Contents:
Search Paths - Overview ---- Reconfiguring Search Paths for Optimum Network Performance

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The default folder structure and search paths for Architectural Desktop is very similar to that for AutoCAD 2002.  In fact, if you compare the two, the only difference on the paths is the path statement that points to Architectural Desktop's "...Content\Layers" folder.

Illustrated to the left I show the default Folder Structure with Express Tools and the ADT Detailer sub-folders. 

Illustrated to the right is the default Support File Search Path for Architectural Desktop when installed on a local drive.  It includes the Express tools which is a separate tool from Autodesk and is not necessary to run ADT.

The question any CAD or IT manager needs to ask is how much of this information can be moved over to the server.  In addition to answering this question, we will also look at other things that should be located on the server and pathed in this search path area.

Illustrated to the right I show the a scenario for how a new folder structure might look on the Network Server.  In Part 1 of the guide, I called this layout the Basic Minimum Folder Structure and it includes both AutoCAD and Architectural Desktop folders.  For AutoCAD installations, you can ignore the Catalog and Content folders.

Below I will outline all of the steps required to adapt your office Folder Structure to something equivalent to that illustrated to the right.   Keep in mind that you can alter the design and layout according to your own needs as long as you understand when and where to set the appropriate path statements.

Before you move through the following steps to customize your AutoCAD or Architectural Desktop, make sure to jump down to the Section on Profiles so you can create a new one and save these custom settings to it.

The default "Architectural Desktop" Profile Name should be left until you are absolutely sure you have everything working correctly.  It could also be kept around in case the network goes down; as long as the folders were copied and not moved, this would allow a user to continue working.  This is not an option I typically use but you might need it.  One of the problems I have found with the Profiles is that "half-savvy" users mess with them and get on the wrong one if you leave odd options for them to Set Current.   Another option is to Export it as a Backup that could be Imported in an Emergency.  The point is to keep an original Profile so you have something to refer back to in case something goes wrong with the customization.

Once you have a new custom Profile Name that is Set Current, you can use the Files tab of the Options dialog box, illustrated to the right, and begin repathing the folders that were moved over to the server. 

If, for some reason, the necessary path statement or statements are not present, use the Add... button to add them as listed above.  The Support path is typically first in the order but after that you can think of the order as relative to use and importance.

The Working Support File Search Path has no options and is basically just an echo of the Support File Search Path but with one major difference.  The Working Support File Search Path will show what is actually working so you can compare this with the Support File Search Path to verify paths that are active and paths that are not active or no longer valid.

In the Illustration to the right I show what happens when the Server has been shut down; notice all of the critical E:\ paths do not show up in the Working Support File Search Path.

The Device Driver File Search Path directs AutoCAD and Architectural Desktop to the drivers for pointing devices, printing, 3D Hardware accelerations and is also the default location for any .pmp (Plot Model Parameter ) files that may be created as part of the Custom Properties for .pc3 files.   In some cases I have successfully moved and managed all of these drivers from one folder on the server but due to network congestion, I have stopped this process and leave them in the default location for each workstation.

Note:
I always move the location of the .pmp files to the Plotters folder so they are read by each workstation as they should be.  For more information on this topic, the Printer Support File Path below.

The Project Files Search Path is one of the least understood and used options I have found and that is quite a sad tale.  One of the reasons it goes unused is that it really has little to do with CAD or IT management and more with the individual CAD user or project team.

In a very simple scenario, you can use this Path option to fix any Xref and ImageRef problems you may be experiencing due to Hard Coded Paths, Moved File locations or electronic File Exchange.

The way it works is that you create a Project Name, where underneath you set all of the Project Paths ( Folders ) that you want AutoCAD or Architectural Desktop to look for missing files.   To Activate this Project Search Path, you use the Set Current button.

Illustrated to the right I show a Project Name "LE 120" with two Search Paths that will be searched in the order in which they are stacked.  This means that if a drawing file comes in via e-mail and contains information needed on a project drawing the link to it will first be established for the top folder but it is not found there, the search will move on to the second folder ( INCOMING ).  You can use the Move Up and Move Down buttons to change the order of the search.

The Menu, Help and other File Names listed here can be left with their default paths except for the License Server Path which will only be available for those using Networked AutoCAD's or Architectural Desktop's.

To avoid losing custom code and information, it is best to leave the Menu File, Help File and Configuration file alone.  For custom menus and lisp routines, you should manage this in a separate folder on the server where you can easily update the information for the entire office and migrate it as the software upgrades come out.   Such Path statements should be set under the Support File Search Path.

