topic Re: DWG files made in Windows will only open as Read Only files on AutocadLT for in AutoCAD Forum

DWG files made in Windows will only open as Read Only files on AutocadLT for Mac

Anonymous — Thu, 20 Oct 2016 18:39:14 GMT

I cannot edit any DWG files that were created in a Windows Autocad program in my Autocad LT 2016 for MAC. The files will only open as read only files, but they are uneditable and I can not save them with a different name to edit them. How can I edit these files?

Re: DWG files made in Windows will only open as Read Only files on AutocadLT for

john.vellek — Thu, 20 Oct 2016 18:44:39 GMT

Hi @Anonymous,

I see that you are visiting as a new member. Welcome to the Autodesk Community!

Please describe your configuration. Are you running Windows in a BootCamp partition and saving your files there?

Or, are you on a network?

I would like to understand how you are sharing the files between platforms.

Re: DWG files made in Windows will only open as Read Only files on AutocadLT for

pendean — Thu, 20 Oct 2016 19:50:00 GMT

The OS determines if the file is locked/read-only, not any program. So explain to us where your files are located that your OS thinks they need to remain read-only.

Re: DWG files made in Windows will only open as Read Only files on AutocadLT for

Anonymous — Fri, 21 Oct 2016 13:48:04 GMT

I have all of my files saved on an external hard drive.

Re: DWG files made in Windows will only open as Read Only files on AutocadLT for

john.vellek — Fri, 21 Oct 2016 14:59:36 GMT

Hi @Anonymous,

So, once the files are located on the external drive you try to access them from the MAC? What happens if you move them to the internal drive? Do they behave differently?

Do you see this issue with any other file type? For instance, if you create a MS Word doc in Windows and save it to the external drive, can the Mac open the file normally?

Re: DWG files made in Windows will only open as Read Only files on AutocadLT for

pendean — Fri, 21 Oct 2016 17:32:56 GMT

Like a USB external drive? Or a thumbdrive?

Are you jumping between two PCs, or is this the same PC with dual-boot operating systems?
Can your MAC open any other file type in another program without the read-only tag assigned to that file/program too?

Re: DWG files made in Windows will only open as Read Only files on AutocadLT for

Anonymous — Sun, 23 Oct 2016 19:18:18 GMT

I just tried moving a file from the external hard drive to the internal hard drive (as suggested) and it opened no problem! However, I still cannot save the file from the MAC to the external hard drive and I cannot open a file to edit on my MAC from my external hard drive. When trying to save I get the following error message:

"One or more objects in this drawing cannot be saved to the specified format. The operation was not completed and no file was created."

Any idea of what the problem might be?

Re: DWG files made in Windows will only open as Read Only files on AutocadLT for

pendean — Mon, 24 Oct 2016 12:46:39 GMT

Read this https://knowledge.autodesk.com/support/autocad/troubleshooting/caas/sfdcarticles/sfdcarticles/Error-One-or-more-objects-in-this-drawing-cannot-be-saved-to-the-specified-format.html

Re: DWG files made in Windows will only open as Read Only files on AutocadLT for

john.vellek — Mon, 24 Oct 2016 15:12:10 GMT

Hi @Anonymous,

How did you format the external drive? I usually use exFaT for my Mac.

Also, are there any permissions settings on the external drive?

Re: DWG files made in Windows will only open as Read Only files on AutocadLT for

john.vellek — Thu, 27 Oct 2016 16:57:06 GMT

Hi @Anonymous,

I thought I would check back to see if your problem had been resolved. If you can access the files when it is saved on the internal drive then I would suspect that a) disk format or b) permissions on the external drive are causing your issue.

As I mentioned earlier, an exFAT is the one I use most often for my drives and I have no issues. Here is a link that might help you with considering this option.