PSA: Additional Date Related System Variables to Be Aware Of in Custom AutoLISP Programs

Recently, I mentioned that the CDATE and DATE system variables no longer store time down to milliseconds. In addition to those system variables, the following system variables are now accurate to the nearest second starting with AutoCAD 2017, whereas earlier releases they included milliseconds :

• TDCREATE
• TDINDWG
• TDUCREATE
• TDUPDATE
• TDUSRTIMER
• TDUUPDATE

Any scripts or custom programs that use these system variables should be verified that they work properly with AutoCAD 2017.  In most cases, the scripts and custom programs should work as expected with the exception of the milliseconds part of the time value being returned.  In most cases, milliseconds is now returned as "000" or a similar value that is not as accurate as AutoCAD 2016 and earlier.

The following article is also related to the CDATE and DATE system variables:

• Getting the Current Date/Time with AutoLISP - Part 1
• Getting the Current Date/Time with AutoLISP - Part 2
• PSA: Do Your AutoLISP Programs Use the CDATE or DATE System Variables?

Sincerely,
  Lee