About Drawings and Templates

New drawings start from either a default drawing template file or a custom drawing template file that you create. Drawing template files store default settings, styles, and additional data.

When AutoCAD starts, the Start tab is displayed by default. Here, you can quickly start a new drawing file based on the current drawing template file, or you can specify a different template file from the Templates list to start a new drawing.

A drawing template file is a drawing file that has been saved with a .dwt file extension, and it specifies the styles, settings, and layouts in a drawing, including title blocks. The default drawing template files are provided as samples.

CAD managers often create, maintain, and distribute drawing template files to maintain consistent standards and styles across an organization. Among the settings specified are

When you save these settings as a drawing template file, you can start creating designs without having to first specify any settings.