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AutoSAVE - ACAD2005

How do I find and use the files created by AutoSave?

By default the files created by AutoSave are stored in a temporary file folder.  You can determine the folder name by selecting the Options command from the Tools menu.  Next, select the Files tab. Click the '+' sign next to Automatic Save File Location. The complete path will be shown.

Once you've located the folder that contains the AutoSave files you'll need to decipher the file names.  Below is the format used by the AutoSave function in naming the files.

drawing name_AutoCAD session number_MDE Window number_random number.sv$

drawing name is the original drawing name.
AutoCAD session number is the sequentially numbered session of the program running concurrently on the system (if there is more than one session running).
MDE Window number is the sequentially numbered open drawing in the program (if there is more than one drawing open).
random number is a random number generated by the program.
.sv$ is the file extension AutoCAD assigns to all AutoSave files.

Let's say you are looking for the AutoSave file for a drawing E-201.dwg. You have determined that the AutoSave Folder is C:\Temp.  Your AutoSave file will be something like C:\Temp\E-201_1_2_4361.sv$.

To open the AutoSave file you'll need to rename the file so that it has DWG extension.  Once you've located the file, just highlight it, right-click and select Rename from the list.  At the very least, change the sv$ to dwg. At this point you can move the file to a different folder or open it.

Note: The BAK file can also be useful in recovering drawings.  The BAK file will have the same name as the drawing file, but with a bak extension.  Use the procedure described above to rename the BAK file to a DWG file before opening it.  The BAK files are located in the same directory as the DWG file you are working on.