About Using Cloud Storage for Drawings

Save drawing files to your cloud account for remote access and additional backup security. Easily access your drawings from any location in the world with internet access and on any device--desktop, web, or mobile.

When you save and open drawing files using your account with a cloud storage provider, you get convenient and reliable access to your drawings. Your drawing also becomes accessible for viewing and editing from any of your internet-connected devices, such as a tablet when you're in the field, or from a web browser on a different desktop computer in a remote location.

Note: If all you need is temporary remote access to some small or medium drawings, instead of emailing them to yourself or copying them to a USB device, you can save them to your Autodesk Web & Mobile Account with the Web & Mobile feature. For free accounts, the total storage space is limited. For more information, see About Accessing Drawings Remotely.

Access your Drawings from a Cloud Storage Provider

The primary benefits of using a cloud storage provider include the following:

Accessibility. You have worldwide access anywhere with an internet connection. When local servers are inaccessible due to flooding, fires, and other emergency events, you can still access your drawings from a different location.
Security. Cloud storage providers invest far more resources to guard against file loss and intrusion than most companies and individuals can afford. You can also purchase encryption products to encrypt your files in your cloud accounts. Decommissioned servers typically go through a secure destruction procedure for both the data and the physical hardware.
Reliability. Cloud storage providers distribute and manage backups on multiple servers in different locations.
History. The files stored in your cloud account maintain multiple versions as they're saved. Previous versions of drawings are accessible for comparison from the AutoCAD Version History palette. Check with your cloud storage provider to determine how long previous versions are maintained.

Working with a Sync Client

To use a commercial cloud storage with your AutoCAD-based application requires installing a sync client app from that cloud storage provider on your computer and then logging into your cloud storage account with that sync client app.

A sync client is a small background program that synchronizes the data you create on your computer with the data you store in your cloud account. The program is visible as an icon in the Windows system tray, which is in the lower-right area of your screen. The icon also indicates status information.

The reason for a sync client is that performance is much faster when communicating with the data locally than with the cloud server. Performance is optimized when the program works in a local folder called a cache and then periodically saves or retrieve data to and from your cloud account.

When you subscribe to a cloud storage provider, they will post instructions for downloading and installing their sync client on your computer. The Microsoft OneDrive sync client is installed by default on Windows, but other providers typically have a Download, Install, or Drive page.

Note: If you have trouble locating the sync client app, you can perform a web search such as dropbox download or box drive download.

Access From a File Dialog Box

A convenient method for accessing drawings from your cloud account is to add your cloud storage provider to the Places bar. In some cases, this is done automatically. If not, right-click within the Places bar to add your preferred cloud storage provider.

When you're finished editing, you save the drawing just as you would any other drawing. By default, the AutoCAD automatically saves your drawing 10 minutes after the last time it was saved. The amount of time between saves is controlled by the SAVETIME system variable.

Note: When a drawing file is opened from your cloud account, it retains the DWG version in which it was last saved. You can specify a different default file format in the Options dialog box, Open and Save tab.

Accessing Block Definitions

Cloud storage is supported by the Blocks palette, which provides access to any block and block library drawing that you save to your cloud storage account. The benefits to storing such drawings in a cloud account is reliable accessibility from any location with internet access at any time and for anyone authorized to access the account. For more information, see About the Blocks Palette.

Accessing Version Histories

Many cloud storage providers maintain a version history of the files that you save to your account. This feature provides a way for you to access previous versions of a file in your account using your browser.

With OneDrive, Dropbox, and Box, you can display the DWG History palette in AutoCAD-based products to compare previous versions of a drawing file with the current version. For more information, see To Work with Version Histories of Drawings.

General Information

Here are some general observations and suggestions along with some specific differences between how different cloud storage providers synchronize your drawings between your local computer and your cloud account.

Storage Capacity: The amount of storage space in your cloud account will vary between the providers and their subscription service levels.

Version Histories: With each cloud storage provider, there are limits on how long version histories are maintained, which is often for 30 days or more. However, because version histories aren't permanent, it's recommended that you continue to maintain BAK files (ISAVEBAK system variable). BAK files are automatically saved in the same folder as DWG files, including the folders in your cloud account.

External References: A drawing file can have several different types of files that it references. These include xrefs of other drawings, referenced image files, PDF underlays, text fonts, custom linetypes, custom hatch patterns, and so on. When you save a drawing to be accessed remotely of by another person, it's recommended that you use the eTransmit feature, which creates a package that includes all referenced files. For additional information about eTransmit, see About Transmitting Drawing Packages Electronically.

Cloud Collaboration: Most cloud storage providers allow you to share files with other users. When more than one person edits a shared file simultaneously, conflicts are handled by the cloud storage provider. Typically, the cloud storage provider chooses which user "wins" and saves the changes from second user as a new "conflicted copy" of the file in the same folder. The DWG History palette does not display a message when conflicted drawing files are created.

File Handling and Syncing: There's an interrelationship between what AutoCAD-based products control and what cloud providers control.; When you use cloud storage on a desktop computer, Dropbox, Box, and Microsoft OneDrive all interact with a local "cache" of your drawing files on your computer. This arrangement optimizes the speed of file operations. When you open or save a file, AutoCAD-based products operate the same as opening and saving your files to your local hard drive. Then, at some point after you save your changes to your desktop computer, the third-party sync client will save back or "sync" your changes to your cloud account. When and how the file sync occurs is implemented by the third-party sync client and is not under the control of your AutoCAD-based product. As a result, the interactions with each cloud storage provider have some specific differences listed in the following table:

Cloud Storage Provider	Notes
OneDrive	The OneDrive sync client will sync your recent saved changes to the cloud after you close the drawing in your AutoCAD-based product. Until you close the drawing, your changes exist only on your local machine's OneDrive cache.
Dropbox	File syncing is performed periodically.
Box	File syncing is performed periodically. The personal version of Box does not support file versions. You will be able to access only your most recently saved version in the DWG History palette. Box Edit, which uses Box Tools to "Open on desktop app," does not display version histories in the DWG History palette.
Additional Cloud Storage Providers	In some cases, you might need to add the cloud storage provider manually to your Places bar. Version histories might not be available from other cloud storage providers. The DWG History palette will not display a list of version histories in AutoCAD-based products.