimize to panel titles", "minimize to tabs" and "show full Ribbon". With RibbonClose command the Ribbon can be be completely hidden.

The Ribbon provides easy access to AutoCAD tools through a collection of tabs and panels. Each tab contains multiple panels, and each panel contains multiple tools. Some panels can be expanded to access additional tools.

The Ribbon can be displayed horizontally, vertically, or as a floating palette. The horizontal Ribbon is displayed at the top of the drawing window by default when you create or open a drawing.

Drag individual Ribbon panels into the drawing window to create floating panels. When you select another tab on the Ribbon, the floating panels do not display until you select their associated tab again.

The Ribbon can easily be customized. You can create your own panels to display on the Ribbon; you can also modify the commands and controls on existing Ribbon panels.
To create or modify a Ribbon panel, use the Customize User Interface Editor (Customizations In <file name> pane, Ribbon Panels node). When working with Ribbon panels, you can create new rows or sub-panels to organize commands and controls. You use a panel separator to control which rows are always displayed. The rows above the panel separator are always displayed; those below are displayed only when the panel is expanded.
After you create or modify a panel, you can display the panel on a Ribbon tab. Ribbon tabs are used to group similar Ribbon panels. To display a Ribbon tab on the Ribbon, use the Workspace Contents pane in the Customize User Interface Editor to modify which Ribbon tabs are displayed when a workspace is set current.

• Quick Properties

The Quick Properties panel displays the commonly used properties for each object type, thus making them easier to find and improving access to them.
With the Quick Properties panel, you can edit properties for a selected object, or for all objects in a selection.

The Quick Properties panel is displayed when you select a single object or multiple objects in your drawing. You can set where you want the Quick Properties panel to display. You can change the value of the QPLOCATION system variable or you can select a mode in the Quick Properties panel shortcut menu.
The location modes for the Quick Properties panel are cursor and float.

Cursor is the default location mode of the Quick Properties panel. In cursor mode, the Quick Properties panel is displayed in a location relative to where you selected the object.
In float mode, the Quick Properties panel is always displayed in the same position unless you relocate the panel manually.

You can customize the contents of the Quick Properties panel for every object type.

• Quick View tool

With the Quick View tool, you can preview and switch between open drawings and layouts in a drawing by displaying them in a two-level structure.

You can increase or decrease the size of the layout preview images by holding down the Ctrl key while rolling the mouse wheel up or down.

• Extended tooltips

Tooltips have been enhanced and now include two levels of content: basic and extended. When you initially hover the cursor over a command or control, the basic tooltip is displayed. It contains a general description of the command or control, the command name, shortcut keys, and command tags.
Extended tooltips are displayed after the cursor hovers over a command or control for a defined increment of time. You set the time increment in the Options dialog box.
Extended tooltips provide additional information about a command or control and can show a graphic illustration.
You can add extended tooltip information to your custom commands with the Customization User Interface editor.

• Status Bar

The AutoCAD status bar has been updated with new tools and icons. A right-click menu enables you to easily switch the Status bar display from icons to traditional text labels and back. The Quick Properties (QP) toggle is a new addition to the Status bar.

The Model and Layout buttons have been moved to the right side of the Status bar, where several new tools have also been added. The Layout flyout has been replaced by the Quick View Layouts button, which is accompanied by the Quick View Drawings button. The Status bar provides easy access to navigation and viewing tools, including Pan and Zoom, as well as the new SteeringWheels™ and ShowMotion™ functionality. The Annotation Scale has been replaced with a Viewport/Annotation toggle that links the annotation scale to the viewport scale, helping to ensure that they stay in sync. A new Workspace Switching button replaces the Workspaces toolbar, providing the same functionality in considerably less space.

Action Recorder

You can create an “action” macro and record a series of commands and input values and then playback the macro later. With the Action Recorder, you can easily create macros; this process does not require any programming experience.
You can insert a message in an action macro that displays during playback and you can change a recorded value to request a new value during playback.

Each action macro that you create is saved as an individual file and stored in the location specified by the Action Recording File Location option on the Files tab of the Options dialog box. You can easily share your action recordings or use those created by others by including the shared path in the Additional Actions Reading File Locations list.

Caveat is that this feature is very basic to say the least. There are a lot of limitations. Here is a good blog post describing some of it.

Viewing Tools

• SteeringWheels

SteeringWheels are menus that track the cursor over the drawing window, and provide access to 2D and 3D navigation tools from a single interface.
SteeringWheels, or “wheels,” are divided into wedges; each wedge contains a single navigation tool. You can start a navigation tool by clicking a wedge or by clicking and dragging the cursor over a wedge.
There are four different wheels that are available. Each wheel has its own navigation theme.
-2D Navigation Wheel – Navigate a model by panning and zooming.
-View Object Wheel – Center a model and define the pivot point to use with the Orbit tool. Zoom and orbit a model.
-Tour Building Wheel – Navigate a model by moving towards or away, looking around, and changing the elevation of a view for a model.
-Full Navigation Wheel – Center a model and define the pivot point to use with the Orbit tool; walk and look around; change the elevation of a view; orbit, pan, and zoom a model.

As you navigate a model with the tools on the wheels, the previous views are saved to the navigation history for the model. To restore a view from the navigation history you use the Rewind tool.

• ViewCube

The ViewCube provides visual feedback about the current orientation of a model. The ViewCube can help you adjust the viewpoint of a model. The orientation shown by the ViewCube is based on the North direction of the WCS for the model. The ViewCube also shows the current UCS and allows you to restore a named UCS.

The ViewCube uses labels along with a compass to indicate the direction from which you are viewing a model. You can click both the compass and surface of the ViewCube to change the viewpoint of a model. You can change the current viewpoint of the model by clicking on the surface of the ViewCube, or the orthographic triangles and roll arrows located around the ViewCube.

You can use the ViewCube to change the viewpoint of the model, but you can also change the view projection of a model, define and restore the Home view for a model, and restore a named UCS saved with a model.

Allows you to switch between standard and isometric views.

• ShowMotion

With ShowMotion, you can access named views that are stored in the current drawing and that are organized into categories of animated sequences.
These sequences can be used to create presentations and to review designs.

Each category of animated sequences is displayed as a thumbnail in the ShowMotion panel. The views in each category are also displayed as thumbnails. With the thumbnails, you can find, view, and modify animated sequences.

The animated views created through ShowMotion are known as Shots. They can be modified through the View / Shot Properties dialog box.
From the Shot Properties tab within this dialog box, you can adjust transitions between views. The type of movement, the position of the camera, and the length of recording can also be changed.
However, the options available on the Shot Properties tab depend on which view type has been selected. For example, if the view type of a Shot is Still, the length of the recording can be changed, but not the position of the camera. This is not the case when the selected view type is Cinematic or Recorded Walk. Different options appear for each view type.

Geographic Location

Geographic location embeds location-specific references – expressed as real-world coordinates (X,Y, and Z) – in your drawing.
You can then send your georeferenced drawing for review.
For example, you can:
-Put the drawing on a map (using AutoCAD Map 3D)
-See your design in the landscape (using AutoCAD)

When geographic location information is embedded in a drawing, a geographic marker —visual representation of location information — is created.
You can include geographic location information in the following ways:
-Import a KML / KMZ file that has the location information
-Import a location from Google Earth.
-Manually enter the location values.

The geographic marker is displayed differently in 2D and 3D.
Note: To view the geographic marker, set the GEOMARKERVISIBILITY system variable to 1.

DWFx

DWFx — the future of DWF — is based upon the XML Paper Specification (XPS) format from Microsoft.
You can view and print DWFx files using Internet Explorer 7 on Windows Vista and Windows XP.
You can now – plot or publish to DWFx, attach DWFx files as Underlays, and read DWFx files using Markup Set Manager.

You can attach DWFx files as an Underlay and you can read a DWFx file using Markup Set Manager.

Enhanced Layer Properties Manager

The new layer dialog box is mode-less just like the Properties palette.

Layer property changes are now applied instantly. You do not need to click Apply or OK to apply changes.

When space (Model to Layout or Layout to Viewport) is switched, the enhanced Layer Properties Manager displays the current state of the layer properties and filter selection in the current space. The display of the appropriate additional layout or viewport properties is restored.

The enhanced Layer Properties Manager supports dual monitor scenarios. It can be placed on secondary display while drafting on primary display. Therefore, the drawing editor is uncluttered and organized.
The dialog box can also be minimized or closed when not needed.

You can now use layer filters in real time. Filter selection is instantly reflected in the drawing session.
With the Hide/Show Layer Filters pane button, you can now control the display of the layer filters pane in the Layer Properties Manager.

Layer Isolate controls have been added to the Layer Settings dialog box, and a new option for combining layer property changes for Undo and Redo operations is accessible from the User Preferences tab of the Options dialog box.

Hidden message settings

You can selectively restore hidden messages using a new option on the Systems tab of the Options dialog boxes.

DGN support

Exporting AutoCAD DWG files to Bentley Systems’ MicroStation® V7 DGN format.

Control the layer visibility of attached DGN files by selecting the DGN Layer option from the right-click menu when a DGN attachment is selected.

