Drawings take a long time to open in AutoCAD Products

Autodesk Support

Oct 23, 2024

Products and versions covered

Issue:

Users reported that when opening a drawing file in AutoCAD, the process takes a long time. One or more of the following may also occur:
  • AutoCAD is frozen while it loads the drawing but recovers when the file opens.
  • The program window is black or blank while the file opens, making it look like the drawing content is missing.
  • AutoCAD displays Regenerating Model on the command line while the file opens.
  • The same drawing may open quickly in a different version of AutoCAD on a different system.
  • Slow performance in the file after opening. 
  • The AutoCAD splash screen may not immediately appear after double-clicking a DWG file from Windows Explorer or Mac Finder.

Causes:

Network

  • Drawing file is stored in a network location which is across a WAN/Internet/VPN connection.
  • OLE objects in the drawing are referenced to a network location and have been moved, blocked, or otherwise denied access.
  • Drawings are saved on an unsupported network or a network with connectivity or storage issues.

Drawing specific

  • Referenced drawings/raster images are corrupt.
  • Large number of constraint nodes are embedded within the drawing.
  • Drawing contains many 3D solids that have solid history.
  • Data corruption.
  • Large number of layouts.
  • Complex visual style is activated.
  • Large number of separate 3D Solids.
  • Corrupt plot style associated with the drawing.
  • Content is spatially distributed over a significant (global) area. 
  • Civil 3D is loading a large amount of point or surface-related data.

Installation and Licensing

  • Hardware does not met system requirements
  • AutoCAD Civil 3D is being used or the Civil 3D Object Enabler is installed.
  • The product license needs to be verified.
  • Connection issues for getting the product license.

Third party

  • Drawings are exported from a third-party application and invalid objects are removed when opening the file the first time.
  • Addin/Plugin is used in AutoCAD.
  • The drawing contains some Factory design data

Solution:

Troubleshooting Guide "Drawings take a long time to open in AutoCAD"

*****************************************************************************************************************************

Alternatively follow these solutions:

Install the latest updates for AutoCAD

Hardware

Remove the Civil 3D Object Enabler

Uninstall the Civil 3D Object Enabler for AutoCAD.

Remove Addins/Plugins

Uninstall the Addins/Plugins affecting the file open speed for AutoCAD.

Remove extra or invalid search paths

  • Go into Options to the Files tab and make sure that all paths under Support File Search Path are correct.
  • Ensure, that all listed network drives are available and can be accessed. 

Delete temporary files

Test changing XLOADCTL to 0 or 1 in AutoCAD to see if the drawing opens faster. It may be that there are too many temp files on the system (see How to delete temporary files in Windows).

Administrator permissions

Test an administrator account versus a non-admin account to see if administrator rights overcome the delay when opening drawings. If it works, check the group policy settings on the system for non-admin accounts.

Reset AutoCAD

Restore AutoCAD to default settings (see How to reset AutoCAD to defaults).

Graphics card driver

Visual Style

Switch to the 2D Wireframe visual style (see About Model Space Viewport Controls).

License verification

Troubleshoot the network

  • Ensure that all mapped network drives are connected. Remove the unconnected network drives. 
  • Move the file locally for testing. If it is much faster here, ask your IT administrator for improving the network speed. 
  • When using Windows Server 2019 or newer, check if 'Receive Segment Coalescing (RSC)' in the vSwitch is active - RSC in the vSwitch (by Microsoft).

Reinstall AutoCAD

Perform a clean reinstall of AutoCAD (see How to perform a Clean Uninstall of Autodesk products on Windows).

