AutoCAD Electrical 2024 – What is the AEPX file?

By Miles Nicholson

Ever wondered what the AEPX file is within the project directory?

When a new project and therefore project file .wdp is created, AutoCAD Electrical creates and manages a secondary project file, with a .aepx extension. If the .aepx file is deleted, it is recreated automatically. The .aepx file is a text file that contains XML data and should NOT be edited directly. It is used for linking AutoCAD Electrical with Autodesk Inventor to create an electromechanical link and bi-directional integration.

• If you are not creating an electromechanical link for your project between AutoCAD Electrical and Inventor, the AEPX file is not used although it does define the path of the {project name}.wdp file and some other XML data.
• If you create an electromechanical link for your project between AutoCAD Electrical and Inventor, the AEPX file is used and it defines the path of the {project name}.wdp file, the path of the {inventor project}.ipj, and some other XML data.

Search sequence

1. Active projects .wdp file subdirectory