AutoCAD Font Support

SOLIDWORKS accurately displays AutoCAD^® fonts when you import DXF/DWG drawing files, even if AutoCAD is not installed on your computer. SOLIDWORKS has added True Type fonts to support the most popular AutoCAD fonts.

The fonts are mapped using the default mapping file located at \Data\drawFontMap.txt.

In the default mapping file, the left column lists the AutoCAD SHX or True Type font from the source drawings. The right column lists the SOLIDWORKS or Windows True Type font that the AutoCAD drawing text is being mapped to in the new SOLIDWORKS drawing.

You can edit the mapping file as needed. When mapping additional AutoCAD fonts to SOLIDWORKS or Windows True Type fonts, note the following:

• Both font lists must be the simple font names, without extensions
• The SOLIDWORKS or Windows True Type fonts must be available in the operating system's \Fonts directory. (To find the \Fonts folder, in the Run window, type %systemroot%\fonts.) If the True Type font is not available, the SOLIDWORKS drawing document default font is used.

The SOLIDWORKS or Windows True Type fonts are also available to use in SOLIDWORKS original documents. When you save SOLIDWORKS documents as DXF or DWG files, you can use the drawFontMap.txt mapping file to reverse map any SOLIDWORKS or Windows True Type fonts back into AutoCAD SHX or True Type fonts. When the drawing files are opened in AutoCAD, the exact fonts are used - no substitution of default fonts is required. This improves the visual fidelity of the drawing files.

The following list shows the fonts contained in the default mapping file.