Illustrator 25.3 unable to open/import/export Autocad (DWG/ DXF ) files on M1 macs

Hi All,

I understand that some of you have been experiencing difficulties with opening or importing DXF/DWG files in Illustrator. I want to assure you that the product team has worked diligently to resolve this issue.

After careful investigation, it has been determined that the problem is with the DXF/DWG files themselves. They were not created in accordance with the proper file format specifications, and as a result, they are causing errors when attempting to open or import them in Illustrator.
Note: Illustrator uses the latest AutoCAD library licensed from Autodesk to open, import, and export DXF & DWG files.

Please note that the older versions of AutoCAD also experience difficulty with opening these malformed files. If you come across any DXF/DWG files that can be opened in the latest versions of AutoCAD but not in Illustrator, please report this as a separate issue in a new post and share the file with me via DM for further investigation. Our team will do their best to resolve any bugs that may exist.

It's worth mentioning that Illustrator versions 25.1 and below were able to open/import these files because they used a different library, which did not strictly check the DXF/DWG files for conformance. However, due to the lack of support for recent OS upgrades, Illustrator has switched to the latest AutoCAD library from Autodesk for opening, importing, and exporting DXF/DWG files. Unfortunately, the older versions of Illustrator are no longer available in Creative Cloud due to Adobe policy. However, you may try the suggestion in this community post to install an older version.

Additionally, it is important to note that other third-party apps may also export DXF/DWG files using older AutoCAD libraries that may not open in Illustrator. If you encounter such files, please report them to the application that created them for a potential fix in future releases.

Thank you,

Anshul Saini

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