Graphics Programs Reference
In-Depth Information
Some
previous AutoCAD releases can open files saved by the subsequent one or
two versions. For example, AutoCAD 2007 and AutoCAD 2008 can open DWG files
saved by AutoCAD 2009. That's because Autodesk didn't change the DWG file
format between those releases. However, the drawing file format
did
change with
AutoCAD 2010, so drawings created in the current release must be saved in an
older format to be openable in AutoCAD 2009 and earlier.
You can use the Save As option in newer releases to save the file to some older
DWG formats. In fact, AutoCAD 2012 can save as far back as AutoCAD Release 14,
which dates all the way back to 1997!
Table 1-1 shows which versions (described later in this chapter) use which DWG file
formats.
The new file format introduced in AutoCAD 2010 was necessary to handle new features
— especially parametric drafting, and that format proved more efficient at saving files
and handling much larger objects. Best of all, from the user's perspective, it was notice-
ably faster to work with than AutoCAD 2009.
