ArcGIS for AutoCAD is a no-cost, downloadable extension for AutoCAD that enables AutoCAD to share information and data with ArcGIS Desktop and ArcGIS Server. Using ArcGIS for AutoCAD Build 200 you can integrate ArcGIS map services with your AutoCAD drawings, and exchange feature classes and feature attributes with ArcGIS Desktop.
The built-in Web client enables you to add one or more ArcGIS map services to a drawing, use them as basemaps, and query their published information. Map services project on the fly to the coordinate system you select from a library of Esri projection (.prj) files that is included with the software.
You can also group standard DWG entities as CAD-defined feature classes and attach feature attributes directly to the entity. Feature class definitions can be added to new drawings or to existing drawings and configured to your current CAD standards. Their schema is stored in the drawing file as nongraphic data and does not interfere with standard DWG geometry or native AutoCAD functionality. Feature class schema can be created interactively in AutoCAD, or imported from a DWG file that has been exported from ArcGIS Desktop, and shared with other DWG files.
Administrators can automate tasks, manage standards, and extend core functionality using the AutoLISP API with AutoLISP or C# .NET.
Developers can build custom AutoCAD applications capable of creating and editing CAD-defined feature classes that are recognized by ArcGIS Desktop. The AutoCAD xrecord objects that define the feature classes, attributes, and coordinate system are stored in a standardized framework of AutoCAD object dictionaries. You can choose from Visual Lisp, or the ObjectARX programming environment with C++, C#, or VB .NET, and the Teigha development platform. For detailed information about how to write code that works with CAD-defined feature classes, see the Mapping Specification for CAD.