How to Fix AutoCAD and troubleshooting common problems

Errors in AutoCAD can be divided into two broad categories, the error related to the CAD file and error related to the AutoCAD Software itself.

If the issues are related to AutoCAD files then you can check the steps mentioned here to fix it.

In this article however we will cover the issues related to the software itself and methods that you can use to fix AutoCAD.

Can’t select more than one object

If you are not able to select more than one object in AutoCAD then change the value of PICKADD system variable to 1 or 2.

Some products fail to install

This issue is related to the installation of new software.

At the end of AutoCAD installation, you may see this error message stating it failed to install some of the products.

This usually happens when you have dependent software like .net framework and other things of latest version pre installed and AutoCAD has older version of these files.

You can solve this issue by removing these dependent installations and then doing fresh AutoCAD install after restarting your PC.

You can check more about this error here in this Autodesk forum post.

File tabs missing

You can use FILETAB command to bring back file tabs in the interface.

You can also hide the file tabs using FILETABCLOSE command.

Alternatively, you can toggle the visibility of file tabs from Interface panel of View tab as shown in the following image.

Mouse scroll wheel not panning

If clicking the mouse wheel is not activating the PAN tool instead it is activating the object snap menu then change the MBUTTONPAN system variable value to 1.

Cursor disappears in the drawing area

This one is another known issue where your cursor hides from drawing area but it will continue to work normally and remain visible outside the drawing area.

You can still make selections and make windows but the cursor will not be visible.

To solve this issue type 3DCONFIG on the command line and uncheck “Smooth line display” check box.

Also try changing the "2D display settings" to intermediate or basic as shown in the following image.

Leave all other settings unchanged and click OK to close Graphics Performance window.

Can’t explode blocks

If you try to explode blocks from your drawing and encounter this error “1 could not be exploded” then you need to allow exploding for the block using Block Definition window.

Type B and press enter.

Select the block which you are unable to explode from the list of blocks and click on Allow exploding check box and click OK to save the redefined block.

Can’t edit text with the double click

If you are not able to edit text or attributes with the double click then change the value of DBLCLKEDIT system variable to 1.

Also make sure PICKFIRST system variable is set to 1.

Copy and Trim command not working

This issue is mostly seen with COPY and TRIM commands but it can also happen with some other commands.

Generally, this is due to some custom LISPS overriding system variables or default command aliases.

To solve this issue open a drawing in which everything seems to be working fine and go to Tools panel of express tools tab and click on System Variables icon.

Alternatively, you can also use SYSVDLG command to open System Variables window.

Export the complete list of system variables by clicking save all button and import the saved system variable file (SVF) in affected drawing using Read button of System variables window.

2D Drawing has content along Z axis

If your 2D drawing suddenly starts to show content along the Z axis then you can fix it very easily using FLATTEN command in AutoCAD.

For AutoCAD LT there is a workaround that you can use as FLATTEN command is not available in AutoCAD LT.

Both the methods are explained in this article: How to remove Z axis from AutoCAD drawing.

Some text and symbol are missing from the print

In many cases, you may find that the printed or PDF output has some text or symbols missing.

The issue generally happens if the plotter fails to capture custom fonts used for creating the symbols or text.

To solve this problem start the PLOT command then select your plotter and click on properties button to modify its properties.

From the Properties panel select the custom properties option and check the radio button “capture custom fonts”.

For newer versions of AutoCAD, you can also click on PDF options button on Plot window to change custom properties of PDF plotters.

AutoCAD splash screen abruptly closes

This issue is related to AutoCAD license manager where you try to launch the software and it shows the splash screen for some time and then closes abruptly.

In some of the cases, you may also see an error message “The security system (softlock license manager) is not functioning or is improperly installed”.

To resolve the issue you need to replace corrupt AutoCAD license file with a new one.

In this case, reinstallation does not solve the issue.

Open task manager by pressing ctrl + Alt + delete for windows 8 and 10 users and select Services tab.

Select FlexNet Licensing Service from the list then right click on it and select Stop from the contextual menu.

For windows 7 users you need to stop FlexNet Licensing Service from Services shortcut of Administrative tools in Control panel.

After stopping the Licensing service go to C > ProgramData > FLEXnet folder and delete all of its contents.

Return back to the FlexNet Licensing Service option and right-click on it and select Start from the contextual menu.

Launch your AutoCAD software again and it will now prompt for License detail.

Enter the product license details and you are good to go.

Now...

Let's talk about some generic troubleshooting tips that will help you fix your AutoCAD software if your specific error is not listed in the list above.

Restart your PC

This may sound trivial but restarting your PC can solve many common issues and this is probably the first thing that you should do before tweaking any software related settings.

Reset Software

In most of the cases restarting the PC solves many issues but if restart fails to solve your problem try Resetting AutoCAD.

The reset button is in the Autodesk AutoCAD 20XX folder on start menu as shown in the image below.

If the reset option further prompts you to make a backup before creating rest then choose the option which you want and then hit the reset option.

I prefer to reset it completely without any backup as the backup might contain the scripts or files creating the errors in the first place.

Reset Profile

If the issue is related to custom settings of your AutoCAD profile then you can delete your current profile or migrate a profile from another PC to your current PC. 

Changing the profile can also remove your customizations, you can find all about migrating profiles in AutoCAD here.

Hardware acceleration

If the issue is related to the graphics then update your graphics driver.

Also, toggle on/off hardware acceleration option and see if it works.

You can access hardware acceleration option using 3DCONFIG command.

This feature is only available if your video card supports OpenGL, a 2D and 3D graphics API.

Hard Reset

If none of these tips are working for you then you can try manual AutoCAD reset.

By doing a manual reset you will essentially return AutoCAD to an out of the box factory condition removing all of your customizations and possibly errors too.

This method requires you to have administrator privileges as we will make changes in windows registry.

Registry editing is an advance feature and it should be done only when you know what you are doing as it may corrupt your operating system if not done correctly.

Make sure you have closed all AutoCAD windows and other Autodesk products before making these changes.

Press window + R key then type REGEDIT in RUN window and press enter to open the registry editor window.

Expand HKEY_CURRENT_USER from the file tree on left then expand Software then Autodesk then AutoCAD then R20.0 or R21.0 whichever is there on the list.

Now select folder ACAD-E001:409 right-click on it and select Export from the contextual menu.

Specify a location for saving the registry value and save it.

Now right click again on ACAD-0001:409 folder and select delete from the contextual menu and close registry editor window.

Make all hidden folders visible using windows explorer, in windows 10 or 11 you can make it visible by checking the Hidden items box from View tab of File Explorer as shown in the image below.

Go to C > Users <user name> AppData > Roaming > Autodesk and rename AutoCAD 20XX folder to AutoCAD 20XX.old.

Go to C > Users <user name> AppData > Local > Autodesk folder and here again rename AutoCAD 20XX folder to AutoCAD 20XX.old.

In the file path mentioned above <user name> will be the username assigned to your PC for example in my case username is Jaiprakash on my PC.

Also, the 20XX is the version of AutoCAD software in my case it was 2017.

When all of these changes are done launch AutoCAD software and it will open in out of the box condition and without any errors (at least in most of the cases!).

Summary

I hope this article helped in solving issues with your AutoCAD software.

If you still have issues then I would suggest you post it in Autodesk forums.

Let me know in the comments down below if you want to share an AutoCAD troubleshooting tip.