Project Manager Startup Delay in MicroSurvey inCAD 2010 SP1

Question

When I run MicroSurvey inCAD 2010 SP1 (v10.1.1) or newer, there is a delay when the Project Manager appears before I can use the Open and New buttons.  What's up with that?

Answer

When MicroSurvey inCAD 2010 was initially released, we turned off the Project Manager so it would not appear automatically on startup.  This was done to avoid a situation where the Project Manager can appear before AutoCAD has completely finished loading, and opening a drawing or creating a new drawing before AutoCAD is ready would lead to several problems.  However, not showing the Project Manager was an imperfect solution because when you run inCAD it doesnt look like inCAD has loaded, especially the first time it is run because the MicroSurvey menus (MsTools, MsPoints, etc) are not loaded immediately.  This was confusing for new users.

As of inCAD 2010 SP1 (v10.1.0) the Project Manager will now automatically appear by default, just like it does in MicroSurvey CAD.  Note, there is a checkbox located on the Project Manager so you can disable this if you prefer the original inCAD 2010 behaviour.

As of inCAD 2010 SP1 (v10.1.1) the Open and New buttons on the Project Manager are now disabled for a default of 10 seconds.  This should prevent you from opening or creating a drawing before AutoCAD has completely loaded. 

It is possible to override the default 10 second delay, as follows.  Use a text editor to open the X99.dat file, located in one of the following folders...

Windows XP:

C:\Documents and Settings\(username)\Application Data\MicroSurvey\inCAD\2010\

Windows Vista / Windows 7:

C:\Users\(username)\AppData\Roaming\MicroSurvey\inCAD\2010\

Under the [Toggles] section add a line that says ProjectManagerDelay=10000    The time is in milliseconds, so 10000 means 10 seconds.  Use a smaller value like 5000 to shorten the delay or a larger value like 15000 to increase the delay.  Shortening the delay is not recommended because the time required for AutoCAD to finish loading is extremely variable, based on your computer speed, the AutoCAD desktop configuration and the number of pallettes and tools that AutoCAD loads on startup.  If you notice that AutoCAD is still loading things in the background when the New and Open buttons become enabled, it is recommended that you increase the startup delay to prevent problems.