AutoCAD Tip – Missing Dialogue Boxes?

by Dennis Collin

Occasionally I have had conversations with users of various flavours of AutoCAD and AutoCAD LT where certain commands which should exhibit dialogue boxes, instead display options in a text format.

This is an age-old problem with AutoCAD, where certain dialogue boxes go missing, often after another application has been installed and/or the software has had, shall we say, an ungraceful exit? (in other words, crashed).

Fig. Locating files is easier with a dialogue box!

Upon reopening the software, all the file access commands can only be accessed via the command line. This can also happen for no apparent reason following a software or system update or reset.

To fix the issue it is very easy, (once you know how!).

Open your AutoCAD based product

On the command line type, FILEDIA   press <ENTER>

AutoCAD will return a value most likely with something like the following.

Enter a new value for Filedia <0>

Type ‘1’ and press <ENTER>

The dialogue box should now return with the open or save command.

Related issues can also be cured by typing:H

Ribbon – Restores a lost ribbon environment

Or type some of the following System Variables if specified symptoms exist. For newer versions of AutoCAD (post 2020) these instances are rare.

• CMDDIA – Restores Plotting Dialogue Box (and other interfaces)
• ATTDIA – Restores or Initiates the attribute editing dialogue box
• ATTREQ – Controls behaviour of Insert command relating to attribute settings

In all these cases setting the value to 1 (or on) should resolve the problem.

Fig. Dialogue box restored!