Explainer · what is etransmit in autocad
What is eTransmit in AutoCAD?
By Saumyajit Maity · Published 20 Sept 2023 · Updated 25 Feb 2025
eTransmit is the AutoCAD command that packages a drawing together with everything it depends on — external references, fonts, plot styles, linked images — into a single bundle you can send without breaking anything. It exists to solve one of the most common frustrations in CAD: you send a DWG, the recipient opens it, and half of it is missing because the xrefs, fonts and images stayed on your machine. eTransmit makes that mistake almost impossible.
The problem it solves is that a modern AutoCAD drawing is rarely self-contained. It often points at other files: a referenced site plan, a custom font (SHX or TTF), a logo image, a plot style table. Those links are paths to files on your computer. Zip up just the DWG and you've sent a drawing full of broken links. eTransmit gathers all the dependencies for you, so what arrives actually works.
This guide explains what eTransmit does, what it bundles, how to run it, the options worth knowing, and why it's the correct way to send a drawing to anyone outside your own machine.
The problem eTransmit solves
Think about what a real working DWG actually contains versus what it links to. The geometry and blocks live inside the file. But the drawing may also reference external files that live beside it on your drive: xrefs (other DWGs linked in live), font files for any text styles that use custom SHX or TrueType fonts, raster images you've attached (a survey photo, a logo), plot style tables (CTB/STB) that control how it prints, and sometimes data links or PDF underlays.
When you email just the DWG, all of those links point at files the recipient doesn't have. They open the drawing and see missing xrefs, substituted fonts, and absent images. The drawing is technically there but visually broken and unreliable to plot. eTransmit's whole job is to find every one of those dependencies and pack them into the bundle, so the recipient receives a complete, working set rather than a file full of dangling references.
What eTransmit bundles for you
When you run eTransmit, AutoCAD scans the drawing and automatically gathers its dependencies into a transmittal package. By default that includes the DWG itself plus its xrefs (and their xrefs, recursively), the font files used, attached raster images, plot style tables, and other referenced files it can detect. You get a checklist of everything found, so you can see exactly what's being included and untick anything you don't want to send.
eTransmit can also fix up the paths inside the drawing so they point to the files as bundled, rather than to their original locations on your machine — which is what stops the references breaking on the other end. The result is a package (commonly a ZIP, or a folder, or a self-extracting executable, depending on your settings) that contains a coherent, self-referencing set. The recipient unpacks it and the drawing opens with its xrefs, fonts and images all present and correctly linked.
How to run eTransmit step by step
It's a quick command. With the drawing open and saved, type ETRANSMIT (or use the application menu's Publish > eTransmit) to open the Create Transmittal dialog. The dialog shows two tabs: a tree view and a sheet/file list of everything that will be included — drawing, xrefs, fonts, images and so on. Review that list and confirm the dependencies look right.
Choose a transmittal setup (the saved bundle of options — package type, folder handling, path settings), add a transmittal note if you want a readme to travel with the files, and click OK. AutoCAD asks where to save the package, then builds it. You're left with a single file or folder to send by email, file-transfer or upload. The recipient opens the package, extracts it, and works from the complete set — no chasing you for the missing font or the referenced site plan.
Transmittal setups and options worth knowing
A transmittal setup is a saved profile of how the package is built, and configuring one well makes eTransmit far more useful. Key options include: the package type (ZIP file, folder of files, or self-extracting EXE); whether to keep the existing folder structure, put everything in one folder, or strip paths; whether to bind xrefs into the drawing so the package has no separate reference files; and which file version to save the DWGs as.
That last option matters for compatibility: if your recipient runs older software, set the transmittal to save down to an earlier DWG version so they can actually open it. The 'purge drawings' and 'set default plotter to none' options help produce a clean, portable package. You can save several setups — one for issuing to clients, one for sending to a consultant, one for archiving — so the right packaging is one selection away rather than reconfigured each time.
eTransmit vs just zipping the DWG
It's tempting to skip eTransmit and just zip the DWG yourself, but that misses the whole point. Manually zipping requires you to know every dependency the drawing has, find each one on your drive, gather them, and then somehow fix the path references so they resolve on the recipient's machine — which a plain ZIP can't do at all. In practice, hand-zipping reliably forgets something: the custom font, one nested xref, the logo image. The recipient gets a partial, broken set.
eTransmit automates the dependency hunt and the path-fixing, which is exactly the error-prone part. It scans recursively, so a deeply nested xref three levels down still gets included; it bundles the fonts even if you'd forgotten which styles use them; and it can rewrite paths so the package is internally consistent. For a single self-contained DWG with no references, a manual zip is fine — but the moment a drawing has xrefs, custom fonts or images, eTransmit is the correct tool, and it takes about the same time as zipping by hand while being far more reliable.
When to reach for eTransmit
Make eTransmit your default for sending or archiving any non-trivial drawing. Send it to a consultant or contractor who needs to open and work with the live drawing and its references — they get everything, not a drawing with missing xrefs. Issue a coordinated set to a client where the drawings reference each other and shared base files. Archive a completed project so the bundle is self-contained and will still open years later when the original folder structure is gone — a self-referencing eTransmit package doesn't depend on a network path that may vanish.
The rule of thumb: if a drawing references anything outside itself — an xref, a custom font, an attached image, a specific plot style — and it's leaving your machine, use eTransmit. The few seconds it adds over a manual zip are repaid the first time you avoid the 'your drawing's references are missing, can you resend?' email. It's one of those quiet, professional habits that marks the difference between sending a file and sending a drawing that actually works.
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Questions
Frequently asked
What does eTransmit do in AutoCAD?+
eTransmit packages a drawing together with all its dependencies — external references (xrefs), font files, attached images, plot style tables and more — into a single bundle, and fixes the path references so the set opens correctly for the recipient. It's the standard way to send a DWG that links to other files without the links breaking.
How do I use eTransmit?+
Open and save the drawing, type ETRANSMIT to open the Create Transmittal dialog, review the list of files it will include (drawing, xrefs, fonts, images), choose a transmittal setup and add a note if needed, then click OK and pick where to save the package. AutoCAD builds a single bundle you can send or archive.
Why not just zip the DWG file myself?+
A plain zip can't find your drawing's dependencies or fix the path references, so it reliably forgets the custom font, a nested xref or an attached image — and the recipient gets a broken set. eTransmit scans recursively for every dependency and rewrites paths so the package is self-consistent, which is the error-prone part you'd otherwise do by hand.
Can eTransmit save the drawing to an older AutoCAD version?+
Yes. In the transmittal setup you can choose which DWG version the bundled drawings are saved as, so a recipient running older software can open them. Setting this is good practice whenever you're not certain what version the other end uses.
When should I use eTransmit instead of sending the DWG directly?+
Whenever a drawing references anything outside itself — an xref, a custom SHX or TrueType font, an attached image, or a specific plot style — and it's leaving your machine. Send it to consultants, issue coordinated sets to clients, or archive completed projects with eTransmit so the bundle is complete and self-contained.
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