AutoCAD

[Abraham12]

Hi people!

When trying to open a drawing file in AutoCAD, the following message appears:

Drawing file is not valid.

Anyone else having this issue?

 

[tirediron]

This is a photography forum, not an AutoCAD or drafting forum, so you're unlikely to get a lot of response, but I'll move this to off-topic, and maybe someone can help.

 

[Dave442]

May be a dwg file saved as a newer version of acad than what you have. Download the AutoCad viewer from the Autodesk website and see if that will open the file. That program can also batch convert to older versions.

 

[vivarcierra]

Start by verifying that the drawing file you are trying to open was not created in a newer version of AutoCAD, with a newer file format than the version you are currently using. For example, a drawing created in AutoCAD 2015 will not open in AutoCAD 2012. Refer toAutoCAD drawing file formats for specific details on the file formats supported by various AutoCAD releases. If this turns out to be the issue, request that the drawing be saved to a version that is compatible with the AutoCAD you are using.

Otherwise, this message indicates that the drawing file has been damaged beyond use. However, there are a few things that may get it to open:

Try to open the drawing file directly instead of using the Recent Documents menu.

Check that the storage location that holds the drawing is working properly.

Use the RECOVER and RECOVERALL commands on the drawing.

Attempt to insert the damaged file into a clean drawing or template using the INSERT command.

Also there are a lot of programs which rapidly stop the error. For example DWG Fix Toolbox

https://www.fixtoolbox.com/autocadfix.htm

When none of the above work, try to locate a backup file (.bak) or the latest automatic save file (.sv$) for the drawing, or recover the file from another computer or from a file backup system that you may have in place to help manage your files. The AutoCAD backup file is usually found in the same folder as the DWG. The auto-save file is located in your user temp folder. Any easy way to open this up is to type%tmp%in the location bar of any folder window or in the search field within the Start menu. Rename the.bak or.sv$extension to.dwgand then you should have a usable drawing file, although it will not be the most recent version that you may have been working with.