Migrate Custom Settings

AutoCAD Stand-Alone Installation Guide > Move to AutoCAD 2008 from a Previous or Same Release > Migrate Custom Settings and Files from Previous Releases >

If you install AutoCAD 2008 on a computer where a previous release of AutoCAD (AutoCAD 2000 through AutoCAD 2007) is installed, you can migrate some custom settings from a previous release to AutoCAD 2008.

NoteThe Migrate Custom Settings dialog box is not available in the 64-bit version of AutoCAD.

You can migrate the user profile. This file contains drawing environment settings such as screen color, cursor size, command line window font, and the dictionary you choose to use for checking spelling. The user profile file also includes the folders in which AutoCAD searches for support, driver, customization, and other files. If you customized files in a location other than the default AutoCAD location, the path to the location is migrated. The files themselves do not get migrated.

You can migrate linetypes, hatch patterns, and command aliases that you created. The data from these files is added to a user-defined section of the AutoCAD 2008 files, to make it easy for you to find this information and migrate this data to future releases. You cannot use the Migrate Custom Settings dialog box to migrate shell commands or comments that you made to your acad.pgp file.

NoteIf you have made changes to partial plotter configuration (PC3) files that are located in a custom folder, those files are migrated to the AutoCAD 2008 PC3 folder, which is located under your custom PC3 folder. PC3 files are migrated to a separate folder to maintain backward compatibility with previous AutoCAD releases.

The following table lists the files that are migrated with the Migrate Custom Settings dialog box, a description of each file, and file details to help you decide if you want to migrate a file.

Files Migrated with the Migrate Custom Settings Dialog Box
File Name	File Description	Details
*.arg	Used to back up user profile information from the system registry. The ARG file is not migrated. Registry settings are migrated.	Changes you make to your user profile are stored in the system registry and are migrated.
*.lin	Stores your user-defined linetypes.	User-defined linetype files are migrated.
acad.lin	Contains standard linetype definitions (an AutoCAD library file).	The file itself is not migrated; however, any linetypes that you created in this file are migrated to the AutoCAD 2008 acad.lin file, in the User Defined Linetypes section of the file.
acadiso.lin	Contains metric linetype definitions (an AutoCAD library file).	The file itself is not migrated; however, any linetypes that you created in this file are migrated to the AutoCAD 2008 acadiso.lin file, in the User Defined Linetypes section of the file.
*.pat	Stores user-defined hatch patterns.	User-defined hatch pattern files are migrated.
acad.pat	Contains standard hatch pattern definitions (an AutoCAD library file).	The file itself is not migrated; however, any hatch patterns that you created in this file are copied to the AutoCAD 2008 acad.pat file, in the User Defined Hatch Patterns section of the file.
acadiso.pat	Contains metric hatch pattern definitions (an AutoCAD library file).	The file itself is not migrated; however, any metric hatch patterns that you created in this file are copied to the AutoCAD 2008 acadiso.pat file, in the User Defined Hatch Patterns section of the file.
acad.pgp	Stores shell commands and command alias definitions (a program parameters file in ASCII text form).	The file itself is not migrated; however, any command aliases you created in this file are copied to the AutoCAD 2008 acad.pgpfile.
*.mnu	Contains menu customization from a version of AutoCAD earlier than AutoCAD 2006.	The file itself is not migrated; however, a copy of the file is created and then is converted into a CUI file with the same name. The new CUI file is placed in the same folder as the main CUI file. A MNU file is converted when a MNS file with the same name is not found.
*.mns	Contains menu customization from a version of AutoCAD earlier than AutoCAD 2006.	The file itself is not migrated; however, a copy of the file is created and then is converted into a CUI file with the same name. The new CUI file is placed in the same folder as the main CUI file. A MNS file is converted when a MNU file with the same name is present or not.
*.cui	Contains customizations from a version of AutoCAD starting with AutoCAD 2006.	If the CUI file is supplied by Autodesk, the custom changes made to the file are migrated to the newer version of the CUI file. If the CUI file is not supplied by Autodesk, the file is migrated and is copied to where the main CUI file is located, unless the CUI file is in a network location. In that case, the file is migrated but is not copied to the location of the main CUI file. Enterprise CUI files are not migrated automatically. You must migrate them manually.

