Is there a good free DWG viewer for Mac OS X?
There are new Autodesk products (AutoCAD LT or similar) for Mac OS and iOS, but I couldn’t find a simple free DWG viewer for Mac.
asked Oct 27, 2011 at 18:15
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5 Answers 5
AutoCAD WS is a free app on the Mac App Store. I’ve never tried it.
answered Oct 27, 2011 at 18:51
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Has 16MB file size limit. And you have to register to Autodesk (or already have their account). Otherwise seemed okay.
Mar 18, 2013 at 14:28
A360 Viewer
AutoCAD’s A360 Viewer is a browser based tool for viewing DWG files:
A360 Viewer Free online viewer — View designs in more than 50 file formats, including .dwg, right in your browser—no downloads or plug-ins needed.
Edit: 2021-11-26: A360 viewer requires Autodesk subscription to be able to upload and view .dwg files.
LibreCAD
LibreCAD is open source, free, and can read and write DWG files.
View, annotate and share your AutoCAD DWG files on the Mac
DWG Viewer the smart way to view DWG files.
Microspot DWG Viewer is an easy to use app for viewing your AutoCAD DWG and DXF files from your PC on the Mac. Open your DWG and DXF files with ease and without file size restrictions, then annotate them with your own comments. In addition you’ll be able to save your annotated DWG files as an flattened scaleable PDF.
More DWG Software options
Are you looking to view, edit and create your own DWG files? Check out MacDraft Pro, our flexible 2D CAD software for Mac.
MacDraft 8 supports the latest DWG 2022 file format (AC1032), meaning you can open, edit and save the latest AutoCAD DWG files. In addition the streamlined opening process, MacDraft gives a custom approach to opening DWG files with options for scales, units and DWG unit conversion as well as full layer content, docuement managment and workflow control.
What’s New in DWG Viewer
Microspot DWG Viewer has had a huge overhaul, to bring you the most easy-to-use and precise DWG viewer app yet. The new features in the latest version range from a complete interface update, bringing more speed and power to the addition of new tools to make navigating, measuring and working with you DWG files easier.
Measure Tool
Measure components of your DWG files with the all new measure tool.
Automatic Open
DWG files will now open automatically. You can also choose to define the options.
Layout & Model
Choose to open specific layouts or model space via the Layout menu.
Attributes
Choose the stroke and fill colors, line thickness, line styles and opacity.
Document tabs
Make document navigation faster and more efficient with document tabs.
MacDraft Files
Support for viewing and annotating your MacDraft Documents.
Improved Text
Text entry and editing has now been improved, giving access to all text features.
.ANN
Save your annotated files as ANN, allowing you to edit the annotations later.
Power & Interface
DWG Viewer 2.0 is up to twice as fast now, it has also had a huge make-over.
Opening DWG Files
A smarter and easier way to open your DWG files
Our main focus is to provide a fast and easy to use solution to opening your DWG files. We understand that not everyone knows what scales and units are, especially when working with complex drawings. With this in mind, we’ve designed a system that automatically opens your DWG files with the most relevant scale and units, which in turn will make viewing your files faster. In addition to this, we’ve also included the ability to define custom settings for your DWG file, giving you complete control.
- When you open a DWG file it will automatically open using the best matched settings applied to the drawing. However for more control, you can choose to open a DWG file and define the custom scale and units used, giving you more control.
- The new DWG Viewer allows you to select the Layouts and Model space from the Layout menu. This means that you no longer need to re-open you DWG file via the Open menu and can open the individual parts of the drawing quickly.
Annotation and Type tool
Combine clear annotations with beautiful text
Annotate and markup your drawings with our easy to use Ellipse tool, combined with the modern and powerful Type tool giving you all you need for marking up your DWG files with those important comments and notes. Take your annotations to the next level, by customizing the fonts and styles you use with the familiar system text attributes. Annotating your drawings has never been easier.
- With the Type tool you can quickly add comments and titles to your DWG files to communicate your suggestions to the designers. You’ll then be able to change the colors, fonts and styles to make your comments pop and stand out.
- The Balloon or Ellipse tool gives you an extra way of displaying your comments on the drawing. This is a great feature for when you have complex drawings and need a way to make your annotations stand out making it easier to read your comments.
Measure Tool
Quickly and easily measure parts of the drawing
A new addition to the latest version of DWG Viewer is the measure tool. This allows you to click on a single point on the drawing and drag a measuring line out that tells you the length of the measurement as you drag. This is a great way to quickly and easily measure the key components of your drawing with ease.
Document Tabs
Faster document management with Tabs
Document tabs are a much faster and cleaner way of displaying multiple documents in DWG Viewer. This combined with the ability to open layouts and multiple documents, means you can swap between your files faster than ever before. Turn document tabs on through View > Show Tab Bar and then either drag a tab from another document or use Window > Merge All Windows.