DGN mapping tool (command DGNMAPPING) enables you to map DGN levels, linestyles, lineweights, and colors to AutoCAD layers, linetypes, lineweight, and colors, and vice versa. Save and access named DGN mappings for increased control during the import and export of DGN files.

Xref Clipping

Use grips to edit the boundary of a clipped external reference or block. Ensure the XCLIPFRAME system variable is set to 1, and select the clipped xref and grab a grip. More about this here with a tip to make the frame not plot.

Interactive Array Preview

While previewing of an array of objects from the Array command, you can pan, zoom, and navigate the model before accepting the newly arrayed objects.

Find and Replace

Find and Replace text in blocks and in Xrefs.

The Find and Replace include an expandable dialog box and more options.

Lists results in a table displaying the text location (model or paper space, for example), object type, and text string where the text was found. The resulting table can be sorted by column.

• Use Wildcards
  Allows the use of wild-card characters in searches.
• Search XRefs
  Includes text in externally referenced files in search results.
• Search Blocks
  Includes text in blocks in search results.
• Ignore Hidden Items
  Ignores hidden items in search results. Hidden items include text on layers that are frozen or turned off, text in block attributes created in invisible mode, and text in visibility states within dynamic blocks.
• Match Diacritics (Latin-based languages)
  Matches diacritical marks, or accents, in search results.
• Match Half/Full Width Forms (East Asian Languages)
  Matches half- and full-width characters in search results.

Zoom to found text in different coordinate systems works now. Bugfix.

Spell checking

In-place spell checking is working for both text and mtext.

Mtext

• Pressing Escape key during Mtext now prompts for option to save mtext input
• New variable to control mtext table toolbar to display as fixed, floating, or in the ribbon

Lighting

A new value in the VSLIGHTINGQUALITY system variable offers more control over the lighting quality in the current viewport. You can now set the value to 2 for per-pixel lighting.

Network license

Prior version support is the new thing for the 2009 productswhen it comes to network licensing. When new licenses are generated for subscription customers the license file will allow the current and three past versions to run.

Export layout

Exports all visible objects from current layout to the model space of a new drawing.

Background command

Sets up the background for your view. Each view can have a separate background.

Hide and Show Palettes

Using the HIDEPALETTES and SHOWPALETTES commands you can hide and show all palettes. The ribbon is also treated as a palette.

eTransmit

Now with option to save or not to save a drawing before continuing with the command. Purge drawings is added as action. Does a complete purge of all the drawings in the transmittal package. Nested items are purged. Regapps are not purged.

Nonrectangular Viewports in Properties

Before both the viewport and polyline showed up. Now only the viewport is available in the properties palette.

Missing plot style table

A warning symbol shows up if a plot style table is missing.

Missing plotters

This AutoCAD Warning does no longer show up if a PC3 file or plotter is missing on your computer: "Sample.pc3: This plotter configuration cannot be used for one of these reasons: the driver cannot be found, the device cannot be found, or the driver has a problem. The None plot device has been substituted."

In the Plot dialog, if a plotter device is missing, the indication of the word “Missing” is now prefixed in the plotter device name instead of being suffixed. This avoids the possibility of not knowing the device is missing since the plotter name may get truncated in the Plotter Name text box especially if the Plotter name is long.

Text Find toolbar

Materials

• Option to fit Gizmo to Object
• Can now Fit Mapping to Gizmo for material map scale
• Gradient Ramp procedural map

Blocks

Selecting a block or dynamic block and then typing “W” will invoke the Wblock command and the selected block’s name will be listed in the source text box.

Purge

Shortcut key for Close is now implemented in the Purge command

Other things new

Show Me animations are embedded into Help file.

It is now possible to click anywhere on a solid hatch to select it even though the selection preview doesn't show it.

