Function Entry: FINDFILE

findfile

Function

(findfile filename)

• filename: string

Searches the AutoCAD library path for the specified file.

Returns a pathname string identifying the located file, or nil.

None.

• library-path configuration
• trusted-path configuration
• selected environment profile

• AutoCAD 2026: documented (per Autodesk reference page).
• AutoCAD 2022, BricsCAD V25 and V26: verified by runtime probe 2026-08-09 — absolute paths written with forward slashes are accepted on every engine.
• Status: verified on both vendors (no longer "presumed compatible").

• [findfile (AutoLISP)](https://help.autodesk.com/cloudhelp/2024/FRA/AutoCAD-LT-AutoLISP-Reference/files/GUID-D671F67D-F92B-41FF-B9FA-A48EF52CF607.htm)
• Runtime probe: alpm tests/verification/verification.lsp (V-5), 2026-08-09.

• Autodesk documents that filename must not contain a directory prefix.
• Autodesk documents that the support-file search path is searched.
• Autodesk documents that URL strings may also be returned when appropriate.
• Separator asymmetry — verified 2026-08-09. Both CADs accept a forward-slash absolute path on input but return the located path with backslashes. The argument and the result are therefore not interchangeable: a caller that compares findfile's result against the string it passed in, or that feeds one result to another path operation expecting its own spelling, will mismatch on Windows-style output. Normalise separators before comparing.
• In clautolisp, findfile searches the union of the support search path and the trusted folders (TRUSTEDPATHS plus the implicit folders), without trust-filtering. See Normative Rules: Secure File Loading and Trust Model (this chapter).