.cad file extension

I haven't seen that extension in a very long time. If I remember correctly, there were quite a few low cost programs that used that file extension. If you really wanted to know which program created the file, you could try to look at the header in Notepad (may or may not work). You probably don't care so much about the origin of the file. Most of those programs usually had a way of saving to different cad formats. Is it possible to ask for it as a dwg file or a dxf file? If not, then I remember, and found again, a program called CadStd ( http://www.cadstd.com/) which should open up a cad file. They have a free version (their pro version still is only $37.50). I think that their free version will export out a dxf file. Not making any promises, but might be worth a shot.

thanks I will give it a shot

From Autocad:

"AutoCAD is not able to open QuickCAD files. Use AutoSketch to open the .cad file and then save it to DWG format. To do this, choose "Save As" from the File menu and then choose "AutoCAD 2007 Drawing (*.DWG)" (or an older format, if needed). The DWG 2007 format is the newest that AutoSketch can save to. AutoCAD 2007 and newer will be able to open this."