topic Re: Server "Connection failed" warning in Installation & update

Server "Connection failed" warning

Anonymous — Fri, 19 Aug 2005 17:33:10 GMT

A9 is ArchiCAD-version 9.

"Connection failed"

Warning (see below) pops up with certain actions in A9. If I'm "mid-click" and don't hit the OK button before doing anything else, then an A9 window covers the warning and the rainbow wheel spins out of control and I must "force quite" A9. I lose work and time.

We use a G4 as our server and we use a PC and my G5 networked into the G4. One thing that might have caused this problem is that the Library for the job we're working on was loaded into the job file on the Server from the file on the PC. There may be a connection issue related to that as things worked very well before.

If I catch the OK button in time, work goes on until the next appearance of the same warning.

In Plotmaker the warning pops up twice for every updated sheet.

Anybody???

Re: Server "Connection failed" warning

Anonymous — Fri, 19 Aug 2005 17:38:44 GMT

My "signature" is old, I use OSX 10.4.2 now.

Couldn't find the place in "profile" to update signature. I'll look again.

Re: Server "Connection failed" warning

Aussie John — Sat, 20 Aug 2005 09:10:32 GMT

I get that dialog too but it never has caused a hang

Re: Server "Connection failed" warning

Anonymous — Sat, 20 Aug 2005 18:20:17 GMT

John, are you networked? PCs and Macs? Libraries loaded cross-platform? Are you "the other guy" that reported this to Graphisoft, ...or are there others out there too?

As I say, if I don't click the OK button in time then an AC wdw covers it, and it hangs. Also, I can't leave the computer alone to render because things stop when "Connection Failed" pops up, demanding attention. This is major nuisance as this new G5 was to be our rendering machine for overnight work.

Ideas anybody?

Re: Server "Connection failed" warning

Aussie John — Sun, 21 Aug 2005 00:39:07 GMT

I am generally networked across a vpn. but at other times across an ethernet network. These error messages were slightly different in the first version of 9 and the message would stop BGarchicad from opening (unless you clicked the dialog button) which of course you couldnt see unless you specifically select BGarchicad. I reported the first problem

Re: Server "Connection failed" warning

Anonymous — Sun, 21 Aug 2005 02:17:20 GMT

One of the support guys in Boston had me make a log of my work in AC. He discovered some errors, then went home for the weekend apparently. We may have some news next week. I'll certainly post it.

Re: Server "Connection failed" warning

__archiben — Sun, 21 Aug 2005 02:55:17 GMT

i've reported this to GS tech support UK, my dealer and direct to the red fortress. my e-mail -

I wrote:
archiCAD hangs due to a network command not being resolved. this one is quite serious for me because it results in me having to force-quit the program - it's the only thing that works! i have a feeling that it's library related. every time archiCAD needs to retrieve information from a library part loaded across the network (or, in fact, just to load them at startup) i get the attached error message on screen.

clicking 'OK' works fine and clears the error with no ill effect except if the error window somehow loses the focus: typically, i get this often when working within an object/window/door/etc settings dialogue. i might change a parameter and before archiCAD can rebuild the 3D preview window it needs some info from a macro or something stored on the server and the error window pops up. now - because i'm not expecting it, i keep clicking in the parameters list and no sooner than the error window has appeared, i have transferred focus back to the settings dialogue and have hidden the error window behind it. archiCAD immediately goes into spinning beach ball mood and hangs indefinitely: it's waiting for me to click 'OK' in the error dialogue. but because that error window is now hidden behind a 'hung' archiCAD dialogue there is no way of getting back to it to click the button! if it were possible to get back to the error message with exposé i'd be all right, but i can't.

i suspect that this is actually a system error message resulting from an archiCAD network request. but like most mac networking issues, archiCAD is the only application that has the problems: everything else is just fine. the server does 'exist' and is 'operational at this time'. also - i suspect tiger (OSX 10.4.1) involvement as well. i never experienced anything like it before. i imagine that tiger might be doing something a little differently and archiCAD hasn't caught up with it. any clues? i hope you can get this one nailed as it takes me by surprise at least three or four times a day and i have to force quit.

nothing back from them yet as yet . . . keep us posted if you hear something.

~/archiben

Re: Server "Connection failed" warning

Anonymous — Sun, 21 Aug 2005 22:51:37 GMT

Ah ha. Another user with the same problem. Great.

Not.

