SV$ File

.sv$ is a temporary autosave file format used as a backup copy of a DWG drawing created by AutoCAD. .sv$ files are created automatically at regular intervals while a drawing is open - the interval is governed by the SAVETIME system variable (10 minutes by default) - and each file is written to the folder defined by SAVEFILEPATH, which typically resolves to the system TEMP directory.

Each .sv$ file contains a complete snapshot of the drawing as it stood at the last autosave point; it is not an incremental change log. .sv$ files are deleted as soon as the drawing is closed normally. If AutoCAD exits unexpectedly due to a crash or power loss, however, the most recent .sv$ file is left on disk and can be used to restore the project to its last autosaved state - recovering work that would otherwise be lost.

To recover from a .sv$ file, locate it in the autosave folder, rename it from .sv$ to .dwg, and open it in AutoCAD as an ordinary drawing. No special conversion tool is needed because .sv$ files are structurally identical to .dwg files and share the same binary DWG format.

Many applications use temporary files as backup copies for data recovery. Applications that monitor for such backup files can restore data from them if necessary. Temporary files are typically hidden, and different applications use different extensions to save them.