About Sharing Drawings With AutoCAD Users

There are 2 methods for making drawings available to users who are working with AutoCAD:

The method you choose depends on the software the others are using, on how exactly the drawing must match the original drawing, and on the particular views the other users require.

Turning on Proxy Graphics

When you turn on proxy graphics in a drawing, users who do not have AutoCAD Architecture but do have another AutoCAD-based product (AutoCAD 2000 or newer), can view and plot AEC objects and design data.

Exporting to AutoCAD Drawings and DXF Files

You can export drawings created with the software to AutoCAD drawings for the following versions:

You can also export a drawing to a drawing interchange format (DXF) file. A DXF file is a text or binary file that contains drawing information that can be read by other CAD systems.

You can export drawings to the following DXF formats:

Exporting a drawing to an AutoCAD drawing or to a DXF file creates a separate drawing in which all AEC objects, such as walls, doors, windows, and roofs, are exploded to AutoCAD primitive objects, such as lines, arcs, and 3D faces. The resulting AutoCAD objects cannot be restored to AutoCAD Architecture objects. Export AutoCAD Architecture drawings to DXF instead of saving them as DXF files.

Note: You can open DXF files generated in earlier versions of the software if the files do not contain any AEC objects. DXF files that contain AEC objects cannot be imported into the software.