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Blank Drawing Screen
7

Blank Drawing Screen

Blank Drawing Screen

(OP)
Having used DraftSight sucessfully. For no apparent reason, when I now open an existing drawing, or start a new drawing, there are no entities visible on the screen? I can, using window or crossing select entities, as the grips appear! If I do a print preview, it is all there!. But looking at the screen in 'drawing mode' there is nothing to be seen!?!

RE: Blank Drawing Screen

The file appears OK on my install ... both model (white on black) and sheet (black on white) mode.

Have you set any coloured layers?
Try resetting the elements to default at Tools > Options > System options > Display > Element Colors

RE: Blank Drawing Screen

(OP)
Thanks 'CorBlimeyLimey', there were no particular colours set to layers on this file. This happens also with draftsight sample drawings, which i opened to verify that my files weren't corrupt, and it happens too with autocad generated files.
The jpg's attached, are;
ds-01 - sample drawing opened (notice blank screen)
ds-02 - entities selected using crossing (obviously there IS something out there)
ds-03 - the print preview (preview of current view with monochrome plot style)
Why things are not visible is a mystery. I have tried the usual tricks used in AutoCAD with hidden layers, changing colours et al

RE: Blank Drawing Screen

I have only recently downloaded the DraftSight program to view electronic schematics as a "before" view on one monitor while I make changes in ACAD on the other. I had this same blank screen problem but CorBlimeyLimey's solution fixed it.

I usually work in ACAD on a black screen with colored lines which makes me far less tired at the end of the day than looking into a bright flickering screen at a fixed 96hz rate. I notice that the DS can't do this. I tried to set the display options to black or blue for the Sheet Background but it didn't seem to work. I get white only. But resetting the selected item at least made the drawings visible - black on white.

Because of the rules of the "man-in-charge" here they don't like layers and colors. Black on white is the rule but some have their ACAD set different so as a temp contractor I have been tasked with editing and making changes to several hundred drawings. This includes changing all element colors to b/w. I select all and then pull down the colors list and select the small square that is half black, half white. This lets them all see it the way they want.

But not in DS. Thanks for the tip, though, I can now see the drawings.

Frank Reid
Reid Engineering Services of Utah

RE: Blank Drawing Screen

JohnCarrick, were you ever able to solve this problem?  I seem to be encountering the same issue.   

RE: Blank Drawing Screen

I am also having the same problem. SKCProject, did you find a solution?

RE: Blank Drawing Screen

Just started having the same problem. I open file, see the objects (~300) display, draw a horiz. line to copy a view, so I can work with that copy, and the highlighted objects jump off the line, off the screen, along with the base objects.

May be a bug. Yesterday, I added a red color-by-layer, and drew several lines. Today, the copy problem occured. Tried closing and reopening drawing, seeing the same thing happen.

RE: Blank Drawing Screen

Did the action that CorBlimeyLimey mentioned.  Seems to work.  Just need to make sure that lines get placed with snap buttons.

RE: Blank Drawing Screen

I have the same problem. When attempting to Copy or Move a complex object, as soon as the cursor is moved from the 'start position', the object accelerates right off the screen. On occasions it has gone so far that it's impossible to find it again.

Shortly after this behaviour commences with a drawing, it becomes impossible to even draw a line. Upon clicking the 'Specify start point' the line may start from anywhere on OR off the screen.

It is as though the pointer is has lost its reference and or proportionality to the mouse movement?

I have 5 useless drawings now so any help would be much appreciated!



 

RE: Blank Drawing Screen

I reset the element colour as CorBlimeyLimey mentioned but to no avail. I even uninstalled and reinstalled draftsight, and still I cannot see anything I draw. no line displays in any dwg i open too.

any help...

RE: Blank Drawing Screen

It shouldn't matter, but what graphics card & driver are you using?

RE: Blank Drawing Screen

2
Hi, I updated my graphics card driver and that has solved the problem. Thanks to everyone who helped!

RE: Blank Drawing Screen

Hi Mark6145
I encountered the same problem and found a circle with radius zero in that part of the drawing that couldn't be copied correctly any more. Please see on attached drawing the small point where the arrow aims at. Once this point is part of the selection for copying it will cause problems. To solve erase that point, or increase the radius above zero (in the properties).
I do not know where it comes from but suspect it has something to do with clipboardcopy or lost endpoint of dimension lines. It's just a guess.
 

RE: Blank Drawing Screen

Did what LightHi did, and solved the problem.  Using Nvidia GeForce 6150SE nForce 430.  All is well with the world.

RE: Blank Drawing Screen

Hi!

I'm new here and I registered because of this thread. I have the same problem. A couple of weeks ago I opened one of my old dwg drawings and nothing was visible. Since then I could not see anything. I can select objects, lines, etc... but I can't see them. I tried all the advices and nothing helped.

RE: Blank Drawing Screen

magic'...

Can you post a sample problem file?

RE: Blank Drawing Screen

Unfortunately this is not necessary, because the problem is with ALL files (also with DraftSight sample files). I have DraftSight on other computers and there is no problem.   

RE: Blank Drawing Screen

Goodmorning STKRAPP

Many thanks for your response and glad to hear it is not just unique 'finger trouble' my end. I think you are probably onto the problem because this only happens on a drawing containing a site survey with many 'spot points' on which to hang a dimension or note. I can see no way of giving a finite radius to so many hidden circles within a complicated drawing.

DraftSight is becoming increasingly bizarre in that it now loads up with ALL the menu bars missing. Absolutely nothing on the entire screen! Time for a re-instal and another try.

Again, thanks, and I'll watch this space to see what other users are expeiencing similar problems.

Mark6145

RE: Blank Drawing Screen

Just wondering what version of DraftSight you are using. Mine is version 11.2.802.  I don't create any files in DS but only use it for viewing AutoCad files and very rarely making a tiny change.
Frank

One test is worth a thousand expert opinions. - Dan Joos, test engineer

RE: Blank Drawing Screen

I've "solved" my problem with switching to another computer - my coworker never uses DraftSight and our computers are identical. I'm going to carefully observe DraftSight on this computer so I'll know when and what happened when the error appears again (hopefully that will never happen). Thanks to everybody who contribute here with useful advices.

RE: Blank Drawing Screen

I've reinstalled DS version 8.4.274. Problem has not recurred since  (10 days). However, there are two small dots left in the positions if the entities that became unmanageable which cannot be erased. They seem to be a single pixel remaining the same size on the screen whatever the zoom. Have had the same problem in the past with AutoCad 2008.

RE: Blank Drawing Screen

Updating graphics card driver fixed this issue for me.  Thanks LightHi and contactspec.

Some background:
I used Draftsight in Windows XP...worked great.  I recently upgraded to Windows 7, no computer hardware changes.  I reinstalled Draftsight and got the same issues described in this thread, with a twist.  I had embedded a Visio file in my .DWG file, which worked fine before updating to Windows 7.  I thought it was an issue with the embedded Visio file, but then I noticed that creating a new drawing from scratch also showed that any drawing would not display correctly.  I updated the graphics card driver and now I can see my drawings, new and old and with embedded Visio files.

RE: Blank Drawing Screen

All

It seems that everyone has now reolved the problem by either changing version of DS, changing graphics card or computer.  My version 8.4.274 has now been working fine for 40 days so - fingers crossed!

Thanks for all the help from everyone, specially STKRAPP.

Signing of now

Mark6145

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