Version 2012 to version 2007: Got An Opener?

[SLW210]

Yup, and a frustrated client sometimes goes elsewhere. Keep the client happy and you keep the client. For a self employed contractor that is very important.

Watch out for functionality in 2012 that is not in 2007. The converters will kill it and the drawing you send back might be missing some functionality. If it's a one off big job consider downloading the trial version of 2012 or 2013, that way you can preserve the functionality. But be aware it's a quantum jump from 2007 to 2012/2013 and it takes a bit of getting used to.

That (according to Autodesk anyway) is not true. I save down to 2004, when the drawing is reopened in my 2011 version ALL functionality is restored. Use DWG TrueView and you should be fine, you can even send them the 2007 versions of the files.

[irneb]

/devil's advocate

Or, Autodesk can make AutoCAD like Revit and make backwards compatibility impossible. This way it keeps the market going forward.

Well it "is" true for verticals (in a sense). At least for their "special" objects. Drawing a wall in ACA 2013, then saving as to 2010 format you actually get a warning stating that AEC objects will not work. And the waning is correct, since that wall when opened in 2012 is not a smart object anymore.

[David Devitt]

Thanks, SLW210! I will be sure to look into DWG TrueView also.

[the ber]

I also recommend DWG TrueView. It also has the benefit of being a good DWG-to-PDF printer. Older versions of AutoCAD did not print to PDF very well, but you can do it better for free with Trueview.

[DaveyM]

do any of these converters work on DWT files back to 2007 version?

[Dadgad]

I have never used any of them, but if the .dwt file were first saved as a backdated .dwg file format,
that drawing could then be opened in the older software and saved as a .dwt in whatever edition (2007?) were being used.

[irneb]

You can saveas a DWT to an old DWG file, then simply rename it to DWT again. The DWT/DWG is the same thing, it's just that ACad uses DWT as a Template.