Standard File Selection Dialog Boxes

Places List

Provides quick access to predefined locations. Reorder the icons in the Places list by dragging them to a new position. To add a new icon to Places, drag a folder from the list. Changes to Places affect all standard file selection dialog boxes.

History

Displays shortcuts to the files most recently accessed from the dialog box. It is recommended that you periodically remove unwanted shortcuts from the History list. Select History, then select the unwanted shortcuts in the Files list and click Delete. To sort the shortcuts by date, click Views Details, and then click the Modified column in the Files list.

Personal/My Documents

Displays the contents of the Personal or My Documents folder for the current user profile.

Favorites

Displays the contents of the Favorites folder for the current user profile. This folder consists of shortcuts to files or folders that you added to Favorites using the Tools Add to Favorites option in the dialog box.

FTP

Displays the FTP sites that are available for browsing in the standard file selection dialog box. To add FTP locations to this list, or to modify an existing FTP location, click Tools Add/Modify FTP Locations in the dialog box.

Desktop

Displays the contents of your desktop.

Look In/Save In

Displays the current folder or drive. Click the arrow to view the hierarchy of the folder path and to navigate up the path tree or to other drives, network connections, FTP locations, or web folders (either Web Folders or My Network Places, depending on the version of your operating system). You can create web folders in Windows Explorer. Consult your system administrator or Windows Explorer Help for more information about web folders. To control whether the last used paths in each particular standard file selection dialog box are stored across sessions, use the REMEMBERFOLDERS system variable.

Back

Returns to the previous file location.

Up One Level

Navigates one level up in the current path tree.

Search the Web

Displays the Browse the Web dialog box, from which you can access and store files on the Internet.

Delete

Deletes the selected file or folder.

Create New Folder

Creates a new folder in the current path using a name that you specify.

Views

Controls the appearance of the Files list or Folders list and, for a Files list, specifies whether to show a preview image when a file is selected.

List

Displays a multi-column list.

Details

Displays a single-column list with file details.

Thumbnail

Displays each file in a thumbnail view.

Preview

Displays a bitmap of the selected file. To save a bitmap with a drawing file, use the Save a Thumbnail Preview Image option on the Open and Save tab in the Options dialog box.

Tools

Provides tools to help with file selection and other actions available in file selection dialog boxes.

Find

Displays the Find dialog box, in which you can search for files using name, location, and date-modified filters.

Locate

Uses the default search path to locate the file specified in File Name. You set the search path on the Files tab in the Options dialog box.

Add/Modify FTP Locations

Displays the Add/Modify FTP Locations dialog box, in which you can specify the FTP sites to make available for browsing. To browse these sites, select FTP from the Places list.

Add Current Folder to Places

Adds an icon for the selected folder to the Places list, providing quick access to that folder from all standard file selection dialog boxes. To remove the icon, right-click the icon and choose Remove.

Add to Favorites

Creates a shortcut to the current Look In location, or to the selected file or folder. The shortcut is placed in the Favorites folder for the current user profile, which you can access by choosing Favorites in the Places list.

Look in Favorites

Sets the Look In path to your system’s Favorites folder.

Options

Provides additional options for certain standard file selection dialog boxes.

Digital Signature

Provides options for adding a digital signature to a drawing when you save it.

Files List

Displays the files and folders in the current path and of the selected file type. Use the Views menu in the dialog box to switch between List view and Details view.

Preview

Displays a bitmap of the selected file when you choose Views Preview in the dialog box. To save a bitmap with a drawing file, use the Save a Thumbnail Preview Image option on the Open and Save tab in the Options dialog box.

File Name

Displays the name of the file you select in the Files list. If you select multiple files, File Name displays each selected file within quotation marks. You must use quotation marks when entering multiple file names. You can use wild-card characters to filter files displayed in the Files list.

Files of Type

When you are saving files, Files of Type specifies the format in which the file is saved.

Select Initial View

Displays the specified model space view when you open the drawing if the drawing contains more than one named view.

Update Sheet and View Thumbnails Now

Reflects the current setting of the UPDATETHUMBNAIL system variable. This option temporarily overrides, but does not change the current setting of UPDATETHUMBNAIL.

Open/Save

Depending on the purpose of the specific file selection dialog box, opens or saves the selected file or enters the path of the selected folder in the previous dialog box. Certain file selection dialog boxes may include additional options, accessed by clicking the arrow next to the Open button.

Open Read-Only

Opens a file in read-only mode. You cannot save changes to the file using the original file name.

Partial Open (not available in AutoCAD LT)

Displays the Partial Open dialog box. You can open and load a portion of a drawing, including geometry on a specific view or layer. The PARTIALOPEN command can be used only for drawings in AutoCAD 2004 or later format.

Partial Open Read-Only (not available in AutoCAD LT)

Opens the specified drawing portions in read-only mode.