Files Migrated with the Migrate Custom Settings Dialog Box

File Name

File Description

Details

*.arg

Used to back up user profile information from the system registry. The ARG file is not migrated. Registry settings are migrated.

Changes you make to your user profile are stored in the system registry and are migrated.

*.lin

Stores your user-defined linetypes.

User-defined linetype files are migrated.

acad.lin

Contains standard linetype definitions (an AutoCAD library file).

The file itself is not migrated; however, any linetypes that you created in this file are migrated to the AutoCAD 2008 acad.lin file, in the User Defined Linetypes section of the file.

acadiso.lin

Contains metric linetype definitions (an AutoCAD library file).

The file itself is not migrated; however, any linetypes that you created in this file are migrated to the AutoCAD 2008 acadiso.lin file, in the User Defined Linetypes section of the file.

*.pat

Stores user-defined hatch patterns.

User-defined hatch pattern files are migrated.

acad.pat

Contains standard hatch pattern definitions (an AutoCAD library file).

The file itself is not migrated; however, any hatch patterns that you created in this file are copied to the AutoCAD 2008 acad.pat file, in the User Defined Hatch Patterns section of the file.

acadiso.pat

Contains metric hatch pattern definitions (an AutoCAD library file).

The file itself is not migrated; however, any metric hatch patterns that you created in this file are copied to the AutoCAD 2008 acadiso.pat file, in the User Defined Hatch Patterns section of the file.

acad.pgp

Stores shell commands and command alias definitions (a program parameters file in ASCII text form).

The file itself is not migrated; however, any command aliases you created in this file are copied to the AutoCAD 2008 acad.pgpfile.

*.mnu

Contains menu customization from a version of AutoCAD earlier than AutoCAD 2006.

The file itself is not migrated; however, a copy of the file is created and then is converted into a CUI file with the same name. The new CUI file is placed in the same folder as the main CUI file. A MNU file is converted when a MNS file with the same name is not found.

*.mns

Contains menu customization from a version of AutoCAD earlier than AutoCAD 2006.

The file itself is not migrated; however, a copy of the file is created and then is converted into a CUI file with the same name. The new CUI file is placed in the same folder as the main CUI file. A MNS file is converted when a MNU file with the same name is present or not.

*.cui

Contains customizations from a version of AutoCAD starting with AutoCAD 2006.

If the CUI file is supplied by Autodesk, the custom changes made to the file are migrated to the newer version of the CUI file.

If the CUI file is not supplied by Autodesk, the file is migrated and is copied to where the main CUI file is located, unless the CUI file is in a network location. In that case, the file is migrated but is not copied to the location of the main CUI file.

Enterprise CUI files are not migrated automatically. You must migrate them manually.

Before the MNU, MNS, and CUI files are migrated, a backup copy of each file is saved in the following directory:

\Documents and Settings\<user profile>\Application Data\Autodesk\<product version>\<release number>\<language>\Previous Version Custom Files

NoteOther custom settings and files can be migrated using Autodesk migration tools. For more information about migration tools, see Use Migration Tools.

You can migrate custom settings when you start AutoCAD 2008 for the first time, or you can migrate files later from the Start menu (Windows).

It is recommended that you migrate from a previous release when you first use AutoCAD 2008 (or soon thereafter). Migrating right away prevents you from overwriting files or having to keep track of any custom settings you may make in the new release. Each time the Migrate Custom Settings dialog box is used, AutoCAD resets the program’s default CUI file from the UserDataCache folder and then migrates any customization done in a previous release forward.

NotePull-down menus that are migrated from a MNU/MNS file to a CUI file need to be added to a workspace in order for them to be accessible from the programs user interface.

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