CADDManager on October 1st, 2009

I get a lot of people who are confused by the file formats and their compatability between releases.  Some wonder why onve version won’t open a certain file and others wonder why their files are not readable by others.

Sometimes it just comes down to file formats.

Here is the lsit of what versions store in what formats.

Drawing File Format Applicable Releases

AutoCAD 2010 File Format is used for:
AutoCAD 2010

AutoCAD 2007 File Format is used for:

AutoCAD 2007
AutoCAD 2008
AutoCAD 2009

AutoCAD 2004 File Format is used for:

AutoCAD 2004
AutoCAD 2005
AutoCAD 2006

AutoCAD 2000 File Format is used for:

AutoCAD 2000
AutoCAD 2000i
AutoCAD 2002

AutoCAD 14 File Format is used for:

AutoCAD R14

New releases can open older releases.  Older software cannot open newer formats.

When you are saving a file for someone else, make sure that you save it in the right format.

If you need to open a file for viewing in a newer release that you do not have – use Autodesk  Design Review 2010

5 Responses to “AutoCAD File Format Compatability”

  1. When saving to a previous version, do you run the risk of loosing entities that are created using newer version of AutoCAD? For example, if you’re using AutoCAD 2010 and using multileaders and then you have to save down to AutoCAD 2007 format, what happens to those multileaders considering they were not a function of AutoCAD in 2007?

  2. 1. The statement “New releases can open older releases.” does NOT necessarily apply to verticals, specifically Civil 3D. Custom objects do not always survive moving from version to version.

    2. Design Review can not translate drawings from version to version. You need “DWG Trueview” for this.

  3. Hi,

    how can I set default save format to 2004 under Autocad2010? Thanks!

    fkng

  4. TOOLS, OPTIONS, OPEN & SAVE, SAVE AS, Then pick from drop down menu the version you want, Then, APPLY, OK, you are good to go.

  5. Hello,
    How to open drawing 2010 in autocad 2000.Please advice.
    Tq

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