I don't thing Tiger is doing it because we were working fine until we put a job library onto our server computer for convenient access. -At least this is what we think we did.

Now it would seem that accessing that library may be the problem, or a place to search first.

True, the program works with this nuisance, but one must monitor the monitor, ...to be robbed of overnight renderings, and sun studies and such, ...THAT'S a real loss.

I hope we can solve this soon.

We're still hoping, ...but I suppose we might go back to the old way of doing things, storing all files on his PC laptop (and an external backup) and sending updated jobs to my Mac through a direct ethernet connection.

Re: Server "Connection failed" warning

Ignacio Azpiazu — Mon, 03 Oct 2005 16:30:02 GMT

Any news on this?

Last year I was working on a Mac network where there was an issue, or so I understood, when ArchiCAD or more probably BGArchiCAD had to load objects from more than one location (in this case, the typical Office and Project libraries in the server and the ArchiCAD library in the desktop computer). The explanation I recall was 'BGArchiCAD looks for the object in the place where it found the last object and if it doesn't find it there doesn't realise it should go and check the other location, so it thinks the object is missing and you get the Plotmaker drawing problems'. I don't know if this was specific to 10.3.3 or whatever. The files were not teamworked.

Re: Server "Connection failed" warning

Anonymous — Mon, 03 Oct 2005 20:53:16 GMT

Yes, progress.

Graphisoft was pretty quick to respond with a text code that corrected the AC problem when put in the correct file. Unfortunately it reappeared in Plotmaker too. So we're working on it again. I suspect it's the same fix, but, since I don't speak the language I can't be specific. When Christopher comes back I'll have him explain more.

We'll be better citizens and post full explanation soon.

Re: Server "Connection failed" warning

KenMcN — Mon, 03 Oct 2005 21:58:34 GMT

Jay wrote:
Graphisoft was pretty quick to respond with a text code that corrected the AC problem when put in the correct file. Unfortunately it reappeared in Plotmaker too.

Jay
We've got the same problem - with machines running either Tiger or Panther (so it's not just a Tiger problem).
How did Graphisoft 'respond' to your problem? Did they send you a file you could pass on to us?
We've also got the problem in Plotmaker, so we'd be very keen to hear if there is any progress in this regard.
Thanks for any help you can give.
Kenny

Re: Server "Connection failed" warning

Anonymous — Mon, 03 Oct 2005 22:13:36 GMT

We have some code we could send to you. Have not solved PM issue, same issue with PM, ....but I must wait to tomorrow for my computer guy to send you our code, etc.

David Tauer was our direct connection at Graphisoft, USA, and was very helpful. We made a log of our actions leading up to the warnings, and he sent us the code, ...which Christopher applied.

I promise we'll send more tomorrow. I suggest direct communication with Graphisoft though. It works.

Re: Server "Connection failed" warning

Brad Elliott — Fri, 28 Oct 2005 17:05:13 GMT

Jay,
You disappeared. I am doing some work for a firm that is having the same problems. I just sent an email to Graphisoft but wondered if you were having any success. They have a mixed 10.4 & 10.3 all Mac network. There is some evidence that it is caused by 10.4 and once a 10.4 machine opens the file it is corrupted for the 10.3 machines as well.

Re: Server "Connection failed" warning

Anonymous — Fri, 28 Oct 2005 18:58:11 GMT

Yes, I, ...we, ...did disappear. Sorry. Been way busy.

We have the correction code for both AC and PM. My guru, Christopher, will post both. Today I hope. No guarantee that our problem is your problem though, and this is code.

(But it probably is.)

I still suggest emailing David Tauer at GS, USA. Chris will post his email response to us with his email address, or just call him. East Coast US time. He's great.

Re: Server "Connection failed" warning

Anonymous — Fri, 28 Oct 2005 19:17:48 GMT

David Touer from Graphisoft sent us this fix for the problem in an E-mail as follows.

Find a file named 'com.graphisoft.AC 9.0.0 USA v1.plist' and/or 'com.graphisoft.PM 9.0.0 USA v1.plist'. It is located in <user_home>/Library/Preferences

- This is the file you have to edit in Terminal window.
- Open Terminal
- type:

For ArchiCAD:

defaults write com.graphisoft.AC\ 9.0.0\ USA\ v1 InputOutput -dict "DisableCrossPlatformMountingFeatures" "<true/>"

For PlotMaker:

defaults write com.graphisoft.PM\ 9.0.0\ USA\ v1 InputOutput -dict "DisableCrossPlatformMountingFeatures" "<true/>"

Then please open the plist file itself in TextEdit** and check if this text exists in it:

<dict>
<key>DisableCrossPlatformMountingFeatures</key>
<true/>
</dict>

Than start AC/PM again and try to reproduce the problem.

