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Migrating AutoCAD Workspaces

David Gerber
  • Updated

Issue

There are 3 common reasons people have the need to migrate workspaces within CAD.

  1. New Computer.
    1. You would like to transfer your workspaces from your old computer to the new one.
  2. Office Standards.
    1. An office-wide standard has been implemented.
  3. Upgrading to a Newer Version.
    1. You have recently downloaded a newer version of CAD and it’s set to defaults.

 

Solution

For a new computer or office standards, the workflow would be as follows:

  1. Export Settings from AutoCAD – Windows Start – AutoCAD 20xx – “Export AutoCAD 20xx Settings”
  2. Import Settings – same area, except “Import AutoCAD 20xx Settings”

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When upgrading CAD versions on the same computer (provided you haven’t uninstalled the previous version), you will be asked if you would like to migrate settings. If that message didn’t come up (happens sometimes) you can go to the same area as the “Export Settings” but this time click on “Migrate From A Previous Release” and it’ll bring up a dialogue box and ask to accept the migration from a previous version.

If you have already uninstalled the previous versions before this step, you can import using the same steps as above, however, had you not exported the settings or have an office-standard workspace you can import, those settings would be lost once you uninstalled. It is highly recommended that you export those settings for safe-keeping before uninstalling your CAD versions.

 

Resetting CAD to Default

This can also be a handy workflow for resetting CAD to default. If you notice your CAD starting to act up after importing a workspace, or perhaps working one day but not the next, it may be worth cross-checking:

  1. CAD Updates.
    • Is your CAD updated to the latest version?
    • You can download the latest version from either the Autodesk Desktop App or through the Management Portal – manage.autodesk.com
  2. Windows Updates.
    • Type “Windows Updates” in the Windows Search Bar
  3. Graphics Card Updates.
    • Test by turning off Hardware Acceleration by typing in – “GRAPHICSCONFIG" - in the command line and retesting. If it starts to act appropriately, check to see if your graphics card needs an update.

If you notice performance issues on every file and it’s not isolated to just one file, export your settings and then reset CAD to defaults. Test those same files again and compare. It may be something within that workspace. Send it to us and we can try to isolate the reasoning behind it or escalate further to Autodesk.

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Sometimes the “Reset Settings to Default” or “Migrate From a Previous Release” is missing on some installs if that’s the case for you follow the following Autodesk Article to fix this bug: https://autode.sk/2N2irne