Q: The Raytrace II macro does not work in AutoCAD 2000, 2000i or 2002.

A: There are several things which must be properly setup in order for the Raytrace II macro to work. In the instructions below be sure to include the drive letter and proper path for your particular Photopia installation (i.e. C:\PHOTOPIA\ACAD or D:\LTI\PHOTOPIA\ACAD).

1. If you are using 2000i or 2002, then try saving your drawing, closing AutoCAD and restarting it. If you are working with multiple drawings open at the same time, then they all must be located in the same folder in order for the Raytrace II macro to work in all of them.
2. If you are using version 2000 or the above item does not help, then ensure the proper menu files are in use for your version of AutoCAD by going into the \PHOTOPIA\ACAD folder and copying the proper AutoCAD support files to ACAD.*. For example, if you are using AutoCAD 2000i, then copy ACAD2000i.* to ACAD.*.
3. Ensure the PATH on your computer includes the \Photopia\Exe folder. You can check this by typing the PATH command at the command prompt in a DOS shell.
4. Ensure you have the macro support files installed in your \PHOTOPIA\EXE folder by checking to see if INTE2000.BAT, FIX2000.EXE & DXFHDR2K.EXE are there.
5. Make sure that the Support File Search Path is properly set in AutoCAD. Select Options from the Tools main menu item. From the Files tab in the Options dialog, expand the Support File Search Path. Make sure the path for the \PHOTOPIA\ACAD folder is listed first - for instance, "C:\LTI\PHOTOPIA\ACAD". If it is not, then add it and move it to the top of the list.
6. Make sure that the working directory for AutoCAD is set to a location that has read and write access. This is important for those using a networked copy of AutoCAD. You can set the working directory for AutoCAD in the properties of your AutoCAD shortcut using the "Start in:" parameter. If the macro continues to fail, then try making the "Start in" folder a folder on your local machine instead of a network drive even if the network drive had read and write access.
7. Make sure you are constructing your polylines using the 3DPOLY command in the front view only (looking at the world X-Z plane, down the Y axis, looking in the positive Y direction). This is the view in which you are defaulted when you construct curves with the Photopia curve generation tools. Make sure the UCS is set to this view. The Raytrace II macro WILL NOT trace LWPOLYLINEs, which are created by default by AutoCAD 2000 when the PLINE command is used. AutoCAD 2000 sometimes shows the proper UCS Icon indicating the front view, but the screen coordinates indicate X and Z coordinates instead of X and Y coordinates. If this happens, then manually run the UCS command and enter "V" for View to set the UCS to your current view.
8. Make sure the polyline you construct has a local Z height of 0. In other words, the polyline must be in the plane of the screen.
9. Make sure you are specifying the angle to start and finish the raytrace in the counter clockwise direction. If you continue to have trouble with the Raytrace II macro, contact Photopia technical support.

Q: The Raytrace II macro does not work in AutoCAD 14.

A: There are several things which must be properly setup in order for the Raytrace II macro to work. In the instructions below be sure to include the drive letter on which Photopia is installed everywhere you see Photopia directories referenced (i.e. C:\PHOTOPIA\ACAD or D:\PHOTOPIA\ACAD).

1. Ensure the proper menu files are in use for AutoCAD 14 by going into the \PHOTOPIA\ACAD folder and copying ACADR14.* to ACAD.*.
2. Ensure the PATH on your computer includes the \Photopia\Exe folder.
3. Ensure you have the macro support files installed in your \Photopia\Exe folder by checking to see if INTER14.BAT, FIXDXF14.EXE & DXFHDR14.EXE are there.
4. Make sure that the Support File Search Path is properly set in AutoCAD. Select Tools / Preferences or type "preferences" at the command prompt. From the Files tab in the Preferences window, expand the Support File Search Path. Make sure the path for the \PHOTOPIA\ACAD folder is listed first - for instance, "C:\LTI\PHOTOPIA\ACAD". If it is not, then add it and move it to the top of the list.
5. Make sure that the working directory for AutoCAD is set to a location that has read and write access. This is important for those using a networked copy of AutoCAD. You can set the working directory for AutoCAD in the properties of your AutoCAD shortcut using the "Start in:" parameter.
6. Make sure you are constructing your polylines using the 3DPOLY command in the front view only (looking at the world X-Z plane, down the Y axis, looking in the positive Y direction). This is the view in which you are defaulted when you construct curves with the Photopia curve generation tools. Make sure the UCS is set to this view. The Raytrace II macro WILL NOT trace LWPOLYLINEs, which are created by default by AutoCAD 14 when the PLINE command is used.
7. Make sure the polyline you construct has a local Z height of 0. In other words, the polyline must be in the plane of the screen.
8. Make sure you are specifying the angle to start and finish the raytrace in the counter clockwise direction. If you continue to have trouble with the Raytrace II macro, contact Photopia technical support.

Q: How do I create POLYLINEs to trace using the Photopia macros in AutoCAD 14 and later versions?

A: By default, AutoCAD 14 and later versions will create LWPOLYLINEs (a 2D definition of a polyline) when you use the PLINE command. The Photopia raytracing macros within AutoCAD require the original definition of polylines, which were 3D. You can create polylines with the required 3D definitions by using the 3DPOLY command instead of PLINE. Note however, that if you create a polyline using the PEDIT command (to join together many LINE segments, for example) then AutoCAD will automatically make LWPOLYLINEs.