Location of default drawing that opens upon launch in AutoCAD

[fredJME3H]

what is the location for the file that autocad opens ( by default) when the program starts up?

regards

fred

@fredJME3H 

Topic Title has been changed by @Tiana_Y for better findability. Original: autocad which file opens as default

[user181 · Accepted solution]

If you are referring to the drawing1 that opens with CAD it is in the OPTIONS > Files tab > Template Settings > Default Template File Name for QNEW.

[fredJME3H]

perfect- thank you very much

[fredJME3H]

thanks my friend

regards

[HullDrafter]

In that area, my file name is NONE. Why am I still getting Drawing1?

[RobDraw]

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@HullDrafter wrote:

In that area, my file name is NONE. Why am I still getting Drawing1?

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That's a different topic. Start another thread.

[user181 · Accepted solution]

@HullDrafter  that location is so you can set your template or a specific drawing to open at start, autocad will still open with drawing1 even if none is set.  The drawing you set there will also be the drawing opened when you hit the new button on the quick access toolbar. If you are looking to prevent drawing1 from opening then you need to look into the STARTUP variable. I think setting it to 2 will stop drawing1.

Also if you want to prevent the start tab from opening change STARTMODE variable to 0

[jim.peterson2]

@user181 :I'm jumping on this because I have the same issue, but the solution doesn't work.

I created a test project from scratch with only one drawing. When I open it from inside ACADE the project opens fine. If I open the project from Windows File explorer I get the dialog stating it cannot find the drawing. It doesn't say what drawing. I have to point the program to the test drawing every time.

I tried pointing ACADE to the template folder and template file, without success.

I tried STARTUP = 0, 1, 2 & 3.  The dialog boxes open normally in each mode. With STARTUP = 0 the dialog still opens, but it loads the new file as drawing1 with the template. STARTUP=1 brings up the open drawing dialog box. STARTUP=2 brings up a find file dialog. However, before the dialog box ACADE always says it can't find the drawing.

I tried removing all the drawings from the project file. I also made sure the configuration files in the project were valid.

Thank you in advance for your help.

[RSomppi]

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@jim.peterson2 wrote:

@user181 :I'm jumping on this because I have the same issue,

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It seems you may have been replying to a different thread. There was no real issue here. The question was about a file location. The solution(s) is not applicable to what you are saying.

[kenlucbruce]

I have Autocad 2025 in Windows 11 Pro. I found the startup default drawing using windows explorer. Look in Autodesk/AutoCAD 2025/Sample/Database Connectivity. It was in that folder as Floor Plan Sample (DWG File). A double click launched Autocad with the drawing as read-only. You know what to do from there!