New APIs available via .NET and ObjectARX

• User Interface enhancements
  • Ribbon Bar, Menu Browser, Task Dialog, Tooltips
  • Implemented using the Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF)
  • Autodesk.Windows
• Quick Properties
  • The feature uses existing static and dynamic COM properties for objects
  • New COM interfaces for more control
    • IFilterableProperty, IFilterablePropertySource, IFilterableMultiplePropertySource, IFilterableSubtypePropertySource
• Transient Graphics
  • More flexible handling of all kinds of transient graphics
  • Autodesk.AutoCAD.GraphicsInterface.TransientManager
• 3D Navigation
  • Control over the new 3D navigation controls in AutoCAD
  • ViewCube / Steering Wheel / ShowMotion
  • ObjectARX-only
• Data Extraction
  • Easily extract AutoCAD object properties
  • Autodesk.AutoCAD.DataExtraction
• In-Place ActiveX Control
  • Embed AutoCAD 2009 inside an ActiveX container. Usage of AcCtrl.dll is described here. Us in Web-page, Office document, WinForms application, etc.
• InfoCenter
  • Enhanced InfoCenter API
  • Autodesk.AutoCAD.Windows.InfoCenter
• Geo-Location
  • Allows mapping of AutoCAD drawing units to read-world geography
  • Autodesk.AutoCAD.DatabaseServices.GeoLocationData
• Material Map
  • Opt out of using texture filtering during render
  • Autodesk.AutoCAD.GraphicsInterface.MaterialMap
• Boundary Representation
  • .NET wrapper for the ObjectARX API
  • Autodesk.AutoCAD.BoundaryRepresentation
• Associative Dimensioning
  • New API for an existing feature
  • ObjectARX-only
• Permanent object deletion
  • Allows actual deletion of erased objects
  • ObjectARX-only
• New ObjectARX smart pointer
  • Avoids open conflicts
    • Allows optimized opening, returns existing opened objects
    • Including open for write!
    • Allows opening for write on Locked Layers
  • AcDbSmartObjectPointer protocol-compatible with AcDbObjectPointer
  • ObjectARX-only
• New events & reactors
  • Many new notifications, including:
  • A    nnotation Scale, Regen, ViewCube, Steering Wheel, Ribbon events...
• ObjectARX SDK for AutoCAD 2009 includes a brand-new AutoCAD .NET Reference

Autodesk Design Review 2009 (optional install)

System Requirements

Microsoft® Windows Vista™, Windows XP Professional or Home Edition (SP2 recommended), Windows 2000 SP4
Microsoft® Internet Explorer 6 (SP2 recommended) or later
800 MHz 32-bit (x86) or 64-bit (x64) processor (faster processor recommended)
512 MB RAM (for Microsoft Windows Vista users, 1 GB RAM or more recommended)
150 MB free disk space for installation
1024 x 768 VGA
Mouse, trackball, or compatible pointing device
CD-ROM drive, DVD-ROM drive for 64-bit systems
Optional Hardware:
3Dconnexion SpaceTraveler™ support for 2D and 3D navigation
GPS device set to communicate using NMEA 0183 standards, the standard 4800 baud rate, and a COM Port (COM1 to COM10). This includes:
GPS device bundled with Microsoft Streets and Trips 2006
Panasonic Toughbook® with integrated GPS device
USB connected GPS device
Bluetooth connected GPS device set to use a COM port
Note: If your computer does not meet these requirements, uninstall Design Review.

What's New?

Freewheel. Share DWF files on the Autodesk Labs Project Freewheel Web site using the ShareNow plug-in: http://freewheel.labs.autodesk.com/index.aspx. (Available in English only)
Find:
Find text. Locate text in an open file within Design Review.
Find Parts in an assembly. Quickly identify a specific part in a complex assembly.
Rotate 2D sheets prior to adding markup.
DWFx is the new default file format for Autodesk Design Review 2009. Team members using Microsoft Windows Vista can view 2D DWFx files without installing any software.
Enhanced user interface allows more user customization. Palettes can be grouped, docked, and pinned. Create customized layouts that best suit the needs of your team.
View 3D flexible components published by Autodesk Inventor.
Batch Print functionality no longer requires a separate downloaded plug-in.

Known Issues

The DGN and JT plug-ins can be downloaded from the Design Review plug-ins Web site: http://www.autodesk.com/dwf-plugins. For each plug-in, the associated README contains installation and usage instructions.
Installation of Autodesk Design Review 2009 requires local machine administrator privileges. Non-admin install is not supported.
If, when uninstalling Design Review, the Cancel button is clicked, the uninstallation will terminate but Design Review may not function properly. Solution: From the Windows Add or Remove Programs control panel, click Autodesk Design Review in the list to select it. Click Change/Remove to open the Autodesk Design Review Installation Wizard. Click Repair or Reinstall. Choose the Reinstall option and click Next. Follow the prompts to reinstall Design Review.
When Design Review 2009 is installed before DWF Viewer 7, double-clicking a file to open it causes DWF Viewer to launch. This happens because the most recently installed program assumes the DWF file association. Solution: To set Design Review 2009 as the default viewer, uninstall both DWF Viewer 7 and Design Review, and then reinstall DWF Viewer 7 before reinstalling Design Review 2009.
When AutoCAD 2007 is installed after Design Review, some system files are overwritten by the AutoCAD installation causing DWF shell extensions to fail. Solution: Uninstall and reinstall Design Review to restore the DWF shell extensions.
Publishing a DWF file from AutoCAD 2008 that consists of a single section and has password protection enabled may result in a DWF file that is corrupted and not usable.
Search Online may not function as expected in non-English versions of Design Review. This feature does not support double-byte or accented characters, or non-single byte property names.
Find (from the Find palette or the Find and Help toolbar) may fail to return any results if the DWF file was created using the DWF Writer. When possible, always use your design program's Publish command rather than using DWF Writer to convert DWG files, for example, to DWF files.
By design, Named Views in 3D DWG files are not published to DWF files.

