 
AutoCAD R12 C3 for Windows and DOS Questions and Answers 
--------------------------------------------------------
 
The purpose of this Question and Answer summary is to provide 
information about AutoCAD R12 c3 for Windows and DOS.  This 
summary is organized as follows:  
 
Q1:     What is AutoCAD R12 c3 for Windows and DOS 386?
Q2:     What's new in R12 c3 for Windows?
Q3:     What are some of the bugs fixed in R12 c3?
Q4:     How will AutoCAD R12 c3 be delivered to customers? 
Q5:     How easy is the patch to use?
Q6:     What versions of AutoCAD does the patch work on?
Q7:     What if I have AutoCAD R12 c0 or c1 for DOS?
Q8:     What technology did Autodesk use to create these patches?
Q9:     How reliable is this patch technology?
Q10:    What if I have customized pieces of AutoCAD?
Q11:    What about authorization codes?
Q12:    Will I need to reconfigure AutoCAD?


 
Q1:     What is AutoCAD R12 c3 for Windows and DOS 386? 
 
AutoCAD R12 c3 is the first major maintenance release of AutoCAD for 
Windows.  Since Windows and DOS are Autodesk's best selling 
platforms, we are taking this opportunity to synchronize the code base 
between AutoCAD 386 and AutoCAD for Windows. 
 
Q2:     What's new in R12 c3 for Windows? 
 
*       ACADPLCMD for Windows -- you can use this plotting 
environment variable to initiate plotting, queue the plot file to a 
plot spooler or notify a system operator that a plot file has been 
generated and is ready to plot.  The expanded capability of this 
feature was first introduced in AutoCAD R12 c2 for DOS.  
*       Updated Windows extender bound into AutoCAD for Windows 
yields a 15% smaller size of AutoCAD resulting in faster 
program load. 
 
There are no new features in R12 c3 for DOS 386. 
 
For complete details please refer to the readme.doc for each platform. 
 
Q3:     What are some of the bugs fixed in R12 c3? 
 
DOS and Windows Platforms 
 
*       Filled Entities on frozen layers will no longer plot. 
*       Linetypes in nested xrefs now display and plot correctly. 
*       Non-continuous linetypes of arcs within blocks are now displayed
        and scaled correctly. 
*       Regeneration of a drawing in paper space after a Layer 
        Freeze/Thaw does not lock up the computer. 
*       Inserting drawings with extremely large coordinates no longer 
        locks the computer. 
*       Plotting long plots to HPGL devices does not relocate the origin
        of the drawing. 
*       Text entities with wide pen widths on HPGL/2 devices now plot with
        rounded corners. 
 
Windows Specific 
 
*       Inclusion of all applicable fixes from DOS R12 c2. 
*       Digitizers can now use the Shift, Ctrl and Shift+Ctrl keys in 
        combination with button picks. 
*       Menu swapping is now handled correctly for all pull down menus. 
*       The (acad_helpdlg) function will now correctly detect and display
        either a Windows hypertext help file or a DOS ASCII help file. 
*       Plotting now works correctly from AutoLISP and script files. 
*       The DirtyCount value in the ACADNODE.INI file will now be 
        correctly updated. This should eliminate the "corrupt pwd file" 
        messages when using multiple sessions. 
*       The list of file types in the file dialogue boxes now displays the
        proper file extensions. 
*       Freeplotting no longer changes linetypes or automatically hides 
        drawings and can now be started with script files. 
 
Q4:     How will AutoCAD R12 c3 be delivered to customers? 
 
New purchasers of AutoCAD for Windows or DOS will automatically 
get R12 c3 in the box. Existing customers of AutoCAD R12 for 
Windows or DOS will  be notified that the maintenance update is 
available to them at no charge at the beginning of May.  Dealers may 
charge a service charge for installation.  
 
Unlike past maintenance releases of AutoCAD, the update will be in the 
form of a set of patch disks which will automatically revise the currently 
installed version of AutoCAD R12 up to R12 c3. The serial number and 
personalization information of earlier versions of AutoCAD R12 will be 
retained.  Therefore, customers should retain their original disk set -- 
they should NOT destroy their media or return their disks to their dealer. 
 
Since the set of patch disks cannot be used as a full "AutoCAD", they 
can be distributed freely to all AutoCAD R12 customers. In an effort to 
expedite getting maintenance releases into the hands of customers, 
Autodesk will make this patch available through: 
 
1.      Traditional Channels -- Customer receives a notification letter of 
        c3, if they want it they send back the reply card and a set of 
        patch disks is sent out. 
2.      Dealer -- The dealer can freely copy this set of patch disks 
        and/or install the patch on customers' machines. 
3.      Electronic Distribution -- The patch disks are to be posted on 
        Compuserve and the Internet. 

