ATET - AutoCAD Tracked Edit Time

ATET is a small AutoLISP utility that approximates EditTime-style active work tracking for AutoCAD drawings.

It was built mainly for recent AutoCAD LT versions where Express Tools EDITTIME is not available, but AutoLISP is available.

Version

2.9 - first release

Features

• Per-DWG active work time tracking.
• Timeout-based idle exclusion.
• Time is counted from the first detected command to the last detected command in a work burst.
• Tracking state saved per DWG.
• Drawing-specific timeout saved per DWG.
• Global default timeout for new DWGs.
• Compact status indicator in AutoCAD's status bar through MODEMACRO.
• Optional diagnostic log, disabled by default.
• Diagnostic log ON/OFF is stored globally, not per drawing.
• U and UNDO are ignored so undo operations do not affect the timer state.
• CLOSE and QUIT are not treated as work activity.
• Time is persisted only when the DWG is saved.

What it does

ATET tracks work time per DWG using AutoCAD command events.

The logic is:

1. The first detected command starts a work burst.
2. Further commands within the timeout keep the burst active.
3. If no command is detected before the timeout expires, the burst is closed.
4. The counted time is from the first event to the last event.
5. The time is persisted only when the DWG is saved.

This means discarded work is discarded from the timer too: if you close without saving, the time from that unsaved session is not kept.

Main file

ATET.lsp

Commands

ATETON

Enable tracking for the current DWG.

ATETOFF

Disable tracking for the current DWG.

ATETSTATUS

Show a compact one-line status:

ATET=ON | Timeout=5m 0s

If diagnostic logging is enabled:

ATET=ON | Timeout=5m 0s | Log=ON

ATETTIMEOUT

Set the inactivity timeout for the current DWG.

The selected timeout is also saved as the global default for new DWGs.

ATETRESET

Reset the counted time for the current DWG.

ATETFLUSH

Commit the currently open burst immediately.

Usually this is not needed in normal use.

ATETLOGON

Enable diagnostic logging permanently.

ATETLOGOFF

Disable diagnostic logging permanently.

Logging is off by default.

Status bar indicator

ATET writes a compact status to AutoCAD's status bar through MODEMACRO.

Typical states:

ATET OFF
ATET WAIT
ATET ACTIVE
ATET IDLE

Data storage

Per-DWG data is stored inside the drawing:

• total counted time
• ATET ON/OFF state
• drawing-specific timeout

Global configuration is stored in:

%APPDATA%\ATET.cfg

Fallback:

%TEMP%\ATET.cfg

The global configuration stores:

• diagnostic log ON/OFF
• default timeout for new DWGs

Compatibility

Expected compatibility:

• AutoCAD LT 2024 and later on Windows
• Recent full AutoCAD on Windows

Not intended for:

• old AutoCAD LT versions without AutoLISP support, such as LT 2011/2012
• AutoCAD for Mac
• AutoCAD Web

The script uses AutoLISP / Visual LISP reactors and (vl-load-com), so Windows is the intended platform.

Limitations

• ATET is command-event based.
• It does not track every mouse click.
• It does not track pure window focus time.
• It does not directly measure passive viewing time.
• It depends on AutoCAD command/reactor behavior.
• The last unsaved work burst is not kept if the DWG is closed without saving.
• Compatibility with old AutoCAD LT versions is not expected.
• Compatibility with non-Windows AutoCAD versions is not intended.

Notes

U and UNDO are ignored so they do not affect the timer state.

CLOSE and QUIT are not treated as work activity.

PLOT and other commands can be counted; if the DWG is not saved, the time is not kept.

Installation

1. Download or copy ATET.lsp.
2. In AutoCAD, run APPLOAD.
3. Load ATET.lsp.
4. To autoload it, add it to the APPLOAD Startup Suite.
5. Run ATETON in each DWG you want to track.
6. Save the DWG to persist the ON state and counted time.

License

MIT License. See LICENSE.