Drawing-specific solutions

  • Drawings with not found/unreferenced external references. See: AutoCAD freezes or hangs when opening drawings with external references.
  • Troubleshoot attached xrefs. Unload all of them and then test each one at a time:
    • Detach unreferenced attachments. It may be that a particular xref needs to be removed or detached/reattached, or the xref drawing itself cleaned and repaired (see How to repair corrupt AutoCAD files).
    • For attached raster image files, certain TIFF files might need to be converted to PNG.
  • Hatch patterns. Enter the HPMAXLINES command and set it to 100,000 or less.
  • Break OLE links. Enter the OLELINKS command, select the OLE object in the list, and click the "Break Link" button, then save the drawing. By removing the link, the automatic update is lost and changes to the original document will not be reflected in the drawing.
  • Remove constraints. Select all in the drawing and enter the DELCON command. It may be necessary to change PARAMETERCOPYMODE to 0 (zero), then use WBLOCK with the "Entire drawing" option to save a new copy of the file (or copy the entire drawing to a new file).
  • Large coordinates. Move all drawing content closer to 0,0 or use the UCS command to reset the zero point closer.
  • Clear and avoid retaining solid history. Select all 3D Solids in the drawing and enter the BREP command. Alternatively, select all 3D Solids and change the History property to None. Then change the SOLIDHIST variable to 0 (zero) to avoid retaining solid history on new 3D Solids.
  • Edit 2D polylines. For all 2D polyline objects, set the Fit/Smooth property to None or Curve Fit (use QSELECT to easily select all 2D polyline objects) using the Properties palette. All 2D polylines should be set to the same Fit/Smooth property.
  • Adjust the file loading. Set DEMANDLOAD to 0 (zero) before opening the file and change it back afterward.
  • Hardware Acceleration. Enter the GRAPHICSCONFIG command and turn off hardware acceleration.
  • Corrupt or excessive layouts. Reduce the number of layouts, the fewer the better. Repair corrupt layouts by rebuilding them or repairing them.
  • Large number of Scales. Resetting the scales list will return it to the default choices along with any others that are referenced (see Warning: "This drawing contains a large number of annotations scale" when opening a file in AutoCAD).
  • Fields. Set the variable FIELDEVALS to 0. If the drawing opens more quickly, it is related to field configurations which cannot be found.
  • Recover, clean, and repair the drawing. This also applies to attached drawings (see How to repair corrupt AutoCAD files).
  • Use a more recent template. If the drawing opens in an older version, try the following:
    1. Open a blank drawing file using a template from a newer software version.
    2. Type CLASSICINSERT and press Enter.
    3. Click Browse and select the drawing.
    4. Clear Specify On-screen and verify that the insertion point is set to (0,0,0).
    5. Check Explode.
    6. Click OK.
  • Damaged drawing file. Transfer the data into a new drawing file with CLASSICINSERT as mentioned before.
  • Save the drawing to a newer format (for instance 2018 instead of 2013). 
  • Try opening the drawing in a second instance of the program.
  • Clip xrefs. For large attachments, consider clipping the xrefs to show only the sections needed.
  • Large image attachments. Use an image-editing program such as Paint or Photoshop to reduce the size of the image, reducing the overall file size, and then scale up the image within the drawing.
  • Embed image attachments. Instead of linking images as attachments, use PASTESPEC in AutoCAD to embed them. Open the image in Paint, select all (CTRL-A) and then copy (CTRL-C), then use PASTESPEC in AutoCAD and pick "Paintbrush Picture."
  • Large number of separate 3D Solids. Use command UNION to reduce the count of 3D Solids.
  • Remove corrupt plot style and replace with a working copy of the plot style.
  • Loading large amounts of COGO point data in Civil 3D. See Drawings open slowly in AutoCAD Civil 3D showing "Upgrading COGO Points".

Products:

AutoCAD for Mac; AutoCAD LT for Mac; AutoCAD Products; DWG TrueView;

Was this information helpful?

Need help? Ask the Autodesk Assistant!

The Assistant can help you find answers or contact an agent.

Ask the Assistant

What level of support do you have?

Different subscription plans provide distinct categories of support. Find out the level of support for your plan.

View levels of support