Can ARDI use AutoCAD DWG Files?

Not Directly

ARDI can’t deal directly with DWG files for several reasons.

• DWG files are a proprietary, closed format that belongs to Autodesk
• The official tools to read them are available for Windows only,
• The unofficial tools are often unreliable, particularly with modern versions of the format,
• They often contain layers and embeds from other Autodesk products, which can’t be read

However, you can export your AutoCAD file into the DXF (Drawing Exchange File) format. This is an open format that can be read by a variety of systems.

It’s important to make sure that you explode your file – to make sure that any embedded objects in your DWG file are also converted into DXF format. Otherwise, you create a DXF that is full of DWGs, which unfortunately we can’t use.

Please Test Before Sending

Note that AutoCAD continues to have a bug where the DXF files it creates are sometimes not valid. This is despite the fact that Autodesk are the authors of the DXF file format. The issue is usually because of spaces or other unacceptable characters in the names of the layers.

Because of this, we suggest opening your DXF file in TrueView or another CAD viewing tool to verify that the file is valid before sending it to us.