Troubleshooting guide

Problems are part of life. Below is the list of the most common ones we have collected around CapCad, each with its resolution. The numbering is the same as on the Portuguese page, so the two editions stay comparable.

1. The CAD reports "Macro not found"
2. A firewall is blocking the CAD's internet access
3. General troubleshooting
4. CapCad shortcuts firing when you did not want them
5. A report comes out with the wrong data
6. "Class not registered"
7. A sign or block insertion does not complete
8. Problems updating CapCad
9. The ribbon has disappeared
10. The CapCad ribbon is in the wrong language
11. CapCad shortcuts not firing
12. Audit the dwg
13. Reset the CAD
14. Reset the CapCad options
15. Reset the CapCad system
16. Confirming CapCad is up to date
17. Repair the CapCad installation
18. Finding the CapCad installation folder
19. CapCad bugs
20. A VBA "Run-time" error
21. Checking the CapCad version
22. Assorted problems whose fix is in the message itself
23. Uninstall CapCad

1) The CAD reports "Macro not found"

"I click CapCad commands but nothing happens, and the prompt says 'Macro not found'."

This means you are running an old installation. Older versions of CapCad needed the CAD's VBA Enabler to be installed; current versions do not.

Resolution: update CapCad (item 16). If the update does not go through, repair the installation (item 17). If the message persists after a repair and a CAD restart, contact support — do not install a VBA Enabler to work around it.

2) A firewall is blocking the CAD's internet access

"I have internet, but when I try to run a CapCad command I get a no-connection message."

CapCad needs internet access to validate the user and the licence. Sometimes a firewall rule blocks your CAD's access to the internet.

Resolution: if you are in a corporate environment, contact your IT department and tell them about it. If not, searching Windows for "firewall" and choosing "restore defaults" should sort it out.

3) General troubleshooting

Sometimes the cause is an opaque combination of CAD configuration, CapCad state and a damaged dwg. Rather than hunting for it, it is usually quicker to work through the steps below.

Examples:

"I try to plot a PDF but some elements do not appear, even though the layers are correct and nothing is set as non-plottable."

"My ribbon has disappeared and will not come back."

Linetypes displaying wrongly, a block inserted at the wrong scale, CapCad commands that run but do nothing, and so on.

Work through these steps:

1. Restart the CAD.
2. Check for a CapCad update (item 16).
3. If it is a specific dwg, run AUDIT (item 12).

If that did not fix it, carry on to:

1. Reset the CapCad options (item 14).
2. Repair the CapCad installation (item 17).
3. Reset the CAD (item 13).
4. If it is a specific dwg, copy all of its content into a new drawing.

If it is still not fixed, please get in touch.

4) CapCad shortcuts firing when you did not want them

Problem: "I type the CAD aliases I am used to, such as PL or L, and I am taken to different commands."

Resolution: CapCad's aliases can be switched on and off at will. Run CAPCAD_SHORTCUTS and click Deactivate. The change takes effect in the next CAD session, or immediately if you run REINIT and tick PGP.

Note that CapCad deliberately overrides a few of the CAD's stock aliases — DC, DV, IM, IMP, IN, SE and COL — which is exactly why the Deactivate button exists. See Command shortcuts.

5) A report comes out with the wrong data

Problem: "I generate my reports but the spreadsheets come out with data that has nothing to do with my drawing."

Cause: most likely an Excel crash left one of the CapCad report templates damaged.

Resolution: in the Reports command, reset the CapCad templates with the Resetar templates... button on the tab's tool row (the caption is Portuguese). The next report rebuilds the template from the installation.

6) "Class not registered"

Problem: on opening the CAD, or while running a CapCad command, you see a Class not registered message.

Cause: one of the following programs is damaged:

• the CAD itself;
• Excel / Office — CapCad drives Excel over COM to write reports and spreadsheets.

Resolution: reinstall or repair one or both of them.

7) A sign or block insertion does not complete

"I try to insert a sign through CapCad but nothing is inserted, and I get a message about the insertion."

Follow the procedure the dialog describes. Where it asks for an AUDIT and the AUDIT does not fix it, an alternative is to start a new dwg and copy every entity into it.

8) Problems updating CapCad

Follow the procedure in the messages the updater shows. The most common one is not an error at all: CapCad was updated but the CAD must be restarted for the update to be applied.

If the updater cannot work out the CapCad folder, it asks whether the first-install .bat file was ever run. If repeated attempts fail, contact us.

9) The ribbon has disappeared

If the CAD's ribbon bar has gone, type RIBBON on the command line.

If it is the CapCad tab that has gone, type CAPCAD. That reloads the active profile's menu without a CAD restart. Two things to know: it does not unload the menu group that may still be loaded, so you can end up with two CapCad tabs (use CUIUNLOAD on the duplicate); and it picks the menu by language, not by country, so a UK profile reloads the generic English menu. To get your own country's ribbon back, switch profile — see item 10.

If that did not fix it, go to item 3 in this list.

10) The CapCad ribbon is in the wrong language

Run CAPCAD_COUNTRY_STANDARDS (ribbon: CapCad panel › System split button › Country Standards) and select your country. Activation loads that profile's menu file, and it also rewrites the auto-load file, so the correct ribbon comes back on its own at the next CAD start.

