DWF viewer: how to open DWF and DWFX files

This site's DWG viewer is not a DWF viewer: it does not open DWF or DWFX files, only DWG and DXF. To view a DWF you need a DWF viewer such as Autodesk Design Review (free, Windows), the Autodesk Viewer website, or Bentley View, or you can ask for the drawing as a PDF or the original DWG. This page covers each route.

Why a DWG viewer does not open DWF

DWF (Design Web Format) is not a drawing file. It is a publishing container that AutoCAD, Revit, and Inventor write when you publish or plot to DWF: a zip archive of sheets, each with pre-plotted geometry, plus optional 3D models and markups. DWFX is the same idea packaged in Microsoft's XPS structure. The geometry inside has already been flattened for presentation, so a DWG parser cannot read it, and this site's LibreDWG-based engine has no DWF reader yet.

This is also why DWF files are small and open quickly in the right viewer: the work of resolving layers, line types, and plot styles was done when the set was published, and the viewer only has to draw the result.

Think of DWF as Autodesk's answer to PDF: good for sending a drawing set to someone who should see it but not edit it. The DWF file page explains the format in more detail, and DWF vs DWG compares the two side by side.

DWF viewers that work

There is no DWF viewer for Chrome as an extension; the browser route is Autodesk Viewer, which renders the file after upload. On a Mac the same site is the practical choice, since Design Review and Bentley View are Windows-only. DWF viewer for Mac and free DWF viewer go into those cases.

Autodesk also distributed a standalone DWF Viewer and a browser plug-in in the past; both are discontinued, and searches for 'DWF Viewer 7' lead to Design Review, which replaced it.

How to view a DWF online, step by step

1. Go to Autodesk Viewer and sign in with a free Autodesk account.
2. Upload the .dwf or .dwfx. Multi-sheet sets show a sheet list in the side panel.
3. Use the sheet navigator, zoom, measure, and markup tools; print or share a link from the toolbar.

Be aware that this uploads the drawing to Autodesk's servers, which an NDA may not allow. For sensitive sets, Design Review on a Windows PC keeps the file local, and if you do use the web viewer, delete the file from its file list once you are done. The desktop steps are in how to open a DWF file.

Get a PDF or the original DWG instead

Often the simplest fix is to not need a DWF viewer at all. Whoever published the DWF has the source DWG and can just as easily plot to PDF, which opens everywhere. Ask for that. If you need to measure or reuse the geometry, ask for the DWG or a DXF export; those open in this site's viewer with layers intact, and they are the only form in which the drawing can be edited.

If you cannot reach the sender, Design Review prints a DWF to PDF through the Windows print dialog; the steps are on DWF to PDF. That direction loses nothing meaningful, since both formats describe plotted sheets with fixed line weights. Converting back to DWG is lossy, because DWF has already discarded layers and object types; DWF to DWG explains what survives and which tools attempt it.

DWF, DWFX, and 3D DWF

DWFX is the newer packaging of the same content, based on Microsoft's XPS, and the Autodesk tools above read it. 3D DWF files carry a model from Inventor or Revit and need Design Review or Autodesk Viewer, which can orbit and section the model. Whatever variant you have, the extension tells you where it opens: .dwf and .dwfx go to the tools above, .dwg and .dxf come here.

If you are the one publishing, consider whether the recipient needs DWF at all. A PDF reaches more people, and a DWG with the layers intact lets them check dimensions in any free DWG viewer.

Frequently asked questions