Saving ADT 2004 Drawings in AutoCAD 2000 DWG Format

Products

Autodesk® Architectural Desktop 2004

Issue

You created a drawing in Autodesk® Architectural Desktop 2004 and need to save the file in the AutoCAD 2000 DWG format, however, this is not an option in the Save Drawing As dialog box.

Solution

Intelligent objects in Autodesk Architectural Desktop 2004, such as walls, doors and windows, are not compatible with previous AutoCAD DWG formats. Consequently, the option to save drawings in AutoCAD 2000 DWG format was disabled to preserve the integrity of Autodesk Architectural Desktop 2004 object data. Since Autodesk Architectural Desktop 2004 drawings are not backwards compatible with Autodesk Architectural Desktop 3.3 or previous releases, it is highly recommended that all members of a project team utilize the same release of Autodesk Architectural Desktop to maintain file interoperability. If a project was started using Autodesk Architectural Desktop 3.3 or an earlier release, it is recommended that one of the following approaches be followed:
  • All members of the project team continue to use Autodesk Architectural Desktop 3.3 for the remainder of the project.
  • All members of the project team simultaneously upgrade to Autodesk Architectural Desktop 2004.

While Autodesk Architectural Desktop 2004 does not support backward compatibility of intelligent objects, it is understood that you may still have business requirements that dictate the use of AutoCAD 2000 DWG format. In many of these cases, you need to save files in AutoCAD 2000 DWG format for collaboration purposes including:

  • Viewing and plotting
  • Using the drawing as background or an external reference (xref)
  • Providing the drawing to individuals who are using AutoCAD® or AutoCAD LT® software
  • Performing basic annotation tasks through core AutoCAD functionality, such as lines, circles, text and dimensions

In many of these cases, you can use the Export to AutoCAD command and select the AutoCAD 2000 DWG format. However, if you are using xrefs, the Export to AutoCAD command may not be a viable solution because this routine automatically binds all xrefs to the host drawing. If you are faced with this scenario or you need to save your Autodesk Architectural Desktop 2004 files in AutoCAD 2000 DWG format while retaining the intelligent object data, you can use one of the following methods save your files in AutoCAD 2000 DWG format:

Method #1

  1. Start a session of Autodesk Architectural Desktop 2004 and open the drawing file that needs to be saved in AutoCAD 2000 DWG format.
  2. Enter filedia on the command line.
  3. At the Enter new value for FILEDIA prompt, enter 0.
  4. Enter saveas on the command line.
  5. At the Enter file format prompt, enter 2000. Please note that 2000 is not listed as an option, but entering the value manually does produce the desired results.
  6. At the Save drawing as prompt, enter the desired path and file name. As an example, the path and file name may be C:\Program Files\Autodesk Architectural Desktop 2004 \Drawing.dwg.

Method #2

  1. Start a session of Autodesk Architectural Desktop 2004.
  2. On the Format menu, click Options.
  3. In the Options dialog box, click the Profiles tab.
  4. From the Available Profiles list, select the <<Unnamed Profile>> and then click Add to List.
  5. Enter ACAD 2004 as the profile name and click Apply & Close. You can add a description if desired.
  6. From the Available Profiles list, select ACAD 2004 and then click Set Current.
  7. In the Options dialog box, click the Open & Save tab.
  8. Under Demand Load ObjectARX Apps, select Disable Load on Demand and click Apply.
  9. In the Options dialog box, click the Profiles tab.
  10. From Available Profiles list, select ACAD 2004 and click Export.
  11. In the Export Profile dialog box, navigate to the directory in which you want to save this file, enter the desired file name and click Save. It is recommended that you save the resultant ARG file in the Autodesk Architectural Desktop 2004 installation directory.
  12. In the Options dialog box, click OK and then exit the Autodesk Architectural Desktop 2004 session.
  13. On the Windows Desktop, make a copy of your Autodesk Architectural Desktop 2004 shortcut.
  14. Select the copy of your Autodesk Architectural Desktop 2004 shortcut, right-click, and click Properties on the shortcut menu.
  15. Edit the Target path by removing the \t and \ld switches and modify the \p switch to use the new ARG file created in step 11.
  16. The following is an example of the resultant Target path:

"C:\Program Files\Autodesk Architectural Desktop 2004 \acad.exe" /p "C:\Program Files\Autodesk Architectural Desktop 2004\ACAD 2004.arg"

  1. Click OK to exit the Shortcut Properties dialog box. Sessions of Autodesk Architectural Desktop 2004 that are launched from the resultant shortcut will only include the AutoCAD functionality and the Save command will include the option to save drawings in AutoCAD 2000 DWG format.

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