Directions for the RegApp Cleanup Utility

Hello, this is part 2 of the RegApp Cleanup Utility.

I'm sure there must be at least one person who went to the link and downloaded the exe file, and now would like a little more help with this.

If you've never done this before, you might double click on the exe file and then wonder why nothing happens. So, here's what you have to do:
Once you download and run the .exe file (the one I sent you a link to in the last blog entry), it asks you where you want the files to be extracted. What it means is that the .exe file contains several files, and you need to tell it where to put them -so you can find them again- and then you'll have a few more steps to go through. So create a folder specifically for this.

According to the documentation, you need administrative privileges on your Windows operating system to install this, or get your administrator to do it for you. They love when we interrupt their day to ask them to do things like this.

If you have privileges, navigate to the folder and copy CleanupRegapp.exe, CleanupRegappRes.dll, and CleanupRegapp.html to the installation directory of your AutoCAD-based product. In my case, it was C:\Program Files\AutoCAD 2009

NOTE: To run this utility you must launch CleanupRegapp.exe from the installation directory of your AutoCAD-based product. Not from the folder you just made and into which you extracted everything.

To clean affected files:
1. Close all affected files. (Open affected files will not be cleaned!)
2. Launch the Regapp ID Cleanup Utility from the installation folder of your AutoCAD 2008 or AutoCAD 2009-based product.
If desired, in the Regapp ID Threshold field, enter a number to change the regapp ID threshold. Files that contain fewer regapp IDs than the threshold are not cleaned. The default regapp ID threshold is 50.
3. Under Files to Clean, select affected files. You can select individual files, folders, and subfolders.
To clean the contents of subfolders within a selected folder, select Include sub-folders.
To load and remove unreferenced regapp IDs from external references (xrefs) attached to the selected files, select Include Xref files.
4. Click OK. Cleaned files are saved in the same format last saved in.

One of the files you'll find, assuming you paid attention to what you named the folder, is CleanUpRegApp.html. This file gives you all the directions on how to install and use this Utility that I've shown you here.

NOTE: This utility cleans only DWG files saved in AutoCAD Release 14 and later file formats.
This utility makes cleaning up a bunch of drawings so much faster! In the previous blog entry, I told you how you could clean up one drawing at a time. This utility didn't even take 3 minutes to run. Imagine if I had had to open all 38 of these files and clean them up one by one! Using this utility, I could do this entire project in a fraction of the time. It's worth learning how to use it.

RegApp Cleanup Utitility

Hi again,
Have you ever gotten drawings from another company and they were enormous files for no discernible reason? Last week we had a client who was having strange problems with a whole lot of drawings. I enlisted the help of our Civil 3D instructor, Ken Martinez, and he showed me the difference between the typing in "purge" or "-purge" at the command line, as the only way to get rid of RegApps. You have a lot more control with "-purge".
Then just today, as a "Oh, by the way" comment today, Ken showed me this new Cleanup Utility on the Autodesk website, and I thought I ought to pass this along to you. I'm always looking for ways to eliminate headaches.

With this new Cleanup Utility, you can do a batch of drawings at once. Here's the link to the Autodesk page:
Excess Unreferenced RegApp IDs
RegApp Cleanup Utility

I did a little tiny bit of research, and found a good entry in the AUGI archives from 2006 that spells out better than I would how to use the purge command to get rid of invisible attached data from a drawing. It explains how it gets there and how to get rid of it. I copied the entry, (it's from 2006) and also credited the author. For cleaning up one or a few drawings, it's really easy.
From the AUGI website, in the Archives from 2006, is this tip on how to get rid of Xdata in a drawing. Written by Andy Manninen: (and I quote)

I would recommend to all AutoCAD users to run a -PURGE command, then select RegApps, * for all, and no to verify names. You may be surprised at what you will find... Regapps are added when you use certain software, and by implementing certain commands. If you purge these out you will find that your drawings will open much faster. I have not experienced any problems with purging the RegApps out because AutoCAD will generate these back as it needs them. With a clean drawing I have about 8 RegApps in my drawing. But I Have cleaned some that have around 157,000 RegApps. Cleaning that file, the size went from 3 MB to 400KB. The Main thing with RegApps in a drawing is that they act almost like a virus, if you xref in or insert an "infected" drawing, the RegApps propagate into the current drawing. That is why you need to make sure when you get files from an outside source you really should clean out the RegApps. The only way to clean these out without third party software is by using the "-PURGE" command on the command line, (not through PURGE) and you need to specify RegApps. (RegApps are NOT purged under the ALL).