** Note: On OSX.4.x, this plist file in binary and viewing it with a Text Editor is difficult. Please use the plutil command to convert this file to ascii text for viewing in text editor. See GSKB#1000

OS 10.4.x SOLUTION

Open Terminal Shell (Go > Utilities > Terminal
Inside the terminal, please enter the following commands. These are UNIX commands and are case sensitive. (You should be able to copy-n-paste these commands in)

cd Library/Preferences
defaults write com.graphisoft.PM\ 9.0.0\ USA\ v1 InputOutput -dict "DisableCrossPlatformMountingFeatures" "<true/>"

To verify the edit to the plist file is when you can use the plutil utility. Type in this:

man plutil

This will display the manual (man) page for this utility, explaining its usage, etc. The important thing to get out of this is how to convert the binary plist file to xml format for easier viewing and then convert it back to binary after you verify it is correct.

There is a GSKB#1000 illustrating the usage of this as well.

To View it in Text Editor:

plutil -convert xml1 com.graphisoft.PM 9.0.0 USA v1.plist

To Put it back in binary format:

plutil -convert binary1 com.graphisoft.PM 9.0.0 USA v1.plist

Good luck everyone

Re: Server "Connection failed" warning

Anonymous — Fri, 28 Oct 2005 19:29:41 GMT

I do not know if he will like this but here is David's e-mail if the solution doesn’t work for you

David Tauer [dtauer@graphisoft.com]

I would suggest you don’t abuse this information he is one of many in the tech support branch of Graphisoft. If everyone e-mails him directly with problems other than this one he becomes a secretary and can't work on the problems he specializes in. Just use your best judgment.

Re: Server "Connection failed" warning

__archiben — Sat, 29 Oct 2005 00:50:31 GMT

chris / everyone...

you can also use apple's 'Property List Editor' to add the new setting . . . it can be installed as a part of the developer tools: found under ./Applications/Installers/ (or ./Applications/Utilities/Installers - i forget)

it's a graphical user interface for the above procedure for people not keen with messing in the terminal . . .

simply add the 'DisableCrossPlatformMountingFeatures' setting as a "New Sibling" of the 'InputOuput' entry. set it to 'Boolean' and then 'Yes'.

bear in mind that anybody using archiCAD in a cross platform (PC<->mac) environment will have to specify any external file paths manually when opening a PC created file with mac archiCAD . . .

also - anybody using chris' terminal method above should only copy and paste as he suggests if you are using the same US version of archiCAD as chris. otherwise, replace the file names with the correct localisation and version!

~/archiben

Re: Server "Connection failed" warning

Robert Fuchs — Thu, 19 Jan 2006 03:46:40 GMT

This problem defiantly has to do with the windows/mac mixed network.
we ran just fine at our office with an xserve fileserver and G4 and G5
computers running all libraries off the server. Then we had to get a couple
of windows laptops and any file they touch we get the same error. Even after
we go back to another file no windows computer has touched we get the error. But after that non window file is opened about three times AC & PM
forgets and we have no more connection errors. I have not had anyone lock up b/c of it so far. Only people forgetting to click OK in BG AC so it will keep
importing.

Re: Server "Connection failed" warning

Anonymous — Wed, 22 Feb 2006 21:38:23 GMT

Is there a file other than these two..

com.graphisoft.AC 9.0.0 USA v1.plist
com.graphisoft.PM 9.0.0 USA v1.plist

...that might get involved when BG ArchiCAD exhibits the same problem while updating layout books in Mac OS X 10.3 and 10.4...?

Re: Server "Connection failed" warning

Anonymous — Tue, 02 May 2006 13:28:02 GMT

Hi!

Has anyone of you a solution to this problem?
It seems you've dealt with this already.
I've been discussing this for weeks at topic:
archicad-talk.graphisoft.com/viewtopic.php?p=58674#58674

If you have any suggestions please let me know.

Server is running 10.4.6, network is GB, users are on 10.4.6., all are local hardware key's and ArchiCad is build 2219.

Server has been reinstalled, Norton is not active and there are 4 PC's
but they are not active in ArchiCad projects.