Lines with heavy lineweights disappear in AutoCAD

Shlomo Okoye

Issue:

Sometimes after an installation of AutoCAD or verticals (LT, Architecture, C3D, Electrical, etc.) you may notice some missing lines after opening a drawing file. You may also notice after starting a new drawing, that lines with heavier lineweights disappear as soon as you draw them. Other issues may include:

You are able to see the line endpoints, but not the body.
In some cases, turning off hardware acceleration may cause the lines to display again.
You may see the warning below on AutoCAD start page;

“The power-saving graphics card is being used. Configure your computer's graphics settings for better performance.”

Causes:

Graphics card issues, including drivers and interoperability with DirectX version.

Solution:

Take the following steps to troubleshoot:

First Step - Install Updates
Ensure AutoCAD is running on the latest updates. It is recommended to update AutoCAD using Autodesk Access

Find other update methods here - Update Autodesk Software | Individual Installation

Update graphics card drivers to latest version. How to update to the latest certified video driver for Autodesk software

Second Step – Verify AutoCAD is running on supported Graphics Card
On the command line, type the following command, GRAPHICSCONFIG

Now try the following:

Toggle the 2D display settings from Advanced Mode to Basic or Intermediate Mode, and test.
Toggle off hardware acceleration to see if the issue is resolved still maintaining an acceptable drawing performance.

Third Step – Configure AutoCAD to use high performance graphics card.
This is especially useful if you are using a dual graphics system, for example, an Intel integrated graphics along with a discrete graphics card such as AMD or NVIDIA.

Right click on desktop and open Display settings
Scroll down and open graphics settings
Click on browse then navigate to the following location C:\Program Files\Autodesk\AutoCAD <year>
Select acad.exe and click add
Once the application is added, click on Options and toggle to High performance.

Fourth Step – Set AutoCAD to use a different version of DirectX
This option is only available for AutoCAD 2022 and later versions.
• Type the following command on the command line, GFXDX12
• Change the value to 0, then restart AutoCAD to effect changes.

If issue remains unresolved, please consider Clean uninstall of AutoCAD or verticals (autodesk.com)

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Lines with heavy lineweights disappear in AutoCAD

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Lines with heavy lineweights disappear in AutoCAD

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