How to open a DWG file without AutoCAD

You can open a DWG file without AutoCAD by dropping it into the free viewer on this page; it renders in your browser and the file is never uploaded. If you need a desktop program, Autodesk's own DWG TrueView and several other readers are free. Here is how to view, print and convert AutoCAD files with no AutoCAD license.

View AutoCAD files without AutoCAD in the browser

1. Open dwgviewer.app on any computer with a modern browser; Windows, macOS, Linux and ChromeOS all work.
2. Drop the DWG on the page. The viewer converts it to DXF on your device with a WebAssembly build of LibreDWG and renders it with WebGL; no server is involved.
3. Check the entity count in the status bar, press fit to view, and open the Layers panel to turn off clutter such as dimensions or hatching.
4. Measure a distance between two points when you need a dimension that was not annotated.

Supported: DWG from AutoCAD R14 up to the current 2018+ format, and any DXF. Not supported: DWF, R12-era DWGs and files above 60 MB. The viewer never writes a .dwg, so it is a reader, not a converter to DWG.

Two things look different without AutoCAD, whatever reader you pick. Text set in AutoCAD's SHX fonts is drawn with a substitute font, because SHX files ship with AutoCAD and not with the drawing. And external references (xrefs) are not shown, because they live in separate files that the sender usually forgets to include. Ask for the xrefs, or for a drawing with them bound, if whole buildings seem to be missing.

Free software that opens AutoCAD files without AutoCAD

When you want a desktop reader, or you need to edit, these do the job without an AutoCAD subscription:

• Autodesk DWG TrueView (Windows). Autodesk's free reader. Opens every DWG version, prints, measures, and converts files between versions with its DWG Convert tool. A heavy install, but the most compatible option. Compared in DWG TrueView alternatives.
• Autodesk Viewer (web). Free with an Autodesk account; uploads the file to Autodesk's cloud, which some clients will not allow.
• Bentley View (Windows). Free viewer from Bentley that opens DWG as well as DGN, useful in civil and infrastructure work.
• BricsCAD Shape (Windows, macOS). Free 3D modeler that reads and writes DWG natively.
• FreeCAD (all platforms). Open-source CAD; imports DWG once the free ODA File Converter is installed and configured in its preferences.
• LibreCAD (all platforms). Open-source 2D editor, but DXF only. Convert the DWG to DXF with the ODA converter first.
• Autodesk's AutoCAD mobile app. Opens DWG on phones and tablets; viewing is free, editing needs a plan.

How to print DWG files without AutoCAD

Open the drawing in the browser viewer, hide the layers you do not want on paper, and use Print; it hands the drawing to the normal browser print dialog. For a file you can send to a print shop, use Export PDF instead: the output is a vector PDF on an A-series page, so lines stay crisp at any size. Export PNG gives a raster of the current view for a quick email or slide.

DWG TrueView offers a full AutoCAD-style plot dialog with plot styles and scale control, which is the better choice when the sheet must print at exactly 1:100. The PDF route is documented on DWG to PDF.

Open other CAD files without AutoCAD: DGN, DXF, DWF

The same question comes up for formats that travel with DWG:

• DXF opens in the browser viewer and in LibreCAD, QCAD and Inkscape; see open a DXF file.
• DGN (MicroStation) opens in Bentley View for free. To get it into a DWG workflow, convert with Bentley View or the ODA converter; see DGN to DWG.
• DWF is a publishing format and needs Autodesk Design Review or Autodesk Viewer; the browser viewer here does not read it. Steps are on open a DWF file.

Viewing is not editing

Every tool above lets you look, measure and print. Changing the drawing is a different job: you need an editor that writes DWG (BricsCAD Shape, FreeCAD via the converter, or a commercial CAD) or you work in DXF with LibreCAD and QCAD. If someone asks you to move a wall and send back a DWG, a viewer will not get you there; the realistic paths are laid out in edit DWG online.

One more honest note: a DWG saved by a 2026 release of AutoCAD still uses the 2018 file format, so current viewers open it. If a drawing fails anyway, it is usually a renamed file or an R12 relic; the checks are in fix a DWG that will not open.

Frequently asked questions