AutoCAD: Beginnings, Ends and Extensions - Part 1

By: Colleen Klein

In the beginning was the DWG. Before you knew it we had dwt, dws, dxf, las, and dng files to name a few. There are enough other file extensions to make your head spin.

Open a Drawing

The array of choices starts when you go to open your first drawing. From the Open dialog box you have the choices as noted below:

DWG - This is your AutoCAD drawing. This is the file that most AutoCAD users know. It’s your default drawing extension.

DXF - This is a commonly excepted drawing file translation extension. This extension is all about interoperability with other programs. You can use it to share the file with another program.

DWT - This is what you would use for your template file. That is, use it for starting a new drawing. This choice has a better workflow than using a DWG as a start drawing. The biggest advantage is that when you save the file, AutoCAD will automatically prompt for a new file name. This takes away that risk of inadvertenlty saving over the original file.

DWS – This a drawing that can be used for your drawing standards. You can save your default settings for layers and styles and compare your other AutoCAD drawings against this one.

Save a Drawing

Things don’t change much when you go to save a drawing. When you use the SAVAS command you see the same variety of drawing extensions as in the OPEN command.

DWG, DWT, DWS, DXF – These are the same as in the Open dialog box, described above. The difference is that you can save back to multiple different versions so you can share your drawings with people on an earlier version of the software.

Import Files

The IMPORT command brings you an entire new set of file extensions. They include the extensions listed below:

WMF - This is a Windows metafile format and used to bring in a vector images. These come in as blocks. Related commands include: WMFOUT , WMFIN, WMFOPTS, WMFFOREGND, WMFBKGND.

SAT - This is a ASCI file. You can use it to export 3D solids, regions, and NURBS. Related command include ACISOUT and ACISOUTVER.

3ds - This is used to import an Autodesk 3ds MAX files. Things that are included are lighting, meshes, mappings, cameras and the materials. Some other tools you’ll want to know include CONVERTOLDLIGHTS and 3DCONVERSIONMODE. 

DGN - This is a MircoStation drawing file extension. When you open the file the information is translated to an AutoCAD DWG file.

Other Imports

More Extensions

Hopefully I was able to share with you a few new file extensions that you can now use. There are plenty of additional extensions that AutoCAD works with. Check back later to find the posting of Part 2 where we will look at a few more extensions.