Comparing the drawing-specific system variables of different DWG files

Issue

You would like to compare the values of the drawing-specific system variables in different DWG files.

Solution

To compare the drawing-specific system variables of two DWGs, you can convert the drawings to DXF and compare them using a tool that can compare text files, for example the free open source program Winmerge (http://winmerge.org).

The following steps illustrate the process using WinMerge, for other text comparison tools the process should be similar.

1. Open each DWG in AutoCAD and save a copy of the drawing as DXF.
2. Start Winmerge and open the two DXF-files.
3. You should see three columns: The middle and right columnshould display the content of the DXF-files. In the left column you  should see two bars with yellow lines. Each yellow line indicates a difference between the two DXF-files. You can click on the yellow lines to go to the specific location of each difference.
4. The system variables are saved near the top of each dxf-file. Click on the left side of the first yellow line. You should see the value of the system variable that has a different value in each drawing

Example:

In the screenshot below, the ATTMODE system variable has the value '0' in the left drawing (Zeichnung1.dxf) and the value '1' in the drawing on the right (Zeichnung2.dxf).