Save Drawing as Other > Project Archive (*.7z) (File Menu)

The command allows to save a drawing with all of its references as a project archive.

This means that a new version of the current drawing is created where all references to external blocks are replaced by references to internal blocks. Such a drawing is then independent of possible libraries, and may be passed on without the need to include any library. All referenced bitmaps and drawings will be packed into a 7z archive together with this drawing.

The "File Selection" dialog appears in which the file to be used can be specified. When pressing the "Options" button in the file selection dialog, the "Project Archive Options" dialog appears in which the archiving options can be edited. These options affect only the storage of external references. Non-embedded raster graphics are always included in their original form, and external blocks are converted into internal blocks.

Malz++Kassner CAD6 archive files usually have the extension .7z, although other extensions can be used, which can cause confusion.

The conversion of external blocks to internal blocks makes necessary an adaptation of the blocks' names. For each library, a new folder of the form ~x~ will be created, where x is a running number. Within this folder, the blocks' names and the hierarchical structure remains basically intact. To ensure uniqueness, each block name is followed by a number. This name conversion is secure as long as it is only executed once. We strongly recommend not to modify an archived drawing by inserting new external references and then archiving it again. This may cause hidden and unrecoverable name conflicts that make the drawing file unusable. When editing a drawing, be sure to always use the original non-archived drawing!