Platform (Windows Vista, Windows XP, Windows 2000)

On Windows Vista systems, when the Windows Vista theme (Aero) is enabled, some DWF file layers may not be displayed as expected. Additionally, rotated 2D sheets may not be displayed correctly with this theme enabled. Solution: Right click the Windows desktop and choose Personalize. In the Personalization dialog box, click Theme. From the Theme drop-down list choose Windows Classic and click OK.
On Windows Vista systems, when embedding a DWF file in a Microsoft Office 2007 file, the Autodesk DWF Viewer Control is not listed in the Object dialog box (Insert > Object). Solution: In the Object dialog box, click Create New and, from the Object Type list, choose Autodesk DWF Document. Click OK to insert the embedded viewer.
If Design Review was used by a person with a Standard or Restricted user account, when a person with an Administrator user account uninstalls Design Review, two files (ActiveConfig.xml and woof_toolformats.xml) may not be uninstalled automatically. Solution: Manually delete the two files from the C:\Documents and Settings\[user name]\Application Data\Autodesk\Autodesk Design Review\9.0\userdata folder.
To save a file with a non-English file name, choose File > Save As, then right-click the Language Bar and start the Microsoft Global Input Method Editor (IME). Type the desired file name in the Save As dialog box and press Enter, after typing the file name, to exit the IME. Click the Save button or press Enter again to save the file.
On 64-bit systems, importing DWG or DXF files created in AutoCAD 2009 into Design Review 2009 may fail if DWG TrueView 2009 is installed. Solution: Use the Publish command in AutoCAD 2009 to publish the file to DWF.

Embedded

When viewing a DWF file embedded in Microsoft Internet Explorer (version 6 or 7), choosing Window > Workspace > Default, after one or more palettes have been displayed and unpinned, may cause Design Review to close unexpectedly.
When viewing DWF files embedded in Microsoft Office 2007 programs, a Customer Error Report (CER) dialog may not be displayed if the embedded viewer closes unexpectedly.
When saving a Microsoft Word 2003 or 2007 file after modifying an embedded DWF file, Autodesk Design Review prompts you to save the changes to the DWF file. When saving the Word file again, after subsequent modification to the embedded DWF file, you will not be prompted by Design Review to save the DWF file.
In Microsoft Office 2003 programs, when embedding a DWF file using the Insert > Object > Create New method, two Autodesk controls may be available in the Object Type list. Solution: Choose Autodesk DWF Viewer Control and click OK to insert the embedded viewer. Choosing any other "Autodesk..." Object Type will fail to properly embed the DWF file.
Dragging and dropping a sheet from the Thumbnails or List View palette in Design Review into Internet Explorer 7 may cause the Temporary Files (C:\Windows\Temp) folder to open.
DWF files embedded in Microsoft Word or PowerPoint 2003 files, when inactive, may be represented by a large generic DWF icon, rather than a thumbnail image of the DWF file content.
If a computer has the Update for Internet Explorer for Windows XP Service Pack 2 (KB912945) installed, Internet Explorer's script debugging must be disabled. Solution: In Internet Explorer, choose Tools > Internet Options. On the Advanced tab, under Browsing, verify that both Disable Script Debugging (Internet Explorer) and Disable Script Debugging (Other) options are checked. Click OK.

Display

If your computer is experiencing display issues as you view 3D DWF files, update your computer with the latest video card drivers. If you continue to experience display issues, choose Tools > Options and, on the Model tab, under View Settings, select a different setting from the Driver drop-down list.
On some computers, 3D DWF files may not be correctly displayed when the Video Card Driver is set to Direct3D. Solution: Choose Tools > Options. On the Model tab, under View Settings, from the Driver drop-down list select OpenGL.
Textures or surface bitmaps may not display properly in some 3D DWF files.
Depending on the settings used when publishing a 3D DWF file, choosing View > Standard Views > Shaded with Edges may not display all object edges distinctly. Solution: Choose Tools > Options. On the Model tab, under Color Settings uncheck the As Published option, and set a new Model Edge Color.
Dragging and dropping some raster images in the Thumbnails or List View palettes or on the Canvas may cause Design Review to stop responding. Solution: Convert the image to a different file type.
Large DWF files published from Autodesk Civil 3D or Autodesk Map 3D may contain dots that obscure geometry on the Canvas.
2D sheets or images that have been rotated and saved in Design Review 2009 may not be displayed properly when viewed in Design Review 2008.
Merging multiple DWF files by dragging and dropping into the List View or Thumbnails palette may result in the sheets being listed in no apparent order.

