Install AFDIM

AFDIM is a plugin for AutoCAD® and AutoCAD® Mechanical. The installer adds it as an AutoCAD Autoloader bundle, so there is nothing to NETLOAD and nothing to add to the Startup Suite.

Requirements

Item	Requirement
Operating system	Windows 10 or 11, 64-bit
AutoCAD	AutoCAD 2013 to 2027, 64-bit (release series R19.0 to R26.0)
AutoCAD Mechanical	The same years as AutoCAD. AFDIM loads into it in the same way. AFDIM has been run on AutoCAD Mechanical 2025.
Experimental	AutoCAD 2014, 2016 to 2018 and 2027. AFDIM has not been run on a real installation of these yet. If you use one of them, tell Support what happens.
.NET Framework	4.7.2 or later, for AutoCAD 2013 to 2020 only. Windows 10 (1803 and later) and Windows 11 include it. The installer checks for it and tells you.
Not supported	AutoCAD LT, AutoCAD 2007 to 2012, and 32-bit AutoCAD
Drawing units	Millimetres or inches. The default setting, Automatic (from the current drawing), reads the unit from the drawing. Change it in Settings › General › Dimensioning › Drawing units.
Administrator rights	Not needed for the default install
Licence	Needed to run AFDIM. See Licensing.

AutoCAD LT cannot run AFDIM

AutoCAD LT has no .NET API, so no .NET plugin can load into it. A later AFDIM release will not change this.

ZWCAD, GstarCAD, BricsCAD

The same installer also sets up AFDIM in ZWCAD 2026, GstarCAD 2026 and BricsCAD V26 when they are on the computer. If you install one of them after AFDIM, run the AFDIM installer again. In these three, you update AFDIM by running the newer installer. One licence covers AFDIM in every CAD application that it supports.

Download

Download AFDIM_Setup_<version>.exe from the Download page. The page also lists the requirements and the checksum of the current installer. Compare the checksum if you want to check that the file arrived intact.

Windows SmartScreen

The installer is code-signed, and Windows shows its publisher as TO VAN TIN. The certificate is new, so Windows SmartScreen may still stop the installer with Windows protected your PC until the certificate has built up a reputation.

1. Choose More info.
2. Check that the file name is AFDIM_Setup_<version>.exe and that the publisher is TO VAN TIN. You can also right-click the file, choose Properties and open the Digital Signatures tab.
3. Choose Run anyway.

The wording of this window and the names of its buttons depend on your Windows language. Do this only for an installer that you downloaded from afdim.com and whose publisher is TO VAN TIN.

Antivirus warnings

AFDIM’s code is protected against copying, and its signing certificate is new. Some antivirus programs flag files like these by mistake and move them to quarantine.

• The installer is flagged. Compare its SHA-256 checksum with the value on the Download page. If they differ, delete the file and download it again. If they match, the warning is a false positive. Restore the file or allow it in your antivirus, then run the installer again.
• A file inside AFDIM.bundle is flagged after you install or update. Do not allow it yet. Email support first, so that the file can be checked. Until the file is restored, AutoCAD answers Unknown command "AFDIM": see Troubleshooting. If the antivirus removed or changed another file there, AFDIM opens the AFDIM needs to be reinstalled window instead: see AFDIM needs to be reinstalled.

In both cases, email support@afdim.com with the name of the antivirus, its exact message and the file name. Support can then report the false positive to the antivirus vendor.

Run the installer

The installer wizard and its licence agreement are in English. AFDIM itself shows its dialogs and messages in the language that you choose in the settings dialog: see First check.

1. Double-click AFDIM_Setup_<version>.exe. The default install does not ask for administrator rights.
2. Read and accept the licence agreement. The same text is at End-user licence agreement.
3. The Detected AutoCAD page lists the AutoCAD installations that the installer found. It marks each one [COVERED] or [SKIPPED], with the reason for a skip. There is nothing to choose for each version: one bundle serves every covered AutoCAD, including releases that you install later.
4. Finish the wizard.

If the installer finds no supported AutoCAD, it shows No supported AutoCAD found and offers Install AFDIM anyway or Exit without installing. You can install anyway. AFDIM becomes available when you install a supported AutoCAD.

The installer adds a Start Menu shortcut, AFDIM Help, that opens a short help page stored on your computer. The page is in Vietnamese when Windows is set up for Vietnam, and in English otherwise.

Where AFDIM is installed

By default, AFDIM installs for the current Windows user, under %APPDATA%\Autodesk\ApplicationPlugins\. Another Windows account on the same computer needs its own install. IT can install for all users instead: see Deployment.

If AFDIM is already installed in the other mode (for one user, or for all users), the installer stops and names the uninstaller to run first.

The installer does not change your drawings, dimension styles or AutoCAD profile.

Installing while AutoCAD is open

You can install while AutoCAD is running. The installer shows this note and continues:

NOTE: AutoCAD is running. Installation continues normally, but when it finishes
close AutoCAD COMPLETELY and start it again: AutoCAD loads AFDIM only when it starts.

The installer does not ask you to close anything. AutoCAD looks for plugins only when it starts, so close AutoCAD completely and start it again before you use AFDIM.

First check

1. If AutoCAD was open while you installed, close it completely (every AutoCAD window) and start it again. AutoCAD loads AFDIM only when it starts.

2. On that first start, AutoCAD may ask whether to load AFDIM or whether to trust its publisher. Check that the publisher is TO VAN TIN and that the file path contains …\ApplicationPlugins\AFDIM.bundle\…. Then choose the option that always loads it, so that AutoCAD does not ask again. If the publisher or the path is different, do not load the file, and email support@afdim.com. The window and its buttons depend on your AutoCAD version and language. Do not lower SECURELOAD or add folders to the trusted locations to stop the question.

3. Check that an AFDIM tab appears on the ribbon with two buttons, Dimension and Settings. The names of these two buttons are in English in every language. AFDIM itself starts in English, or in Vietnamese when Windows is set up for Vietnam (its display language, regional format or country). These pages use the English labels.

4. Optional: change the language of AFDIM.

   • Choose Settings to open the settings dialog.
   • Open the language drop-down list at the right end of the dialog header.
   • Select your language. The list shows each language by its own name, for example Deutsch or 日本語. It does not show flags.
   • Choose Save settings.

   After you save, the dialog, the notice windows and the command-line messages use the language that you selected. Text that is not translated yet appears in English.

5. Type AFDIM at the command line.

   • If AFDIM is not activated yet, the command line prints [AFDIM] Cannot run: AFDIM is not activated. Activate it in Settings > About. A window titled Welcome to AFDIM offers the 7-day trial. This is the expected result on a new install. It proves that the plugin loaded.
   • If a licence is already active, AFDIM asks you to select objects. Press Esc.

6. If AutoCAD answers Unknown command "AFDIM", see Troubleshooting.

Next step

• No licence yet: start the 7-day trial with Start 7-day trial.
• Already have a licence key or a licence file: activate AFDIM.
• Then run your first part with the Quick start.