How to open DWG files without AutoCAD? What software supports viewing and editing the original DWG format? Lets find out with Taimienphi.
Although DWG is a proprietary AutoCAD format, you can still open and edit this file using many other software programs. In this article, Taimienphi will guide you on how to open DWG files without AutoCAD , allowing you to easily view and edit them.
Contents:
Method 1. Opening a DWG file online .
Method 2. Opening a DWG file using specialized software .
I. Opening DWG files without AutoCAD Online
1. Use Autodesk Viewer Online to read a DWG file.
Suppose for some reason you don't want to install AutoCAD or other specialized third-party software; Autodesk 360 would be the ideal choice to meet your requirements.
All you need to do is open any browser on your computer and go HERE to open the Autodesk 360 homepage.
The next step is to create a free account, click the upload icon, and choose to save the drawing to your computer or cloud services such as Dropbox, Google Drive, or Box.
Note: You can also upload the folder containing the drawing files. The upload process may take some time, after which you will receive an email saying that the DWG file is ready to open.
2. Reading DWG files with ProfiCAD
To use ProfiCAD, you need to access the website HERE .
On the web interface, select the " Select a DWG or DXF document" option to choose the DWG file you want to open.
3. Read DWG files using CAD, DXF, and DWG Viewer tools.
CAD, DXF, DWG Viewer for Google Drive is a free online tool for viewing CAD, DXF, and DWG files, as its name suggests. To use this tool, you need to access the website HERE .
To open a DWG file, in the interface select "Choose file" to find the file on your computer, then select "OK, View ". Or if you have the DWG file on Google Drive, you can select "Select file from Google Drive ".
4. Read DWG files with ShareCAD.
Finally, there's ShareCAD. This tool supports viewing DWG files online on various operating systems such as Android, iOS, MacOS, Linux, and Windows. To open a DWG file using ShareCAD, you need to access it HERE .
II. Opening DWG files using software
The simplest way to open a DWG file without installing AutoCAD on your computer is to use specialized software designed to open and manipulate original AutoCAD files.
1. Autodesk DWG TrueView
Autodesk DWG TrueView is the first software that TipsMake wants to introduce to you. This free software is designed to open DWG files and perform several other basic tasks on the drawing.
Additionally, Autodesk DWG TrueView also offers an option to convert AutoCAD files back to a previous version, even for batch conversions. This option is extremely useful if you are using an older version of AutoCAD but receive drawing files in the newer DWG format.
To download and install Autodesk DWG TrueView, please visit here:
To convert a DWG file to be compatible with your version of AutoCAD, all you need to do is open the file you want to convert in the software, click the DWG Convert icon , add the file to the tree as shown below, select the AutoCAD version you want to convert to, and then click the Convert button.
By default, the original drawing files will be overwritten by the newly converted files; however, if desired, you can also add the converted drawing files to a separate folder or ZIP file.
2. Free DWG Viewer
Brava's Free DWG Viewer is designed to support opening and printing DWG, DXF, DWF, BMP, JPG, PNG, GIF, and TIF files. Its highlights include being lightweight, integrating several editing tools, and the ability to convert DWG files to other compatible file types. Notably, Free DWG Viewer also has the ability to check and display two DWG files in separate windows.
To download and install Free DWG Viewer, click here:
3. LibreCAD open-source software
In addition to the software mentioned above, you can consider using free, open-source software like LibreCAD to open and view DWG files. The advantage of this software is that it is lighter and easier to use than AutoCAD. Furthermore, it offers options for editing and identifying layers and blocks within DWG files.
However, LibreCAD is not an ideal choice for drawing editing tasks because it is prone to errors and cannot handle large files properly.
Download and install LibreCAD here:
=> Link to download LibreCAD
The article above from Taimienphi has just guided you through several ways to open DWG files without AutoCAD . Depending on your needs, you can choose the most suitable method.