DWFx

When opening DWFx files saved in Design Review 2008, Microsoft’s XPS Viewer only shows 2D content. Non-2D content, such as 3D models or BOM tables, is indicated in the DWFx file by a single DWFx logo proxy page. Solution: To view the entire contents, open the DWFx file in Design Review.
Saving a very large DWF file, such as one that contains several hundred sheets, as a DWFx file may cause errors that result in a failure to save the file as DWFx.
When viewed in the Microsoft XPS Viewer, the object properties stored in DWFx files are not shown. Although not shown, the object properties remain available in the DWFx file when viewed in Design Review.

Printing and Batch Printing

To use the Batch Print Wizard, you must first open any DWF file in Design Review.
Printing a saved batch print job that failed to print earlier may trigger a Customer Error Report (CER) and cause Design Review to close unexpectedly.
When batch printing several sequential sheets that have been saved as separate DWF files, some sheets may not be printed in the order they are displayed in the Select DWF Files to Print dialog box.
Printing or plotting of large files may cause Design Review to close unexpectedly.
Right-clicking a file in Windows Explorer and choosing Print may fail to print the file if Autodesk DWF Viewer was installed after Design Review. Solution: Manually change the file association. Right-click the DWF file and choose Properties. In the file Properties dialog box, on the General tab, click the Change button to display the Open With dialog box. From the list of Recommended Programs, choose Autodesk Design Review. Or, if necessary, click Browse to navigate to and select DesignReview.exe on your system. Click OK to set the file association. Click OK again to accept the change and close the file Properties dialog box.
In the Batch Print Wizard, when selecting a password-protected DWF file, you are prompted for the file's password three times during the batch printing process.
Printing of fill patterns fails on some printers.

Measure and Markup

Georeferenced maps published with non-Cartesian coordinate systems cannot be measured.
When the computer user name contains double-byte characters, saving a 2D DWF file after creating markup causes a "File save failed" error. Solution: Create a new user profile where the user name contains only single-byte characters or change your user name using only single-byte characters.
In multi-sheet DWF files with marked-up 3D models, clicking a 3D markup in the Markups palette displays the model with the markup selected and the Orbit tool enabled rather than the Select tool. Solution: On the Main toolbar, click the Select tool to interact with the selected 3D markup callout.
In 2D DWF files that contain more than one viewport, measurements created within one viewport may be inconsistent with measurements created in another viewport.
When markup is deleted from a 2D sheet, the Rotate Sheet tool is available. Some markups, such as Freehand or Shape markups, must be deleted from the Canvas and then deleted from the Markups palette to (re)enable the Rotate Sheet tool.
Callout markups on 3D sheets cannot contain bold text.

Version Compare

Multiple sheets cannot be compared at the same time.
When comparing DWF file content to DWFx file content, the comparison results may contain false differences.

Other news

Check out the new and changed commands and variables added.

• New Commands
• Changed Commands
• New System Variables
• Changed System Variables

Still missing. Wish list for the next time.

VSTA support.

Saveall command should respect the Options setting to save in another version.

Using fence it would be possible to select an object with a linetype with spaces when the fence is hitting the space in the linetype.

Preview handler for Vista and Outlook 2007.

XCLIPFRAME=2 that is visible but does not plot.

Add and remove vertex points on the xref clipping boundary.

After using FIND and you zoomed to the location for what you search for it would be good if you have the option to staythere after you exit the command.

If the External References palette is hidden and you run the XREF command it should show just like if you run the PROPERTIES command or as it did in AutoCAD 2008. There should at least be an option or a separate command that makes it roll-out.

In Quick Access Toolbar (QAT) there is undo and redo but the history is missing. It would be good to be able to place controls like the layer control as well in QAT.

3D navigation tool work in wireframe mode.

Right click on Ribbon and end up at the correct location in CUI.

XREFCLOSE command to be able to close the External References palette.

Transparency on ToolTips and Quick Properties.

Ability to specify the order of the items seen in Quick Properties.

Mspace and pspace toggle button on status bar should be visible even if the layout and model tabs are hidden.

Be able to dock the command line just like a toolbar or dock to the ribbon in a way that it is always visible no matter what tab is active.

In sheet set manager it used to work adding the Unicode \U+000A to force a new line (line feed) in properties so it showed on say two lines on the drawing. Now it gives a new line using SHX fonts and nothing at all with TTF fonts.

