Drawings and Reports - Intergraph Smart 3D - Troubleshooting

Intergraph Smart 3D Troubleshooting Reference

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Intergraph Smart 3D
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Troubleshooting
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Troubleshooting
Smart 3D Version
12 (2018)

This section describes Drawings and Reports error levels and error logging. You can use log files to review activities and errors that occur when working with the software.

Error Levels

You can specify the settings for drawings error logging by modifying switches in the registry. For more information, contact Intergraph Support Services. You can find support information on our web site at http://support.intergraph.com.

Generally speaking, the larger the number for the error level, the more exhaustive the logging of errors. The error levels are:

1 - General user error. This is the default level. At this level, log files only contain error messages for certain anticipated error conditions (such as a missing filter or a missing view style), as well as some unanticipated error messages.

101 - Development-specific error level. At this level, log files include everything from the previous error level, as well as certain development-specific error or informational messages.

201 - General Information. At this level, log files include everything from the previous error levels, as well as informational messages about what projects and methods are being called.

301 - Batch Information. At this level, log files include everything from the previous error levels, as well as special batch-specific informational messages.

999 - Exhaustive. At this level, log files contain all informational and error messages.

  • When the error level is set to 999, the error log files can become very large.

  • You can also run the [Product Folder]\Core\Tools\Administrator\Bin\EnableErrorLog.exe tool to enable detailed error logging.

Log Files

There are three categories of orthographic drawings error log files. These files are all located in the user's temporary (Temp) folder. For example, your Temp folder might be located at C:\Documents and Settings\login name\Local Settings\Temp.

SHARED Tip You can enter %Temp% in the Address box at the top of Windows Explorer to go to your Temp location.

The log files are:

  • %TEMP%\Drawings.log - General purpose error log file. Most of the errors encountered in Drawings and Reports are logged here.

  • %TEMP%\Drawings_Batch.log - The batch-specific error log file. Any errors or information messages related to batch are found here.

  • Generation-time error logs (for example, error log files generated during a drawing update operation). You can easily view these files by right-clicking a drawing in the software and selecting View Log on the shortcut menu.

  • The Temp location also includes .xml files. The software creates one .xml file for each graphical view in a drawing as it processes the drawing.

  • If some labels fail to update when you update a drawing, and no error information displays for these labels in the Smart 3D error logs make sure that the shared content files and the label XML configuration files are up-to-date.

Out of Memory Tips

If you are receiving Out of Memory errors when processing very large drawings, check the following:

  • Set the Intersection Edges option in the view style to Off. Sometimes, this option is set to High Resolution for large drawings. High Resolution is typically useful for drawings of one object, such as a hanger drawing or an equipment drawing, where you want to see detail such as the coped intersection of a nozzle with a tank cylinder. If you have this option set high in a large plan drawing, then the software examines every small beam, cylinder, or nut and tries to draw coped intersections or rounded edges in the webs. This operation uses a lot of time and memory.

  • Make sure the Preserve Z Order option in the view style is turned off unless you really need it. A case where you might need it is in a cable tray drawing where trays are stacked or crossing in plan. However, for most drawings, this setting just leads to increased processing time and high memory usage for little gain.

  • Make sure multiple aspects have not been chosen in the VHL graphic rules.

  • If the computer has 3+ GB of memory, but you have not turned on the 3 GB memory switch in the boot.ini file, the software will not take advantage of the extra memory. Also, setting the page file to 4 GB and using the 3 GB switch, regardless of the memory available on the computer, can also help.

  • If you have a computer with 4 GB of memory, use it as your batch server and make sure the timeout value is not set too low (the default is 40 minutes). The Batch timeout property is available on the Drawing Sheet General Properties dialog box. You can set a different value for each drawing.

  • If you have a very large session active in the host and then update a drawing, the update process starts at the large memory usage in the active session. So, if you limit your workspace to a very small set of objects or even one object, the update process has a better chance of succeeding.

  • Decrease the Flush Threshold setting (the default is 2000). This setting is available on the Drawing View Properties dialog box for a view in a composed drawing. In some instances, increasing the number may help. During the update process, the Drawings software asks Core for the monikers of all the objects it has to process. Core passes in the monikers and Drawings binds them, thus using memory. The software binds up to 2000 of the objects before it releases the memory and grabs the next 2000. If you reduce this number, say in increments of 500, the memory gets released much more often and can lead to a successful update. It is an iterative process to figure out a good number.

  • Set the Geometry Validation setting to TRUE (the default is FALSE). This setting is available on the Drawing View Properties dialog box for a view in a composed drawing. If the drawing has SAT or DGN files, there are sometimes a lot of invalid geometry errors that can use a lot of memory. With this setting as True, the software does not examine each invalid geometry, thus freeing up resources and reducing update time. The caveat is that the drawing may not be 100% accurate because invalid geometries are removed from the drawing. If the reference file is there just as background, this situation might be acceptable.

  • In general, you should not place SAT files larger than 5 MB or covering an area greater than 100 square meters as equipment shapes. If you must place them as shapes, break them into smaller files.

  • The range inside reference files should be kept as small as possible. For example, if the file contains a pipe rack far away from the global origin, it is better to have a small range in the file, place the file in the model, and then move it to the appropriate position.

Isometric Drawings

The isometric drawing log files reside at the location specified in your Temp environment variable. For example, the path to the log might be C:\Documents and Settings\login name\Local Settings\Temp.

You can view message files (.mes), piping component files (.pcf), and .xml files for the isometric drawing generation process.

ISOKEEPFILES Variable

This variable exports XML settings to the location specified in your Temp environment variable. An XML file contains the name of the isometric view style currently being used. This information can be used to troubleshoot isometric drawing settings.

SHARED Tip The XML file containing the isometric view style will be approximately 27 KB in size.

The ISOKEEPFILES variable is not a Troubleshooting setting; it is a System Properties setting.

  1. Click Start and right-click My Computer.

  2. Select Properties.

  3. Select the Advanced tab.

  4. Click Environment Variables.

    The Temp environment variable is listed under User variables for username. If you are unsure of where your Temp folder is, the location is noted in this box.

  5. On the Environment Variables dialogue box, select New under the System variables box.

  6. Enter ISOKEEPFILES in the Variable box and enter YES in the Value box.

  7. Click OK.

    You must set this variable before entering Troubleshooting and creating the isometric drawings.

Reports

The log file for reports (SP3DReports.log) resides at the location specified in your Temp environment variable. For example, the path to the log might be C:\Documents and Settings\login name\Local Settings\Temp.

See Also

Troubleshooting Tips