Can I recover a drawing after a software crash in BricsCAD?

ByCADbrief Staff

Short Answer

Yes — in BricsCAD, you can often recover a drawing after a crash by opening the automatic save file or using RECOVER on the damaged DWG. This is the most common professional recovery method because it checks and repairs database errors during file open. It will not always restore the very last unsaved edits.

What You Need to Know Before

Warning: Auto-save files may be older than your last manual save, so recent changes can still be missing after recovery. A common failure is users reopening the original damaged DWG first, which can overwrite recovery chances or trigger the same corruption again.

How to Recover a Drawing After a Crash

  • Command: RECOVER

  • Shortcut: None by default

  • Quick Steps:

    1. In BricsCAD, go to the application menu and use File > Open, then choose the damaged DWG, or type RECOVER on the command line.
    2. Select the drawing file to let BricsCAD audit and repair detected errors during opening.
    3. If the DWG will not open correctly, browse to the auto-save location and open the .sv$ file after renaming it to .dwg; check the recovered file and save it immediately under a new name.

Variables & Settings

  • System Variable: SAVETIME (Default: 10)

  • Expert Setting: This controls the automatic save interval in minutes. Lowering SAVETIME reduces potential data loss after a crash, but very short intervals can slightly interrupt performance on large drawings.

Why it Fails

  • Cause 1 (Geometry): The drawing database contains corrupted objects, bad handles, or invalid proxy data that cannot be fully repaired during recovery.

  • Cause 2 (layers/Locks): Recovered content may appear missing because key layers are frozen, off, VP-frozen, or locked in the saved state.

  • Cause 3 (Command/Logic): Users often try to open the damaged file normally instead of using RECOVER, or they ignore the .sv$ auto-save file and lose the newest recoverable version.

Quick Fix & Best Practice

  • Quick Fix: Run RECOVER on the DWG first, then immediately use SAVEAS to create a new clean file name before continuing work.

  • Manager’s Verdict: Use RECOVER as the first response after any BricsCAD crash. For production work, keep auto-save enabled and set a realistic SAVETIME so teams reduce data loss without hurting performance.

FAQ

Can BricsCAD open auto-save files after a crash?

Yes — rename the .sv$ file to .dwg and then open it.

Should I use AUDIT after RECOVER?

Yes — it is good practice to run AUDIT after recovery to catch remaining database errors.

Where are BricsCAD auto-save files stored?

They are usually stored in the configured automatic save folder shown in the program options.

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