11) CapCad shortcuts not firing

Problem: "I type the CapCad aliases I am used to, and nothing happens. The same commands work if I click the ribbon."

Resolution: run CAPCAD_SHORTCUTS and click Activate, which puts CapCad's Support folder first on the CAD's support-path list. The change takes effect in the next CAD session, or immediately after REINIT with PGP ticked.

If the aliases fire but they are not the ones you expect, you may simply have a different alias set than you think: CapCad ships one set per language and per CAD. The CAPCAD_SHORTCUTS window shows exactly what is in your file; Command shortcuts explains which file you get and why.

12) Audit the dwg

Run the CAD's own AUDIT and RECOVER commands on every relevant dwg. Read the prompt to see whether errors were found and whether they were fixed.

13) Reset the CAD

On AutoCAD, run Reset Settings to Default, which is installed in the Start menu alongside the product.

If you cannot find that icon, run the following from Windows (Windows key + R). The example is for AutoCAD / Civil 3D 2022; change the year to match your version.

Civil 3D:

"C:\Program Files\Autodesk\AutoCAD 2022\AdMigrator.exe" /reset /product C3D /language "en-US"

AutoCAD:

"C:\Program Files\Autodesk\AutoCAD 2022\AdMigrator.exe" /reset /product ACAD /language "en-US"

On BricsCAD, GstarCAD, ZWCAD and ARES Commander, use that product's own settings-reset tool.

14) Reset the CapCad options

Sometimes a particular combination of options is what is causing the problem. CapCad keeps options in two places, and each has its own way back to the defaults:

• Your own preferences — CAPCAD_PREFERENCES. The Re-enable advice messages button clears every "do not show again" mark you have accumulated, which is the setting most often behind "the command used to warn me and now it does not".
• The project settings — CAPCAD_PROJECT_MANAGER. Every folder row has a Default local button that clears the stored value and reloads the default CapCad would use if nothing were configured. See Project Manager.

Presets saved inside individual commands are reset from that command's own Default values button, not from here.

15) Reset the CapCad system

Resetting the CapCad system is the first step whenever something behaves oddly. Run CAPCAD_RESET (ribbon: CapCad panel › System split button › Reset CapCad). It discards the state CapCad holds in the session — the last coordinate system, the language resolved from the profile, the translation of forms that are already open — and writes capcad was reset on the command line.

It does not touch the drawing, your preferences, the project or the licence. If it does not help, restarting the CAD gives the full effect.

16) Confirming CapCad is up to date

CapCad updates itself when the CAD opens, but you can check at any time with CAPCAD_UPDATE (Check Update). It compares your installation with the server and downloads only the files that differ, then says one of three things: already on the latest version, updated, or updated and the CAD must be restarted.

17) Repair the CapCad installation

If one of CapCad's component files has been damaged, run CAPCAD_FORCE_UPDATE (Repair installation...). It re-downloads every file, including the ones that look identical, and confirms when it is done.

18) Finding the CapCad installation folder

Two ways:

• CAPCAD_ABOUT → Open folder opens the installation folder in Explorer directly.
• CAPCAD_SYSTEM_INFO lists it, together with the CapId and other machine data, which is what support usually asks for.

To send a full diagnostic package, use CAPCAD_DIAGNOSE.

19) CapCad bugs

We develop CapCad with modern software practice and our team does its best. Even so, errors can happen.

It is worth noting that software such as Windows or the CAD itself contains bugs too, and CapCad sometimes misbehaves as a knock-on effect.

Particular attention went into CapCad's error trapping and logging: nothing gets past it, every fault is reported and handled. The report carries the command that was running and the sequence of commands before it.

A bug is usually fixed and the CapCad system updated within a few days, and the user is notified. If it happened in unusual circumstances, we are grateful for any extra detail you can give us — see Help, learning and community.

20) A VBA "Run-time" error

This applies only to older CapCad versions: a VBA run-time error means an old installation. Update (item 16) or repair (item 17).

21) Checking the CapCad version

Run CAPCAD_ABOUT (ribbon: CapCad panel › System split button › About CapCad). The version is in the top left. It is the program's build stamp, not a file date, so copying or downloading the dll does not change it; hover for the exact build date and time.

22) Assorted problems whose fix is in the message itself

For a great many problems, the answer is in the message that told you about them. CapCad's dialogs are written to say what went wrong and what to do about it, so read them before looking further — including the ones that end in a question, where the two answers do different things.

23) Uninstall CapCad

In Windows, under Apps / Add or remove programs, select CapCad and uninstall it. CAPCAD_ACCOUNT › Tools › Uninstall CapCad... runs the same uninstaller from inside the CAD.

If you had a technical difficulty with the program, or if it did not meet your expectations, please consider sending feedback to team@capcad.io. We would appreciate it.

If your problem is not on this list, we are here

If your problem is above and you followed the steps without fixing it, or if it is not here at all, do not hesitate to contact us through the usual channels.

See also

• Account, licence and installation — update, repair, reset and the installation folder.
• Preferences and working environment — the shortcuts window and the suggested CAD settings.
• Entry points and modes — what CAPCAD does when the ribbon is gone.
• Command shortcuts — which alias set you actually have.