Make it as easy to select gradient hatches as it is to select solid hatches.

Add support to find solid and gradient hatches with the Matchprop command as easily as you can with the Erase command and solid hatches.

If you have a select object command like Erase and move it over a solid hatch it is not always showing that the object is selectable (selection preview) even though it is if you try to click on it.

Existing bugs, defects, feature limitation or other issues.

Document "drawing.dwg" has a command in progress.

If SDI=1 and you open a drawing using drag and drop from Explorer into AutoCAD by dropping it on the application top you crash AutoCAD with this message: "AutoCAD Error Aborting - FATAL ERROR: Unhandled Access Violation Reading 0x03dd Exception at a8d6c7h".

If SDI=1 and if you hold down the left mouse button while drag and drop a drawing from Explorer into AutoCAD so you get the right-click menu and select the Open option the drawing will not be opened, it will be inserted.

While in the Open dialog box I have got a crash with this message: "AutoCAD Error Aborting -FATAL ERROR: Unhandled Access Violation Writing 0x1bb007cc Exception at 77cd2e7bh"

In VBA this will fail: ThisDrawing.Application.Preferences.User.HyperlinkDisplayTooltip = False with Run-time error '-2147467259 (80004005)': Method 'HyperlinkDisplayTooltip' of object 'IAcadPreferencesUser' failed

getfiled bug hangs AutoCAD (probably related to Windows Vista) See this post.

SSM: Renaming the layout on a drawing breaks the hyperlinks in the Sheet List Table to the Sheet in question. Make a DWFx of it and try to follow the link.

When moving a clipped xref the objects outside the clipping shows up. This didn't happen in AutoCAD 2005.

Adding \X before <> on an arc dimensions make the arc sign double in size and the measurement disappears.

2004 introduced a bug (or change) when it comes to dimensions. The placement of alternate units are now above the dimension line. In 2002 it was below. "\X" doesn't help as primary unit suffix. But "\X " works as a workaround, observe the space after the X, change also the placement of the alternate units to be After the primary value.

Selecting multiple files in the opening dialog box and pressing enter doesn't work.

The Rename dialog box doesn't accept renaming of for example blocks with names including the # character.

Dimensioning with DIMSCALE set to 0 and using VPMAX doesn't work as expected. The scale of the viewport is not respected.

3DDWF cannot handle selection and deselection of objects within blocks and xrefs as good as it should. It should be possible to select the complete block or xref. It should be possible to deselect some objects within a block or xref after selecting everything using "all".

The Publish command sets the SAVETIME variable to 0 during it's process. If AutoCAD crashes during the Publish command SAVETIME will not be restored. Workaround is to implicitly set SAVETIME in your startup lisp or VBA code.

3DCLIP and DVIEW using clip plans can result in just dots or no visible objects at all instead of lines. Workaround that sometimes work (try in a viewport from pspace) is to run the hide command. Typical case is if an object has both clipping plans clipping through it.

Dimension line is not correctly handled when stretching or moving only the text. If there is a vertical dimension and you stretch the text vertically the dimension line is moved horizontally a little too. But the second time you do it the dimension line is not moved. This also makes it hard to have alternate dimensions below the dimension line and the primary above.

+OPTIONS default value doesn't work correctly. Enter the command +OPTIONS and press enter you would suppose to get to the first tab but you comes to the second. To solve this you have to enter 0 as the Tab index to get it correct.

If you enter -30 for Obliquing of text it shows 330 in the properties or if you list it. But if you create a text style and enter 330 it reverts to -30. This is inconsistent.

When SDI=1 and opening subsequent drawings with xrefs the xref manager tray icon is not showed even though there are xrefs within the drawing.

dbConnect. Do not attach labels with zero-length leaders as they will not be updatable. If you do not want to see the leader line, use a freestanding label, not an attached label.

If a drawing contains the layer defpoints and is used to drag layers into other drawings the defpoints layer follows into the other drawing.

After publishing a sheet set to DWF or DWFx and I try to open it right clicking on the plot tray icon and selecting View DWF file I get the following error in Design Review 2009: "Your current version of Design Review does not support files of this type".

Publish to DWF or DWFx from SSM you will notice that the specify file dialog box does not show the list of files, just a blank window.

I got this once while publishing a sheet set to DWF: "AutoCAD Error Aborting - FATAL ERROR: Unhandled e06d7363h Exception at 7670b09eh".

