2012

measures such as a secure intranet and rules about information disclosure,
that would help keep the factory design confidential.
Passwords work only on AutoCAD 2004
®
and later drawing files (DWG, DWS,
and DWT files).
NOTE If you want to attach a password and a digital signature to a drawing file,
attach the password first. Modifications to files, including the adding of passwords,
invalidate their digital signatures.
Quick Reference
Commands
SECURITYOPTIONS
Specifies password or digital signature options for a drawing file.
Protect Drawings with Encryption
If you add a password to a drawing and save the drawing, the drawing is
encrypted and cannot be reopened until the password is entered.
Add a Password to a Drawing
A password can be a single word, or a phrase. It is recommended that you use
common characters. The more characters you use, the harder it is for an
unauthorized program, or “password cracker,” to determine the password.
When you add a password to a drawing, you can choose whether to encrypt
drawing properties, and you can specify an encryption type and key length.
After you add a password to a drawing and save the drawing, the password is
required before any program or part of a program can read the data in the
drawing, even if the drawing is an external reference. A specific password
generally is required to be entered once per session.
You can attach a password to a file while modifying the file or when you save
the file. You must individually add a password to each drawing you want to
encrypt.
WARNING If you lose a password, your drawing file is lost. Before you add a
password to a drawing, you should create a backup that is not protected with a
password.
2056 | Chapter 40 Protect and Sign Drawings