To access these files from the Internet you should use anonymous FTP as 
follows:

1) Using ftp, open a connection to ftp.autodesk.com (ex: ftp ftp.autodesk.com)
2) At the login prompt, enter "anonymous"
3) Supply your full email address as your password (ex: foo@bar.com)
4) At the ftp> prompt, enter "binary" to perform binary file transfers
5) For the DOS patch, change to the /pub/patches/c3dos directory.
   Get the file c3dos.exe if you have a US or Canadian version of R12 or 
   get the file c3dosi.exe if you have an English language international 
   version (hardware locked version). 
6) For the Windows patch, change to the /pub/patches/c3win directory.
   Get the files c3w1.exe, c3w2.exe, c3w3.exe, c3w4.exe if you have a
   US or Canadian version of R12 or get the files c3wi1.exe, c3w2.exe, 
   c3w3.exe, c3w4.exe if you have an English language international version
   (hardware locked version).
7) When you are finished transfering files, type "quit" at the ftp> prompt.

 
Q5:     How easy is the patch to use? 
 
We've provided a very simple batch file which automates the whole 
process.  The procedure takes approximately 15 minutes. 

If you are downloading the file electronicaly, you will need to download
the following files:

For R12 c3 DOS (US and Canada): c3dos.exe 
For R12 c3 DOS (international): c3dosi.exe

For R12 c3 Windows (US and Canada): c3w1.exe, c3w2.exe, c3w3.exe, c3w4.exe
For R12 c3 Windows (international): c3wi1.exe, c3w2.exe, c3w3.exe, c3w4.exe
 
To install the Windows patch:
        Assuming you have installed your AutoCAD for Windows on drive C 
        in the acadwin directory and your floppy disk is in drive a: (or 
        your archive files were expanded in the patch directory), to run 
        the patch perform the following steps:

        a. From a DOS prompt (preferably not within Windows), type in
                c:
                cd \acadwin

        b. If you are installing from floppy disks, insert disk 1 in 
           drive a and type in
                a:install a:

        c. If you are installing from a single directory, type in
                c:\patch\install c:\patch

        and follow the instructions on the screen.

To install the DOS patch:
        Assuming you have installed your AutoCAD for DOS on drive C in
        the acadr12 directory and your floppy disk is in drive a: (or your 
        archive files were expanded in the patch directory), to run the 
        patch perform the following steps:

        a. From a DOS prompt, type in
                c:
                cd \acadr12

        b. If you are installing from floppy disks, insert disk 1 in 
           drive a and type in
                a:install a:

        c. If you are installing from a single directory, type in
                c:\patch\install c:\patch

        and follow the instructions on the screen. 

To install the Windows patch you will need at least 6MB free hard disk 
space. 
 
We recommend backing up your current AutoCAD installation prior to 
installing the patch. 
 
Q6:     What versions of AutoCAD does the patch work on? 
 
For AutoCAD R12 for Windows the patch will update R12 c1, R12 c1a 
and R12 c1c to R12 c3 including versions already patched with 
fixc1hlp.exe and winc1c.exe.  Effectively the patch works on all English 
language versions of AutoCAD R12 for Windows. 
 
For AutoCAD R12 for DOS 386, the patch will update R12 c2 and R12 
c2a(English Language Versions) to R12 c3 including versions patched 
with thawhang.exe and pltpch.exe. 
 
Q7:     What if I have AutoCAD R12 c0 or c1 for DOS? 
 
You will need to complete a media exchange through Autodesk 
Customer Service in which you will receive a new disk set and your 
serial number will be changed. 
 
Q8:     What technology did Autodesk use to create these patches? 
 
We used RTPatch from PocketSoft and PKZIP from PKWARE. 
 
Q9:     How reliable is this patch technology? 
 
When creating the patch, the patch builder program creates a checksum 
of the original file.  The patch apply program will only work on a 
version of the file with an identical checksum.  Therefore, there is no 
risk to inadvertently patching the wrong file. 
 
Q10:    What if I have customized pieces of AutoCAD? 
 
The update process performs binary patches on executable files only.  
Files such as acad.mnu will be replaced in full.  Therefore, if the user 
has customized acad.mnu it will be necessary to manually bring forward 
such changes.  For a complete list of files changed in the c3 update, 
consult the readme.doc for each platform that ships on the patch disks. 
 
Q11:    What about authorization codes? 
 
Since the serial number for AutoCAD remains the same, your existing 
AME, Designer, AutoVision or network usage authorization codes are 
still valid. 
 
Q12:    Will I need to reconfigure AutoCAD? 
 
Yes, after installing the patch AutoCAD will automatically prompt you 
for reconfiguration.   

