Upon upgrading DraftSight to V1R3.0, some users have reported a broken DWG file association link with the default program, DraftSight. In addition, it has been reported that attempting to restore the default program associated with the DWG file extension from Control Panel > Default Programs does not correct the issue. Should you come across this issue follow the steps below to restore the default DWG file association with DraftSight.
Prerequisites:
- If you have a LAN or IT Administrator, it is recommended to have them assist you with these steps as editing the Windows Registry incorrectly can cause serious system problems. Always backup your registry first prior to making changes. Registry backup/restore instructions are available on the following blog post: https://swym.3ds.com/#post:15254
- Administrative rights on your machine
- Backup your Windows Registry as mentioned in section (i) of the Prerequisites from above.
- Launch the Windows Registry Editor
For Windows Vista, 7, or 8:
i. Click the Start button in Windows Vista and 7 or bring up the Start Screen in Windows 8
ii. Type regedit into the search box, and then pressing the Enter key. See Figures 1 and 2 below for details. If you are prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type the password or provide confirmation.
Figure 1 Launching the Windows Registry Editor in Windows Vista / 7
Figure 2 Launching the Windows Registry Editor in Windows 8
For Windows XP:
i. Click the Start button.
ii. Select Run…, then type regedit in the “Open:” field followed by hitting the Enter key or clicking OK. See Figure 3 below for details.
Figure 3 Launching the Windows Registry Editor in Windows XP
3. Once the Registry Editor is open, go to the following directory by expanding the registry folders:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER > Software > Microsoft > Windows > CurrentVersion > Explorer > FileExts > .DWG
4. the .DWG folder should contain the following sub-directories as well as content similar to the examples shown below:
> OpenWithList sub-directory
Content:
i. The string value titled MRUList (Most Recently Used List) should contain the letter associated with DraftSight.exe first in its data set. If the letter associated with DraftSight.exe is not the first letter in MRUList, modify MRUList by double-clicking on the string value and changing the data value to place DraftSight.exe first, as shown below.
> OpenWithProgids sub-directory
Content:
ii. If the OpenWithProgid directory does not contain DraftSight.Drawing, right-mouse click and select New > Binary Value
iii. Name it DraftSight.Drawing
iv. The string value titled (Default) should have data value of DraftSight.exe. If not, double-click on the string value to modify its data to DraftSight.exe
> UserChoice sub-directory
Content:
v. The UserChoice directory should contain a string value called Progid with data DraftSight.Drawing. If it does not, right-mouse click and select New > String Value
vi. Name it Progid
vii. Double-click on Progid and provide a data value of DraftSight.Drawing
viii. If Progid already exists and the data value is not DraftSight.Drawing, double-click on it to modify the value.
ix. If you cannot modify or create this value and receive the error message shown below, you will have to grant permission to yourself first.
a. Right-mouse click on the UserChoice folder
b. Select Permissions...
c. Click on the Advanced button
d. Locate and select your user account from the list.
e. Click Edit
f. Check mark Full Control under the Allow column
g. Click OK in the following three windows.
h. Now repeat step v or step viii from above.
5. Close the registry and retest the file association for dwg files. A reboot may be required.
6. If the issue is resolved, you might have to repeat the steps above for the DWT file extensions
