Not developed or licensed by Autodesk" MESSAGE WARNING

[Bobzy20]

I have some DWG’s that show the following message when opening:

 

“The dwg file was saved by an application that was not developed or licensed by Autodesk”

 

I understand why but was wondering if there was a way to tell what program was used to save the drawing?

 

Any help would be great.

[hugha]

Try dumping the file as binary+text using (say) the PSPad text editor or ZTreeWin. You may find an internal identifying string.

[Bobzy20]

Thanks for the reply.

 

How would i use AC to dump the file?

 

Export command.

[hugha]

You don't. Just open the file with a text editor capable of displaying the file in binary.

 

Use Windows Explorer to find the file of interest. *CREATE A COPY*. Right click on the copy, select "Open With" and browse to select the program to open the file with. Even NotePad might show something of interest. You will probably see a string such as AC2015 or similar tagging the file version.

 

PSPad is an editor better capable of displaying binary content but having just done that with a couple of files last saved with DraftSight I saw nothing to indicate that DraftSight was involved. YMMV.

 

Another way to find out is to ask the files's creator about what was used.

[Tyke]

  Bobzy20 said:

I have some DWG’s that show the following message when opening:

 

“The dwg file was saved by an application that was not developed or licensed by Autodesk”

 

I understand why but was wondering if there was a way to tell what program was used to save the drawing?

 

Any help would be great.

 

 

If you open the DWG file in question using a normal text editor (I used TextPad) you can see as the very first word on the first line in the file in which version of AutoCAd it last saved (here it was "AC1018" which is AutoCAD Civil 3D 2004 format). If you want to see the full list see this link: http://autodesk.blogs.com/between_the_lines/autocad-release-history.html

 

A few lines further down you can see which program saved the drawing originally.

 

 

 

Make sure 'Word Wrap' is turned off so that you only see the start of each line, as the lines are extremely long.

[Bobzy20]

Thanks for the information.

 

Looks like its 'AC1021' - AutoCAD 2007/2008/2009

[Tyke]

  Bobzy20 said:

Thanks for the information.

 

Looks like its 'AC1021' - AutoCAD 2007/2008/2009

 

Did you manage to get what the original program was that created it?

[Bobzy20]

Nope.

 

Still somebody here must have used a third-party convertor as the warning message would never have appeared otherwise.

[Tyke]

  Bobzy20 said:

Thanks for the information.

 

Looks like its 'AC1021' - AutoCAD 2007/2008/2009

 

If it's 'AC1021' it's AutoCAD 2007. AutoCAD 2008 was 'AC1022' and 2009 was 'AC1023'. They are so grouped together because versions 2007 to 2009 all have the same DWG format. The DWG format is ony changed every 3rd release (at the moment)!

[Bobzy20]

All the DWG's with this message have this code: AC1014 - Release 14?

[hugha]

Yes. From Tyke's link to Shaan's blog, here are the file version identifiers :

 

DWG File History

The first six bytes of a DWG file identify its version. In a DXF file, the AutoCAD version number is specified in the header section. The DXF system variable is $ACADVER.

 

AC1027 AutoCAD 2013

AC1024 AutoCAD 2010/2011/2012

AC1021 AutoCAD 2007/2008/2009

AC1018 AutoCAD 2004/2005/2006

AC1015 AutoCAD 2000/2000i/2002

AC1014 Release 14

AC1012 Release 13

AC1009 Release 11/12

AC1006 Release 10

AC1004 Release 9

AC1003 Version 2.60

AC1002 Version 2.50

AC1001 Version 2.22

AC2.22 Version 2.22

AC2.21 Version 2.21

AC2.10 Version 2.10

AC1.50 Version 2.05

AC1.40 Version 1.40

AC1.2 Version 1.2

MC0.0 Version 1.0

 

If you save a DWG as a DXF it is then in a text format that is quire easy for a text editor to display in all of its frightful glory. Look for $ACADVER and the ACxxxx identifier will be close by.

[Bobzy20]

Thanks

 

Does this mean is was saved down to DWG release 14 format or does it mean it was saved in AutoCAD R14?

Edited May 8, 2013 by Bobzy20

[Tyke]

  Bobzy20 said:

Thanks

 

Does this mean is was saved down to DWG release 14 format or does it mean it was saved in AutoCAD R14?

 

It means it was saved down to Release 14 format. The screen shots I posted in post #5 were saved from AutoCAD Civil 3D 2010, but showed as 'AC1018' - AutoCAD 2004 format.

[Bobzy20]

Thanks, hopefully this will help me out.