Alternate Vignette Files Not Working... Mystery Solved!!

[lblaszka]

I **FINALLY** figured out why some alternate vignettes don’t load into the NCARB software (running locally on a Windows computer)!! The CDS alt seemed to work fine, but some PPP alts (the Dorf 1 & 2) and some SPD alts would not load -- the software would open, but the work screen wouldn’t load any drawing. I struggled with this for months. Replacing the files in the "C:\Program Files (x86)\NCARB" folder is straightforward enough. What was I doing wrong? I figured there had to be something with the .dwg files. As it turns out, the alt dwg files must be saved in AutoCAD Release 12. I tried saving backwards from my AutoCAD, but I could only go back to R14.

So .. . what I did was locate some of the original alt files that I had downloaded (via the dropbox link that is floating around out there), and without fiddling with those, I figured out what version of AutoCAD the file was saved in. To do this. . you open the .dwg in Notepad, and in the upper left corner is a code # -- through some experimentation, I found that ONLY the files that show “AC1009” (which = AutoCAD R11) will work with the NCARB software. Yay!! This totally worked for me. I had some other downloads that showed “AC1014” and “AC1024” – and those did not work. Also --- you WILL need to replace the .aut file that is given with the downloads. This .aut file seems to give you all your Drawing tools. When I did not replace the .aut file, I id not have the Building Profile or Grade tools available. So. . there you have it! I hope this helps someone out there.