Note:
You can set a default Internet Location (UR)L for to a location more valuable than the default Autodesk website by specifying the address under the Default Internet Location.  To activate, a user can type "Browser" in AutoCAD and Architectural Desktop.

The Printer Support File Path contains some of the most important paths required to keep the production line going in a networked office.  I say this because if people can't print, it really doesn't matter what they have drawn and nothing brings an office to a screeching halt like a plotter or print server going down during a mad project deadline.

On a basic level, the paths and what they path to is rather simple but in most offices where a multitude of Operating Systems are used, the structure gets a bit nasty.  The biggest problem is that the drivers are not the same for different Versions of Windows, like 98 and NT2000, so the .pc3 files they create are not compatible either.  This means that you will need separate folders for every OS that uses different Plotter Drivers.

Since the 2000 Series of AutoCAD and Architectural Desktop remembers the Plotter Device for each Tab of every drawing, you will have to exercise extreme caution in the Naming of the .pc3 files so the names can be swapped without AutoCAD or Architectural Desktop knowing that the files are moving from one OS to another.  In other words, make sure the .pc3 names are identical for each configuration.

In order to better understand this topic, I wrote a whole separate chapter on dealing with Printing and Plotting Configurations in Networked Envrionments - Part 6 - Printers and Plotters.

Automatic Save File Location (savefilepath)
AutoCAD and Architectural Desktop will automatically create backup files of drawings that are currently opened.  These files, by default, have the three letter extension ".sv$" and are saved to the Temp directory of the Windows folder.   To restore one of these files, you simply rename the ".sv$" extension to ".dwg".  Saving these files to the Server will put a serious load on your network so I recommend keeping the save path local; such as "C:\Windows\Temp".   The biggest drawback to saving to the Temp directory is that most users don't know how to go there and recover from a crashed file.  See also the Open and Save tab for SaveTime intervals.  The extension cannot be changed.

Data Sources Location
The data sources search path allows for custom or unique access to database linking.  This is out of my area of expertise so you should consult another source for more information on this subject.

When it comes to Template files, I am a huge fanatic about proper base sheets that assist in getting projects started and organized correctly from the beginning.  This is rather analogous to an architectural foundation and there is no excuse for the common practice of reusing old drawings for new work when making good template files is rather easy.

For Architectural Desktop in particular, the use of Template files is essential to successful use so it cannot be avoided and these should obviously be the same set of templates for the entire office.

The list of Template Files for AutoCAD varies a little from the list available for Architectural Desktop.  For AutoCAD, all of the default template files are located directly under the Template folder but for Architectural Desktop, there are sub-folders containing other template files.  The essential set of Template Files for Architectural Desktop are the ones listed directly under the Templates folder but the other folders contain examples and the AutoCAD Template Files - see list in Part 7 - Template Files.   If you have no idea what to move, move the entire Template folder and all subfolders over to the server, path accordingly and all will be as it was by the default installation.  To be more sophisticated about which templates to keep and which to discard, read Part 7.

Temporary Drawing File Location
AutoCAD and Architectural Desktop use temporary files to manage such tasks as Undo and Redo, for example, and though you can path these to the server and even set a unique extension name for each workstation, I do not advise adding more traffic to the network.  These files cannot be used for recover purposes like the ".sv$" files can so there is little reason to change the path away from the default Temp folder.

Temporary External Reference File Location
When AutoCAD and Architectural Desktop work with linked drawing files, called Xref's, one of the biggest problems users had to deal with on Microsoft Networks was the file lock.  In other words, once a file was accessed it was locked out even though it may only be accessed as a linked file.  The best solution came about when users could use the "Enabled with Copy" on the Open and Save tab of the Options dialog box.  This option will make a copy of the linked drawing file to the location workstation thus allowing other users to access these files while cutting down on network traffic.  Using Window's Temp directory is a valid option here.

In most offices I leave the default AutoCAD and Architectural Desktop Texture folder under the default path and thus do not bother to modify the path as illustrated to the right.  In offices where Rendering does occur, it is far more common that other software products such as Viz or Lightscape are used and thus few really are interested in using native AutoCAD or Architectural Desktop's Rendering options.  Though inferior in just about every respect, the native Rendering capabilities can prove to be quite useful for rapid presentation work - see the Architectural Desktop Presentation eGuide for more information on this topic.