How to find and export your AutoCAD data.

AutoCAD has no central storage meter because DWG files are saved wherever your team keeps them, usually on file servers, shared drives or in Autodesk Docs, which Autodesk's help center now documents under Autodesk Forma Data Management. Measure the folders that hold your drawings and report the total in GB.

At a glance

Report in: GB
Category: Design and CAD
Checked: September 2026

Check your data

Where AutoCAD shows how much you have.

List every place drawings are stored: file servers, shared network drives, cloud drives and Autodesk Docs projects.
On a file server or shared drive, check the properties of the top level drawings folder for its total size. To size only drawings, search the folder for .dwg files and total the results.
In Autodesk Docs, open the Files tool in each project and review the project folders, which can nest up to 25 levels deep.

Plan and role. For file servers you need read access to every drawings folder. In Autodesk Docs, members with Manage permission on a folder set who can view, download, upload or edit files in it.

What to report on the Polyshares intake.

Report AutoCAD in GB. The intake also asks how many years the company has used it and how many seats it has.

Report the total size of your drawing folders in GB, including DWG, DXF, external references and sheet sets, and say whether PDFs and images stored alongside them are included. For years in use, use the oldest modified date among the DWG files. For seats, count your assigned AutoCAD subscriptions.

Export the full history.

For file servers, copy the drawings folders to an external drive or archive them as ZIP files, keeping the folder structure so external references still resolve.
For Autodesk Docs, download the project folders from the Files tool with an account that has download permission on every folder.

Autodesk says a single file in Autodesk Docs should not exceed 5 TB and there is no explicit storage capacity limit for folders. Drawings often reference other drawings and images, so export whole project folders rather than single files.

The intake only needs the size, so you do not have to run an export to fill it in. You also do not need to clean or scrub an export. Polyshares handles anonymization before anything moves.

Why AutoCAD data has value for AI training.

Drawing sets record how real buildings, parts and sites were designed, with layers, blocks, dimensions and revisions tied to actual projects. Kept in their project folders, they show how a design moved from early layouts to issued sheets.

What stays private.

We anonymize identifying details before anything moves. Polyshares does that work, so your team does not have to scrub records first.

Your company keeps ownership of its data. The license is bounded to defined material and a defined use.

Polyshares is the buyer and pays your company directly. There is no fee or commission, and Polyshares reviews the record before it makes any offer.

Common questions about AutoCAD data.

Does AutoCAD show how much storage our drawings use?

No. AutoCAD saves drawings as files wherever you keep them, so measure the folders on your servers or in Autodesk Docs.

Is there a file size limit in Autodesk Docs?

Autodesk says a single file should not exceed 5 TB, and there is no explicit storage capacity limit for folders.

Is Autodesk Docs now called Autodesk Forma?

Autodesk's help center now documents the Docs Files tool under Autodesk Forma Data Management and links a naming updates FAQ. The file and folder tools described here are the same.

Source: Files and folder limitations when uploading files to BIM 360 or Autodesk Forma, Files (Data Management Help), Organize Files with Folders (Data Management Help). Checked September 2026.

Put your numbers on the intake.

List your systems, their sizes and your headcount in one intake. Polyshares reviews the record and prices it. There is no fee or commission to your company.