The primary file format for 2D and 3D drawing files created with AutoCAD is. dwf, a format developed and promoted by Autodesk, for publishing CAD data.įile formats Filename extensions ĪutoCAD's native file formats are denoted either by a. This and, to a lesser extent, its interchange file format DXF, have become de facto, if proprietary, standards for CAD data interoperability, particularly for 2D drawing exchange. The 2022 release marked the 36th major release of AutoCAD for Windows and the 12th consecutive year of AutoCAD for Mac. As Autodesk's flagship product, by March 1986 AutoCAD had become the most ubiquitous CAD program worldwide. The first version by Autodesk was demonstrated at the 1982 Comdex and released that December. A man using AutoCAD 2.6 to digitize a drawing of a school building.ĪutoCAD was derived from a program that began in 1977, and then released in 1979 called Interact CAD, also referred to in early Autodesk documents as MicroCAD, which was written prior to Autodesk's (then Marinchip Software Partners) formation by Autodesk cofounder Michael Riddle.

Autodesk autocad 2016 full version