Computer aided design software
AutoCAD is a commercial computer-aided design (CAD) and drafting software application by Autodesk . The first release of the software started with version 1.0 in December 1982.[ 1]
AutoCAD opens documents with DWG compatibility as a "DWG file format version code" where the specific version code can be found by opening the .dwg file in Windows Notepad or any text editor program. The file contents starts with this string. The file format version code (tag) is dependent on the AutoCAD version.[ 2]
History
The following table summarizes the version history of the AutoCAD software application.
Release name
Version
Date of release
DWG tag[ 2]
Release
OS support
Comments
Version 1.0
1.0
December 1982
MC0.0
1
DWG R1.0 file format
Version 1.2
1.2
April 1983
AC1.2
2
DWG R1.2 file format
Version 1.3
1.3
August 1983
3
DWG R1.3 file format
Version 1.4
1.4
October 1983
AC1.40
4
DWG R1.4 file format
Version 2.0
2.0
October 1984
AC1.50[ 3]
5
DWG R2.05 file format
Version 2.1
2.1
May 1985
AC2.10
6
DWG R2.1 file format
Version 2.5
2.5
June 1986
AC1002
7
DWG R2.5 file format
Version 2.6
2.6
April 1987
AC1003
8
DWG R2.6 file format. Last version that can be run without a math co-processor.
Release 9
9.0
September 1987
AC1004
9
DWG R9 file format
Release 10
10.0
October 1988
AC1006
10
MS-DOS
DWG R10 file format. Sole release for System 6 , Xenix and OS/2 1.x .[ 4]
Release 11
11.0
October 1990
AC1009
11
DWG R11 file format, the first version to incorporate basic 3D solid modeling via the Advanced Modeling Extension (AME). Last release for DOS 286.
March 1992
Mac OS 7
Release 12
12.0
June 1992
12
DWG R11/R12 file format. Last release for SunOS 4.1 and Ultrix .
February 1993
Windows 3.1 [ 7]
Release 13
13.0
November 1994
AC1012
13
DWG R13 file format. Sole release for Windows NT Alpha . Last release for AIX , Solaris , IRIX and HP-UX .
Release 14
14.0
February 1997
AC1014
14
DWG R14 file format
2000
15.0
March 1999
AC1015
15
DWG 2000 file format. Multi-Document Interface.
2000i
15.1
July 2000
16
2002
15.2
June 2001
17
2004
16.0
March 2003
AC1018
18
DWG 2004 file format
2005
16.1
March 2004
19
2006
16.2
March 2005
20
Dynamic Block
2007
17.0
March 2006
AC1021
21
DWG 2007 file format
2008
17.1
March 2007
22
Annotative objects introduced. AutoCAD 2008 and higher (including AutoCAD LT) can directly import and underlay DGN
2009
17.2
March 2008
23
Revisions to the user interface including the introduction of the Ribbon
2010
18.0
March 24, 2009
AC1024
24
DWG 2010 file format introduced. Parametrics introduced. Mesh 3D solid modeling was introduced. PDF underlays. Both 32-bit and 64-bit versions of AutoCAD 2010 and AutoCAD LT 2010 are compatible with and supported under Microsoft Windows 7.
2011
18.1
March 25, 2010
25
Surface modeling, surface analysis, and object transparency introduced. Intel-only on Mac OS X.
October 15, 2010
2012
18.2
March 22, 2011
26
Associative array, model documentation, DGN editing. Support for complex line types in DGN files is improved in AutoCAD 2012.
August 19, 2011
2013
19.0
March 27, 2012
AC1027
27
DWG 2013 file format (AC1027)
2014
19.1
March 26, 2013
28
File tabs, design feed, reality capture, live maps
2015
20.0
March 27, 2014
29
Line smoothing (anti-aliasing)
2016
20.1
March 23, 2015
30
More comprehensive canvas, richer design context, and intelligent new tools such as smart dimensioning, coordination model, and enhanced PDFs
2017
21.0
March 21, 2016
31
PDF import, associative center marks, and centerlines, DirectX 11 graphics
2018
22.0
March 21, 2017
AC1032
32
DWG 2018 file format and Mac. "Off-screen" selection.[ 26]
2019
23.0
March 22, 2018
33
Specialized toolsets (electrical, architecture, MEP, etc.) with One AutoCAD, Shared Views, DWG Compare, Save To AutoCAD Web & Mobile
2020
23.1
March 27, 2019
34
New dark theme, quick measurements, blocks palette, Microsoft OneDrive and Box.com integration, dropped support for 32bit Windows[ 27]
2021
24.0
March 25, 2020
35
Vendor dependent[ 28] Windows 8.1 10 Drawing history, Xref compare, Google Drive integration, offline activation removed,[ 29] [ 30]
2022
24.1
March 23, 2021
36
Vendor dependent Windows 10 11 [ 31] Trace , Count, Floating Drawing
2023
24.2
March 28, 2022
37
Count , Floating Windows, Trace Markup Import and Markup Assist with text recognition, improved 3D Graphics[ 33]
2024
24.3
March 27, 2023
38
2025
25.0
March 26, 2024
39
ObjectArx .Net plugin model changed from .Net Framework to .Net Core[ 34]
2026
25.1
March 25, 2025
40
References
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