Layers
Complete control over the content you see
DWG Viewer will display all the layers attached to the DWG file you are opening. You’ll have the ability to hide and show the layers giving you the confidence that your drawing is displaying how you would expect. In addition a separate annotation layer has been added so that it doesn’t interfere with the rest of the drawing components.
Colors, Styles & Attributes
Make your annotations pop
Another new arrival in the latest DWG Viewer is the ability to change the colors and attributes of your annotations and balloons. Make your annotations pop and bring them to life by applying some color to them. Change the fill and stroke color, opacity, line thickness and the line style to add that little something extra to your DWG annotations.
- Built into the latest DWG Viewer is the system colors selection. You can use this to change the colors of your text, fills and strokes. This gives you the conrtol you need to make your annotations stand out.
- In addition to the colors, you’ll have the ability to change the opacity of your selections. This allows you to add annotations and balloons over the drawings while still showing the content underneath.
- The Attributes palette will allow you to select the line styles and lines weights you want to use for your ellipses. This can give your comments the extra pop they need to stand out on a complicated drawing.
PDF Export & ANN
Save your files for every occasion
Built into DWG Viewer is the ability to export your annotated drawings as a PDF file, allowing you to send any comments back to the draftsmen, without having to worry about DWG compatibilty. In addition, a new feature in the latest version is the ability to save your annotated drawings as an ANN file, which means you can open and edit the annotations if you need to.
Advanced Features
More for the Pro users
DWG Viewer 2.0 comes with some additional features that every pro user will love, such as MacDraft document viewing, custom scales and units and control over the DWG unit per scaled unit. In additon you can choose to open the model space or the individual layers. In addition the macOS Mojave compatibility has bought AutoSave, Retina Display, Sharing and Full Screen.
DWG Viewer 2.0
Available through our web-store from $19.99 £16.99 €18.99
You can also upgrade from previous versions
DWG Viewer 4+
This aplication doesn’t work properly with dwg files on my MacPro 🙁 model 2016 It’s open dwg files in small windows and there is no possibillty to present files on full screen. I want my money back or full working version. This same problem like by autor — Peace76PL
MG76PL , 25.04.2017
Doesn’t work properly.
Aplication doesn’t work properly on Macbook Pro late 2013. Its open .dwg files in small windows and there is no possibility to go on full screen. I’m very dissapointed. I want my money back or full working version!
Prywatność w aplikacji
Deweloper ( 晖 向 ) nie podał Apple szczegółów dotyczących zasad ochrony prywatności oraz przetwarzania danych.
Brak informacji
Podczas zgłaszania kolejnego uaktualnienia aplikacji deweloper będzie musiał podać informacje dotyczące ochrony prywatności.
eDrawings 4+
eDrawings on Mac has always crashed loading large assemblies (anything >10Mb), this release is the first I have used that is useful in this regard. Hallelujah!
A loading dialogue would be a further improvement rather than just the spinning beachball, but not crashing is a good improvement to start with.
Developer Response ,
Hi User,
Thank you for getting in touch regarding the app. If you have time,
Can you provide some further information, for example, some screenshot or video demonstrating the issue at your end by creating a Service request on below link:
http://www.edrawingsviewer.com/ed/edrawings-support.htm
Thanks,
eDrawings Support Team.
tomhhd , 23/06/2017
Handy viewing/measuring/annotation
I’ve been using edrawings for many years on the mac to view, measure and annotate .dwg drawings from others and to review my own .dwg outputs from SketchUp etc. Great to have it on appstore now, usability of the interface is good, it is more intuitive than earlier versions but some things still a little obscure so 4 star not 5. Free so superb value!
Developer Response ,
Hi Tomhhd,
Thank you for your feedback. We are Glad that you liked our app.
If you need assistance with eDrawings app feel free to contact eDrawings Support on below link: http://www.edrawingsviewer.com/ed/edrawings-support.htmStay
Stay tuned for our next release.
rjc101 , 21/12/2023
Works, but is *very* slow
Having used this for a while now, the latest update on an Apple Silicon Mac is really too slow to use. It can take seconds to click between menu options.
Developer Response ,
Hi User,
Thank you for getting in touch regarding the app. If you have time,
Can you provide some further information, for example, some screenshot or video demonstrating the issue at your end by creating a Service request on the below link:
http://www.edrawingsviewer.com/ed/edrawings-support.htm
Thanks,
eDrawings Support Team.
App Privacy
The developer, Dassault Systemes SolidWorks Corporation , indicated that the app’s privacy practices may include handling of data as described below. For more information, see the developer’s privacy policy.