About Converting Drawing File Formats

Convert a batch of drawing files between different DWG file formats.

The drawing file format changed in the following releases:

If you want to share drawings created in a later release with someone who is using an earlier version of the product, you can do a batch conversion to the earlier format using the Save As > DWG Convert option. Files can be converted one at a time, or in batches; either overwriting the originals or packaged together in a file folder, compressed in a self-extracting EXE file, or compressed in a ZIP file in a different location.

When you save/convert a file to a previous version, the conversion tools strip out the information specific to the current release or converts them to another object type. When the drawing is converted, a log file lists the information that was lost or changed.

Tip: Because converting a drawing to an earlier release format may cause some data loss, we recommend that you assign a different file name to avoid overwriting the current drawing file.

You will probably convert drawing files multiple times during a project. The DWG Convert feature provides a method to name and save your conversion settings. The default conversion setup is named Standard. Starting from this conversion setup, you can create one or more new conversion setups with appropriate names. Then you can modify them as needed.

For repetitive conversions, the drawing files that you select for conversion can be saved to a list, called a batch control list.Batch control lists (*.BCL files) can also be opened and viewed in a text editor such as Notepad.

From the DWG Convert dialog box, you can do the following: