I’ve just been messing with blocks, their creation and use.
I’m using the latest QCAD, in Windows 10 Pro.
I’ve created several blocks and placed references to them in various layers of a project, However suddenly any attempt to deal with an existing block fails, with the message “Cannot edit block while editing a block-in-place”.
About the only thing I can do is make a copy of a block. Trying to do anything with the copy suffers the same fate.
I had done an edit of a block, and I suspect that I’ve done something stupid that has left the system in a state that it thinks the block editor is still editing something, but I can’t find out what All the blocks appear to be clear of being involved in any eaditing. I’ve tried saving the file, closing QCAD and opening the same file, all to no avail. I can’t find any indication - in the application or documentation - of a command to close the block editor. Is there one in QCAD?
I’m new to QCAD, have had 40 years of programming experience - mostly technical stuff from FORTRAN to C++, Java, Scheme, etc. etc. -for control systems, data analysis etc. Now retired, finding interesting things to do.
Would appreciate any thoughts on my problem.
Attached is the offending file.
BMW-Sanden Assembly Blocks Trial.dxf (382 KB)
Can’t help you much here.
QCAD crashed several times …
What I finally have done is exploded the ‘BMW Tray’ blocks.
Set all layers to show and thaw.
Then I merged all selectable (TA) to a new drawing.
BTW, one usually doesn’t use the ‘Defpoints’ layer to draw on. 
Regards,
CVH
BMW-Sanden Assembly Reverted.dxf (377 KB)
Is this what you are looking for … ?
BMW-Sanden Assembly Blocks Trial_mod.dxf (344 KB)
Thanks, Guys. I guess I handed you a pile of mess - it was a drawing that I had been messing about with over a few weeks, so it got a bit full of crap!
However, i did just what you did, CVH - copied all the stuff into a new file. That got rid of the problem with the block editor seeming to be locked up. But what a way to have to go! However, in the same file, you will find my next problem - which is also in Husky’s modified version of my file.
If you select a block and try to insert it in a particular layer, it doesn’t work, but it seems to do a very strange thing. A reference to the block IS inserted, but I have no idea into what! I’ll describe a simple case:-
- Create a block - let’s call it Block A - in Layer Alpha.
- Ensure that the intended recipient layer - let’s call it Layer Beta - is the only layer visible, and is active.
- Select Block A and issue the command to insert it (into Layer Beta).
- Select a point in Layer Beta where you want the reference to Block A to go.
Nothing appears in Layer Beta. However, if you make Layer Alpha visible, Block A appears at the coordinates selected. BUT ONLY AS LONG AS BOTH LAYER ALPHA AND LAYER BETA ARE VISIBLE. IF EITHER LAYER IS HIDDEN, BLOCK A IS NOT VISIBLE.
I’ve created a very simple drawing that illustrates this mysterious situation. ‘Dave’s Mystery Example’ is attached.
Cheers
Dave’s Mystery Example.dxf (99.4 KB)
Hi,
All entities live on a certain layer.
To show them, and the layer with the block reference entity, and the entities layers must be visible.
Please post one question per topic … See forum rules at top.
Regards,
CVH
Sorry about that, CVH. I’ll declare this subject ‘solved’, although it seems to me that having to overcome the ‘locked up’ problem involves building a new drawing by copying seems crazy. Surely there should be a way either (a) preventing the situation happening, or (b) providing a command that straightened it out.
I will, if needed, start a new stream on my follow-up question.
Your response indicates a requirement that I have not found in the documentation. If I read you right, my Layer Alpha should never have anything in it other than the one block created on it. That seems illogical to me. Am I correct?
You are the first and so far the only one who faced this issue. I’ve no idea how it was triggered! To prevent eventually this situation in upcoming QCAD versions the developer needs to know exactly what you did to trigger this “lock up”. Please explain step by step what you did prior the lock up so that it is reproducible for everyone. With your shared knowledge the developer knows exactly where to look at and I’m sure, if necessary, they will find a solution. Thanks.
Hi Husky.
Sorry - I was messing about trying all sorts of things, and I have no idea exactly when the problem condition was created, or what I was doing when it was created. I do realise that preventing the occurrence might be difficult without knowing how it occurred, so perhaps the creation of a command to clear whatever it is that tells the system the editor is editing -when the user is not editing (presumably there is a flag attached to something that stores the indication of the editor ‘editing’ ) would be the easiest way to go.
One of these days I might get into QCAD’s programming, but I think that should wait until I have a better grasp of QCAD can do and how to do things with it!
Remember my ‘battle’ with ‘Edit Block in Place’ after using it once:
Every file that is open in conjuction with such a file suffers the same faith.
I made the repair in a stand alone installation. Wiped everything afterwards.
Only that assures me that I still can write scripts and debug them.
Regards,
CVH