Troubleshooting

📄️ Calculations Taking Too Long

Several factors influence how long photometrics calculations take, from the area size to the number of fixtures and solids. This article explains each and suggests how you can reduce the calculation time.

📄️ Base Units and Photometrics Calculations

If your photometrics calculations appear too condensed or spread out, or the calculation takes a long time to complete, you may have your base units set incorrectly.

📄️ Light Fixtures and Text Not Scaling Correctly

For Design Master Photometrics entities to scale correctly, set the DIMSCALE variable in your CAD program according to the scale factor of your drawing.

📄️ Reload Missing Photometrics Ribbons and Pulldown Menus

Here are commands you can enter at the command line to reload ribbon and pulldown menu tabs for Design Master Photometrics.

📄️ Illuminance Values Inside Building Outlines

When drawing building outlines for outdoor photometrics, make sure you use the Insert Solid Rectangle or Shape commands if you do not want illuminance levels to be measured inside the area.

📄️ Incorrect Light Distribution from Light Fixtures

Odd light distributions can be caused by inconsistencies between the light fixture block and the IES file.

📄️ Design Master Photometrics Text is Rotated

If Design Master Photometrics text is being inserted at an angle, try using the AutoCAD DVIEW and ROTATE commands to adjust your drawing.

📄️ Error Copying Database to Backup Location

If a backup of your project files cannot be created, the file path may exceed the character limit in Windows.

📄️ Windows Cannot Find acad.exe

If you receive this error message while running our installer, you may need to change your Windows default program for opening DWG files.

📄️ Prompted to Open the "Install" Drawing on Every Drawing

If you are always asked to open the Install drawing, you need to reconfigure your Startup Suite in AutoCAD or APPLOAD settings in BricsCAD.

📄️ Dialog Too Large to Fit on Screen

If you receive an alert saying "Dialog too large to fit on screen," try increasing your resolution to 1280x720 or higher.

📄️ What to Do When Design Master Photometrics Crashes

When Design Master Photometrics crashes, there are several ways you can let us know so we can fix the issue.

📄️ "base.dcl" Can't Find File

If you receive this error message, an AutoCAD support file search path has been removed and must be restored.

📄️ File Loading - Security Concern

It is normal to receive a File Loading - Security Concern dialog box from AutoCAD when loading Design Master for the first time. If you continue seeing it, run the Installation Settings command.

📄️ Master/Standards Database Could Not Be Found

These databases are stored with your customization files; if they can't be found, your support path may need to be updated.

📄️ Restoring a Database From a Backup

If your database has become unusable, you can restore an earlier version using the backups Design Master Photometrics creates.

📄️ Unknown Command Error

If your commands don't work and return an "Unknown command" error, you may need to repair or reinstall AutoCAD.

📄️ Design Master Photometrics Entities Insert Skewed or in the Wrong Location

If your Design Master Photometrics entities come in skewed or in a different location than the one you specified, try resetting your drawing view to "Top" and reinserting.

📄️ "Locked Layer" Error Message

Design Master Photometrics typically unlocks any locked layers it needs to use to function. If it can't, it will display an error message telling you to unlock the layers.

📄️ Database Version Error

This error occurs when the project or master database has been used by a machine running a newer version. Learn how to fix it, and what to do if that fix fails.

📄️ Database Connection Error

Database connection errors can often be fixed by restarting, but can also indicate problems with your network or database.