084x4larry Posted January 15, 2013 Posted January 15, 2013 what is this file that keeps showing up in my folders with my dwg files? Quote
jammie Posted January 15, 2013 Posted January 15, 2013 Hi, Its generated on first (non read-only) opening of a drawing file. It identifies that the drawing is open for edit. If AutoCAD detects the dwl file, it wont open the drawing again with full write access unless the original copy is closed. Thats why you sometimes get a notification of a drawing already being opened by another user and AutoCad asks to open a read-only copy.When the original drawing is closed AutoCad removes the dwl file so the next user can open the drawing Thats my understanding anyhow Quote
ReMark Posted January 15, 2013 Posted January 15, 2013 DWL files should be automatically deleted upon closing AutoCAD in the normal manner. Sometimes however you'll find orphan DWL files in the folder you save your drawings to. They can be deleted with no harm caused. Quote
084x4larry Posted January 15, 2013 Author Posted January 15, 2013 thank y'all for responding. i dont remember noticing these files before. we just upgraded to 2013 and seems like thats when i started seeing them. y'all are right tho, they go away when i close the dwg's. still think i didnt see them before the upgrade tho. maybe theres a check box somewhere to set to "don't show dwl files" ??? anywho, many thanks guys!! Quote
ReMark Posted January 15, 2013 Posted January 15, 2013 Click on the following link then look at post #5 re: killing off DWL files. http://www.cadtutor.net/forum/showthread.php?55081-is-it-possible-to-diasable-dwl-file-creation Use either method at your own risk. Quote
irneb Posted January 16, 2013 Posted January 16, 2013 thank y'all for responding. i dont remember noticing these files before. we just upgraded to 2013 and seems like thats when i started seeing them. y'all are right tho, they go away when i close the dwg's. still think i didnt see them before the upgrade tho. maybe theres a check box somewhere to set to "don't show dwl files" ??? anywho, many thanks guys!!They might have been hidden - but they were there a long time ago. I can remember them from at least 2005 (I think they were there even earlier, though that's when I first started using them in lisp), some later acad added a DWL2 file as well. These files simply contain info stating which person's opened the DWG when. It's used in the WhoHas command. The DWL2 is simply the same info as the DWL, but instead of tab delimited it's in XML format. The locking is not "actually" performed by these files. Locking is done through the operating system's file-system component. Erasing them isn't going to "unlock" the DWG, if the DWG is locked you won't be able to erase them anyway. I tend to not worry about them, as they don't do any harm if they're there. And no biggie if they're not. But as ReMark's shown, they "should" officially be deleted once the DWG is closed - and that sometimes doesn't happen, usually due to ACad crashing. Though even then they don't give hassles, so erase them or don't - it's up to your preference. Quote
084x4larry Posted January 16, 2013 Author Posted January 16, 2013 They might have been hidden - but they were there a long time ago. I can remember them from at least 2005 (I think they were there even earlier, though that's when I first started using them in lisp), some later acad added a DWL2 file as well. These files simply contain info stating which person's opened the DWG when. It's used in the WhoHas command. The DWL2 is simply the same info as the DWL, but instead of tab delimited it's in XML format. The locking is not "actually" performed by these files. Locking is done through the operating system's file-system component. Erasing them isn't going to "unlock" the DWG, if the DWG is locked you won't be able to erase them anyway. I tend to not worry about them, as they don't do any harm if they're there. And no biggie if they're not. But as ReMark's shown, they "should" officially be deleted once the DWG is closed - and that sometimes doesn't happen, usually due to ACad crashing. Though even then they don't give hassles, so erase them or don't - it's up to your preference. ok thanks, yeah i think they used to be "hidden" before we upgraded but i cannot find where i can make them "hidden"?? Quote
ReMark Posted January 16, 2013 Posted January 16, 2013 I take it you do not want to use either of the two options referenced in the link I provided? By any chance do you have Windows Explorer set up to display hidden file types? If the answer is 'yes' then try changing it to 'no' and see what happens. Not sure if this requires a reboot or not but AutoCAD should not be open while the change is being made. Quote
084x4larry Posted January 16, 2013 Author Posted January 16, 2013 I take it you do not want to use either of the two options referenced in the link I provided? By any chance do you have Windows Explorer set up to display hidden file types? If the answer is 'yes' then try changing it to 'no' and see what happens. Not sure if this requires a reboot or not but AutoCAD should not be open while the change is being made. ~no it's not that, when i saw the disclaimer "at your own risk" i figured it might be a bit in depth is all and i got slammed with more work and beings how i wanted to have adequate time to read the link i just havent gotten to it yet... thank u just the same, i do plan on taking a look at it and do appreciate the help. thanks again ReMark~ Quote
ReMark Posted January 16, 2013 Posted January 16, 2013 Take a look at my last response re: the Hidden attribute setting in Windows Explorer. Quick and easy to do. Report back with your results. Quote
084x4larry Posted January 16, 2013 Author Posted January 16, 2013 Take a look at my last response re: the Hidden attribute setting in Windows Explorer. Quick and easy to do. Report back with your results. yes! that worked... no longer see those files when i look in folders with dwg's... even when i have some of those files open. that was my goal. many thanks ReMark:D Quote
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