Opening a Drawing

You can open drawings stored on your computer or within a network.

The following methods are available:

Use the Open dialog box
Drag a drawing from Windows Explorer and drop it in the application window, anywhere outside the graphics area.
Note: Dragging the drawing into the graphics area inserts the drawing content as Block.
Use the Sheet Set Manager to open a drawing from a drawing sheet set.

Read-only Mode

In a network environment, multiple users can try access drawings at any time. However, only one user can edit a drawing at a time. When you try to open a drawing, the software automatically checks if the drawings are edited by another user and lets you access the drawing in read-only mode.

Note: If you try to save a read-only file, you need to save the file under another name.

Open with Encoding

Encoding standards provide the information that the application needs to display the text from the drawing on the screen. Different languages consist of different sets of characters including alphabetical characters, numbers, and other symbols.

When opening a drawing, you can specify the encoding standard necessary to display the file correctly.

To open a drawing:

Click File > Open (or type Open).
Click File > Open (or type Open).
Do one of the following:
- On the Quick Access Toolbar, click Open.
- In the Application Menu, click Open > Open.
- Right-click a drawing file tab and select Open.
Navigate to the drawing file location.
You can browse files from your local and external hard drives, as well as from your Cloud Storage accounts.
- Recent. Displays the list of files that you have recently opened. The list includes the files from your local drives, as well as your Cloud Storage accounts.
- This PC. Displays your system folders, devices, and network locations.
- Cloud storages. Lists the attached cloud storage accounts. Each button from the list corresponds to a Cloud Storage account. Clicking a button displays the list of drawings and folders from the selected Cloud Storage. At any time, you can add Cloud Storage services or existing ones.
- Browse. Opens the classic file opening dialog box.
Select a file type from the drop-down list.
Select a drawing from the list.
Note: Optionally, you can display a thumbnail of the selected drawing in the Preview pane, although not all file formats provide previews.
Click Open to load the drawing.
If another user is editing the drawing, a message appears. Click Yes to open the file without modifying it.

To open a drawing in read-only mode:

Click File > Open (or type Open).
Navigate to your drawing.
Select a file type from the drop-down list.
Select a drawing.
Note: Optionally, you can display a thumbnail of the selected drawing in the Preview pane, although not all file formats provide previews.
Click Open to load the drawing.
Click the arrow next to Open the and click Open Read-Only to open the file without modifying it.

To open a drawing with encoding:

Click File > Open (or type Open).
Navigate to your drawing.
Select a file type from the drop-down list.
Select a drawing.
Note: Optionally, you can display a thumbnail of the selected drawing in the Preview pane, although not all file formats provide previews.
Click the arrow next to Open the and click Open with Encoding.
In the Open With Encoding dialog box, select the encoding that the application should use.
Optionally, select Read only to open the file without modifying it.

Click File > Open (or type Open).
In Files of type, select a file type.
In Look in, navigate to your drawing.
Select a drawing.
The Preview area presents a thumbnail of the selected drawing, although not all file formats provide previews.
Click Open to load the drawing or click and click Open Read-Only to open the file without modifying it.
If another user is editing the drawing, a message appears. Click Yes to open the file without modifying it.

Click File > Open (or type Open).
Select a drawing.
Click Open to load the drawing or select Open Read-Only from the Open mode list to open the file without modifying it.
If another user is editing the drawing, a message appears. Click Yes to open the file without modifying it.

To control the Preview area display from the classic Open system file dialog box:

Note: This option is available only in the classic Open system file dialog box.

Click File > Open (or type Open).
Specify one of the following options:
- Force preview pane. Enables the drawing content preview in the Preview pane regardless of the File Explorer settings.
- Keep Explorer settings. Displays the Preview pane only if it is enabled in the File Explorer settings.
Note: The setting takes effect only when you display the Open dialog box again.

Access

Command: Open

Menu: File > Open

Keyboard Shortcut: Ctrl + O

Keyboard Shortcut: Command + O