About Opening Drawings

You open drawings to work on them just as you do with other applications.

TrustedDWG™ Drawing Files

DWG, DWT, and DWS files created with Autodesk applications and RealDWG™-based applications are trusted by Autodesk. When you open a TrustedDWG file, the following icon displays in the status bar.

If the DWGCHECK system variable is set to On (1), an alert box is displayed if

• The drawing file format is AutoCAD Release 14 or later and
• The drawing file was not originally created by an Autodesk application or RealDWG-based application.

For more information about TrustedDWG, click the TrustedDWG icon.

Change the Default Drawing Folder

Each time you start the product, the last folder that you used for opening or saving a file is set as the default path in the standard file selection dialog box. Alternatively, you can specify a fixed default folder with the program shortcut icon in Windows. For specific instructions, see the topic To Change the Default Drawing Folder.

Access Your Drawings Remotely

You can save and open specified drawing files online with Autodesk Web & Mobile, which is accessible from any of your internet-connected devices. The primary intent of this feature is for convenient access to your drawing files from remote devices as an alternative to emailing your drawing files to yourself.

The commands for saving and opening files from your online account are available from the Quick Access toolbar.

Drawing file sizes are limited depending on your account. Drawings in free accounts can be up to 10 MB in size.

When you upload a drawing with external references to your Autodesk Web & Mobile Account:

• The files are packaged in a compressed format (*.dwgzip) together with its referenced files. When an uploaded drawing package is unpackaged, it does not recreate a folder hierarchy. The drawing and its references are in a single folder.
• External references are limited to xrefs (.dwg files) and image files only. No other reference or support files are included in the package. If you need to modify a referenced drawing, save it separately to your Autodesk Web & Mobile Account.
• Online plotting is limited to PDF format.

Use the eTransmit feature to package a complete set of files and avoid missing files when sharing drawings with others outside of your company. However, when sharing copied files, remember that version control is minimally based on date and time. Modifying the same file simultaneously on multiple devices can lead to version control problems.

Note: This feature is available only on 64-bit systems.

Resolve Missing References

When you open a drawing, you are notified when an external reference such as an xref, image, or underlay cannot be located. If the external reference was moved to a different folder or drive, use the External References palette to locate the file.

Note: Missing shape files are often the result of custom shapes being used in a linetype. Browse to the missing linetype file, or place the shape file in the folder with the drawing or one of the support paths defined in the Options dialog box. For information about custom shape files in linetypes, see "About Shapes in Custom Linetypes".

Recover Defective Drawing Files

In some circumstances, it is possible that a drawing file becomes corrupted. This can result from hardware problems or transmission errors. If a drawing file is corrupt, you might be able to recover it:

• Use AUDIT when the drawing file is open.
• Use RECOVER when you cannot open the drawing file.

If you cannot recover a drawing file, rename the drawing's .bak file to a similar name specifying a .dwg extension. If the .bak file is also corrupt, hopefully you can access a copy from a backup device or location.