You save drawing files for later use just as you do with other Windows applications. AutoCAD LT also provides automatic saving, backup files, and other options for saving.
When you are working on a drawing, you should save it frequently. Saving protects you from losing work in the event of a power failure or other unexpected event. If you want to create a new version of a drawing without affecting the original drawing, you can save it under another name.
The file extension for AutoCAD LT drawing files is .dwg.
If you turn on the automatic saving option, AutoCAD LT saves your drawing at specified time intervals. To use this option, in the Preferences dialog box, select Automatic Save Every and enter the interval in minutes.
By default, files saved automatically are temporarily assigned the filename aclt.sv$. If you want to use a different name, enter it in the Save File Name box.
If you turn on automatic backups, AutoCAD LT saves the previous version of your drawing files to a file with the same name and a .bak file extension. To use this option, in the Preferences dialog box, select Always Create Backups (BAK).
To recover the previous version of your drawing, rename the file using a .dwg extension.
If you want to create a new drawing file from part of an existing drawing, you can use BMAKE or WBLOCK. With either command, you can select objects or specify a block definition in your current drawing and save them in a new drawing file. With BMAKE, you can also save a textual description along with the new drawing.
You can save a drawing to an earlier version of the DWG format or save a drawing as a template file. Choose the format from Save As Type in the Save Drawing As dialog box.
For information on saving a drawing to a different format, see Exporting Drawings to Other File Formats.