Compressed Files (MKD File Format) Changed in Version 2025.0

Some applications using the MKD file format (including CAD6 itself) offer the option to save "Compressed MKD Drawings". Such files are actually compressed archives that contain a single MKD drawing file named mkcadtmp.mkd (and nothing else). The archive's name is the drawing's name.

Compressed drawings can be directly opened in the application. They can also be extracted manually by means of the free 7za.exe software that comes with the application.

The compressing method used depends on the target file version: For file versions 6250 and above, the drawing is compressed using 7-Zip format with highest possible compression (options -mmt -mx). For file versions 6242 and below, the drawing is compressed using ZIP format with high compression (options -tzip -mx7).

If you want to edit a compressed file manually, you can extract it using 7za.exe. Please note that compressed drawings may be scrambled using a password! You will have to know the password to be able to access the drawing data.