I got this right clicking for properties on a sheet set in SSM: "AutoCAD Error Aborting - FATAL ERROR: Unhandled Access Violation Reading 0x137a6fcc Exception at 7700e2adh"

I got this crash when editing the content of multiple mtext objects in Quick Properties: "AutoCAD Error Aborting- FATAL ERROR: Unhandled Access Violation Reading 0x6e650021 Exception at 5c477795h", "AutoCAD Error Aborting - FATAL ERROR: Unhandled Access Violation Reading 0xfffffff3 Exception at 712f59e2h"

In some cases the trusted DWG icon in the status field can show up multiple times. Seems to be related to SDI=1.

Search within CUI is extremely slow.

Create an old-format polyline with PLINEGEN=1 and PLINETYPE=0 and you will not be able to snap to it. Workaround is to convert the polyline to the new format or to change PLINEGEN to 0 or using properties palette or the Pedit command to disable continuous linetype generation for existing objects. But this might still not work if the polyline has a width like a donut for example.

If DTEXTED=1 and you create text with DTEXT command and hold down Shift and press the spacebar it is ignored.

If PUBLISHCOLLATE is set to 0 it is not respected if you want a multi-page (multi-sheet) PDF using Page Setup Overrides in Sheet Set Manager using the the DWG To PDF.pc3.

If PUBLISHCOLLATE is set to 1 and you create a multi-page PDF using DWG To PDF.pc3 I have found that in some cases characters are not plotted correctly using the PUBLISH command. Example was an A that was missing the horizontal line, but only one of the A's on the drawing. Another example was that part of a character was missing on one of the pages but seen on the following page. After testing further it seems like it is the last object or partial object that end up on the following sheet. Workaround is to either plot to DWF and then plot the DWF to PDF or to plot to single page PDFs and then combine them.

I have run into times when the Quick Access Toolbar is missing. The workaround to restore it is to reset the profile in Options.

InfoCenter has a link to the RSS feed for the AutoCAD 2008 discussion group.
http://www.autodesk.com/rss-autocad2008forums
but it should be
http://discussion.autodesk.com/rss/rssmessages.jspa?forumID=344

In CUI you cannot create and use ribbon tabs from more than one CUI file.

dispsilh is not working on objects in xrefs.

Converting toolbars with nested flyouts to Ribbon panels in CUI you are in trouble. Ribbon does not support nested flyouts.

Performance problems with the layer palette and working with viewports.

Performance can be a problem if you want to change a lot of layers because the changes are made directly without exiting the layer manager.

If you migrate your settings from an older version the Quick Access Toolbar (QAT) might end up empty.

Ribbon panels changes size in an unexpected way by just selecting objects. Example is if the Home tab is visible the Layers and Properties panels expand a little.

Preview of TGA images in the Background command are rotated 90 degrees.

Quick Properties location is not correct if Windows DPI is not the default 96 dpi. This can result in having Quick Properties show up outside the screen.

M2P is the only osnap related command that does not pause a menu macro
or lisp (command pause) until the required point has been acquired. (old bug)

If you copy any object from one drawing to another where in the drawing you copy from includes annotation scales not in the other drawing these are copied as well even though they are not applied to the copied objects.

The following commands exists but are still unknown. Try for example enter -QV and press tab and you will get -QVDRAWING but it will say: "Unknown command "-QVDRAWING". Press F1 for help." The same for -NAVSMOTION, -QVLAYOUT.

There can be problems to publish to postscript printers.

Use this link to report a bug to Autodesk that bugs you: http://www.autodesk.com/submitbug

Removed.

The Dashboard is replaced with the Ribbon.

Tips & Tricks

_VERNUM = "C.56.0 (UNICODE)"

Version 11.4.1 of the FLEXnet license manager that ships with AutoCAD 2009-based products is backwards compatible and will administer licenses for the Autodesk 2008-, 2007-, 2006-, 2005-, 2004-, and 2002-based products as well as products from other vendors.

57600ACD_2009_0F is the FLEXnet feature code for AutoCAD 2009.

The registry hack to change from SLM to NLM will not work with AutoCAD 2009 so if you have a standalone installation you need to uninstall completely before installing the network one.

Shift+W is now hardcoded to launch the Steering Wheel and cannot be customized with CUI to do something else.

Set AutoCAD 2009 to look like AutoCAD 2008 see this blog post. Select the AutoCAD Classic workspace as a starter.

Do you want to run AutoCAD 2009 on Citrix? Only AutoCAD 2009 is not possible but AutoCAD Map 3D 2009 is Citrix Ready. Visit www.autodesk.com/citrix for details.

Make sure to install dictionaries as feature if you select a custom installation. Even if you don't need multi-language dictionaries you will get an annoying error message every time you want to create or edit text. "AutoCAD Message - Unable to find main dictionary. Could not start speller."