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This is the DWGicon.dll download page.

Version 1.6
32-Bit for Windows
© 2001/2003/2006 by Coelacanth
Freeware
Page last modified: May 9, 2006
40 hits this month

What shell extension?

DWGicon.dll is a Windows shell extension that enables you to identify the version of a drawing just by looking at its icon in explorer. Have a look at the screenshot below to see what it looks like in a FileOpen dialog (Here AutoCAD, but you don't need to have CAD software installed on your machine for it to work.):

acad file open dialog

Tell me more

All drawings show an icon with a revision number that corresponds to the AutoCAD revision this drawing has been saved as. To keep these numbers small no more than two digits are used:

2-digit code AutoCAD revision
2 2.5 or 2.6
9 9
10 10
12 11 or 12
13 13
14 14
02 2000 or 2002
06 2004 or 2006
07 2007

Revision up to R14 are red, from R2000 onwards blue. Password protected R2004, R2006 and R2007 drawings files are of the teal colour.

New drawings (later than R2007) will show a yellow star. If you see that, it is time to get a new version of DWGicon.dll.

If DWGicon doesn't recognise a file to be a valid drawing it will show a question mark. This indicates an invalid file as opposed to a new revision.

DWGicon.dll will not scan .BAK files, because this is considered to slow the whole explorer down. If you have any suggestions, please email me. I might experiment with BAK files after all. (But then again, they could be anything.)

As mentioned before, DWGicon also works great in FileOpen dialogs. A good example is AutoCAD's very own FileOpen dialog, see above picture. You get all sorts of information here, but not the drawing file format.

Installation

To install the DWG shell extension you need administrator privileges. Ask your administrator if you are not one yourself.

Unzip the downloaded file into a directory of your choice, ideally create a directory for it, like DWGicon under R2000 or under Program Files. Run install.exe in this directory by double clicking it. Do not attempt to run install.exe from within winzip. DWGicon.dll will not be copied into your System32 folder. It will stay put, and you must not remove this directory.

History

early Feb 2001: release of version 0.1.

mid-Feb 2001: release of version 0.2. It is now better tested and the scrambled icons in the file search dialog don't occur anymore. There is only one icon now for each version, making the small one look a bit blurred. Hope to be able to overcome this as well.

end of March 2001: release of version 1.0. Extensive testing suggested it is stable (but it ain't). The setup file is a bit smaller. The icons still don't look as nice as I would want them. The file has been put on a few CAD related shareware sites.

mid-April 2001: release of version 1.1. Better error prevention and reporting. The setup has been abandoned.

late April 2001: v1.2. One more bug fix and more error catching. No debug info with this version. I have released this version so quickly after v1.1 because it might prevent more machines from having trouble.

mid July 2001: v1.3 a&b. These are two version. They represent two routes I took to overcome the problems some users still have with this shell extension.
What both versions have in common is:

  • they cannot be installed or un-installed using REGSVR32. You have to use the install.exe.
  • that also means installation/un-installation is real simple.
  • both versions distinguish between R2000 and R2002 drawings.

    • I have also changed the conditions of use. I ask you to inform me whether it works or not. Some users just don't bother letting me know. I need to know OS, DWGicon version (a or b). If you would like a reply, your email should explicitely say so.

    late March 2003: release of version 1.4. The need for that was the release of AutoCAD 2004. Some users saw the yellow star which meant 'Hang on, this is a new drawing file version'. I have given up pretending I know the difference between a R2000 and a R2002 drawing. There is none. Just like there is one icon for R11 and R12 drawings, there is only one icon for R2000 and R2002 drawings now, the R2002 icon. This version is also trying to guess if a file is password protected. The URL to the download page has changed. Sorry about that. That's not my fault, it came out of the blue.

    June 2003: version 1.5. minor fix.

    April 2006: version 1.6 to support R2007 drawing files.

    Download

    DWGicon.dll has passed the beta testing phase. It runs fine under Win95/98/Me as well as NT/2000/XP. The DWG shell extension is freeware. By downloading the installation file you accept the license agreement.

    Please take precautions before installation, such as backing up your registry and closing explorer during installation and de-installation. Some people have difficulties getting their icons back. They can send me an email.

    DWGicon.dll installation files: DWGicon1.6.zip (119kB)
    Some sample drawings: dwgs.zip (57kB)