Open a Drawing
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You open drawings to work on them just as you do with other Windows applications. In addition, you can choose from several alternative methods.

To open a drawing, you can

Work on Drawings During Loading

You can work on drawings before they are fully open. This is useful when you work on large drawings and you want to begin working immediately. To take advantage of this capability, three conditions are required.

When these conditions are met, you can create or modify visible objects, pan or zoom, turn off or freeze layers, and any other operation that does not require displaying objects not visible when the drawing was last saved.

NoteThe Quick View feature will not be fully functional during loading under these conditions.

Resolve Missing References

As you open a drawing, you are notified (messages and task dialog boxes) when a reference cannot be located. From the References - Unresolved Reference Files task dialog box, click Update the Location of the Referenced Files to open the External References palette to make changes to missing external references.

The following table outlines some of the references that might be missing and describes how to handle them.

Missing Reference TypesDescription
External referencesMissing external references are the result of AutoCAD not being able to resolve the last known location of an xref, raster image, or underlay. To resolve a missing external reference, locate the file and update its location using the External References palette. For information about resolving missing referenced drawing files, see Resolve Missing External References. For information about working with raster images and underlays, see Attach Raster Image Files and Attach Files as Underlays.
ShapesMissing 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 Shapes in Custom Linetypes in the Customization Guide.

You can use eTransmit to avoid missing files when sharing drawings with others outside of your company. For more information about eTransmit, see Package a Set of Files for Internet Transmission.

Work with Large Objects

AutoCAD 2010 supports object size limits greater than those available in previous releases. With increased object size limits you can create larger and more complex models. Using increased object size limits can result in compatibility issues with legacy drawing file formats (AutoCAD 2007 and earlier).

When working with drawings that you might need to exchange with others using AutoCAD 2009 and earlier, set the LARGEOBJECTSUPPORT system variable to 0. Setting LARGEOBJECTSUPPORT to 0 warns you when a drawing contains large objects that cannot be opened by a release of the program prior to AutoCAD 2010.

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 application status bar or the drawing status bar.

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

For more information about TrustedDWG, click the TrustedDWG icon.

Recover Defective Drawing Files

In some circumstances, it is possible that a drawing file becomes defective. This can result from hardware problems or transmission errors. If a drawing file is corrupt, you might be able to recover it. See Repair, Restore, or Recover Drawing Files.

Change the Default Drawing Folder

Each time you start AutoCAD, the My Documents folder is the default path in each standard file selection dialog box. Alternatively, you can configure AutoCAD to always default to a specified path by changing the default drawing folder using the REMEMBERFOLDERS system variable.

See Also