the file had previously been saved.
3. Select the File that you wish to open.
4. Select the Open button.
The File Tabs tool allows you to have multiple drawings open at the same time. If the File Tabs tool is switched on (on by default), you can open existing saved drawings or create new ones.
The File Tabs tool is located on the Interface Panel of the View Tab, and is a Neon Blue color when switched on.
How to open an existing saved drawing from the File Tabs
1. Right mouse click on the ‘+’ icon.
2. Select Open from the menu.
3. Locate the Directory and Folder for the previously saved file. (Refer to page 2-19.)
4. Select the File you wish to open.
5. Select the Open button.
How to open a new drawing from the Files Tab.
1. Right mouse click on any File Tab and select New from the menu.
2. Select Drawing Template (*.dwt) from the Files of type drop-down list.
3. Select the Template you require.
4. Select the Open button.
The File Tabs drawing previews allow you to quickly change between open drawings. If you hover your mouse over any open File Tab, a preview of the Model and the Layout Tabs are displayed. You can click on any of the previews to take you to that particular open drawing or view, as shown in the example below.
If an asterisk is displayed on a File Tab it means that particular drawing has not been saved since it was last modified. The asterisk will disappear when the drawing has been saved. An example of having two separate drawings open that have not been saved is shown below.
After starting a new drawing, it is best practice to save it immediately. Learning how to save a drawing correctly is almost more important than making the drawing. If you can’t save correctly, you will lose the drawing and hours of work.
There are 2 commands for saving a drawing: Save and Save As. I prefer to use Save As.
The Save As command always pauses to allow you to choose where you want to store the file and what name to assign to the file. This may seem like a small thing, but it has saved me many times from saving a drawing on top of another drawing by mistake.
The Save command will automatically save the file either back to where you retrieved it or where you last saved a previous drawing. Neither may be the correct destination. And may replace a file with the same name. So play it safe, use Save As for now.
1. Select the Save As command using one of the following:
If you turn the automatic save option ON, your drawing is saved at specified time intervals. These temporary files are automatically deleted when a drawing closes normally. The default save time is every 10 minutes. You may change the save time Intervals and where you would prefer the Automatic Save files to be saved.
How to set the Automatic Save intervals
1. Type options and then press <enter>
2. Select the Open and Save Tab.
3. Enter the desired minutes between saves.
4. Select the OK button.
How to change the Automatic Save location
1. Type options and then press <enter>
2. Select the Files Tab.
3. Locate the Automatic Save File Location and click on the “+” to display the path.
4. Double click on the path.
5. Browse to locate the Automatic Save Location desired and highlight it.
6. Select OK.
(The browse box will disappear and the new location path should be displayed under the Automatic Save File Location heading).
7. Select OK to accept the change.
When you save a drawing file, Autocad creates a file with a .dwg extension. For example, if you save a drawing as 12b, Autocad saves it as 12b.dwg.
The next time you save that same drawing, Autocad replaces the old with the new and renames the old version 12b.bak. The old version is now a back up file.
(Only 1 backup file for each drawing file is stored.)
How to open a back up file:
You can’t open a “.bak” file.
It must first be renamed with a “.dwg” file extension.
How to view the list of back up files:
The backup files will be saved in the same location as the drawing file.
You must use Windows Explorer to locate the .bak files.
How to rename a back up file:
1. Right click on the file name.
2. Select “Rename”.
3. Change the .bak extension to .dwg and then press <enter>.
Recovering a Drawing
In the event of a program failure or a power failure any open files should be saved automatically. (Refer to page 2-24.)