2004

778 | Chapter 27 Protect and Sign Drawings
If data in a password-protected drawing is read for any reason by AutoCAD,
the password must be entered at least once per session of AutoCAD use.
A drawing and its external references remain password-protected until the
passwords are removed. You generally should remove passwords before
performing batch operations on files, unless you are signing files.
Enter a Password to View a Drawing
To view data in a password-protected drawing, you open the drawing in a
standard way and enter the password. Passwords are not case-sensitive.
Unless a drawing’s properties, such as the title, author, subject, and key-
words, were encrypted when the password was attached, you can view the
properties in Properties dialog box in Windows Explorer
®
.
To view a password-protected drawing
1 On the File menu, click Open.
2 In the Select File dialog box, select a file and click Open.
3 In the Password dialog box, enter a password.
4 Click OK.
Command line
SECURITYOPTIONS
View Password-Protected Xrefs
You can view drawings that contain xrefs to password-protected drawings.
If you open a password-protected drawing that contains xrefs, you must
enter a password for any xref whose password is different from the current
drawing’s password.
You are only prompted to enter passwords that you have not yet entered. For
example, if an xref shares a password with a drawing you have accessed in
the current AutoCAD session, such as an open drawing or an xref, you do not
need to continue entering the same password.
To view a drawing with password-protected xrefs
1 On the File menu, click Open.
2 In the Select File dialog box, select a file and click Open.
3 If prompted to enter passwords in the Password dialog box, enter any nec-
essary passwords and click OK.
Command line
SECURITYOPTIONS