Users (especially with dual monitors) can sometimes move dialogs to the secondary monitor and AutoCAD will remember that position. If the extra monitor is removed (or left behind by a notebook on the road) the dialog can’t be seen and the command appears to lock AutoCAD up. To confirm, if press ESC to cancel control will return to the editor. Here are a couple of ways to correct the problem.
First from a user standpoint:
- Execute the command that should bring up a dialog.
- Hold down the Alt key and press the space bar.
- Press M for Move.
- Begin using your left and up arrow keys to move the dialog.
Most likely the dialog was lost to the right (and sometimes down) from your primary monitor coordinates.
Second from a power user standpoint:
For those comfortable with RegEdit, you can find the dialog’s coordinates in this area (first close AutoCAD).
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Autodesk\AutoCAD\R##.0\ACAD-####:###\Profiles\YourProfileName\Dialogs\DialogName
Look for the dialog by its name (can be tricky) and you will either find a Bounds item or a X, Y, Height, Width collection. In the case of a Bounds item changing the first to values to zero should cause the dialog to reappear in the upper left.