AutoLISP is designed to be easy to learn, but as programs become larger and more complex, you will need to learn to debug problems and catch errors. In this class, you learn how to debug programs, catch errors to keep your programs from terminating unexpectedly, create custom error handlers, and use undo markers to restore a drawing to its previous state. Debugging a program can be done through static messages or interactively using the Visual LISP Editor while your program is executing. To get the most from this class, you want to have prior experience with AutoLISP.

How do you create and edit your AutoLISP programming language software code? Are you using a text editor such as Notepad? If so, you're missing out on all the features that the Visual LISP Integrated Development Environment (VLIDE) can provide you. The VLIDE is not only a way to write your code; it is also a way to debug it. In this session you will see why you should use the VLIDE to develop your custom add-ins, and you will discover how easy it is to write, format, and debug your code.

Whether you are new to AutoLISP programming or not, the right editor can make a big difference. There are many different editors that you can use to edit AutoLISP (LSP) files; some are plain text editors with no specialized features, while others are specially designed to understand the syntax of the AutoLISP programming language. There are two specialized editors that Autodesk currently supports for AutoLISP development: Visual LISP integrated development environment (IDE) and Microsoft Visual Studio (VS) Code. Both editors offer several tools for editing, formatting, and debugging AutoLISP files. During this session, you will learn about the many features that the Visual LISP IDE and VS Code editors offer to improve the writing and managing of LSP files. If you are already a user of the Visual LISP IDE, you will learn how to use VS Code to work with AutoLISP files.

Automating Attributes is a great way to speed up the drawing process. During this class you will learn how to import existing design data into your drawings through an automated process. By using existing data, you will decrease user input and errors, thus increasing accuracy. We will use Notepad, Microsoft Excel, and AutoCAD software to accomplish these goals.