# Architects and engineers - DXF viewer? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 27, 2006, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/architects-and-engineers-dxf-viewer/381992 "2006-11-27T21:54:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/a9a28c/32.png) [@Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oslo_Ostragoth)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2006, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/architects-and-engineers-dxf-viewer/381992/1 "2006-11-27T21:54:49Z")
I am about to receive an email with an attached DXF drawing. Any freebie DXF viewers out there? Preferably free, preferably not 100Mb. I had the same need a while back, and tried a couple from [download.com](http://download.com), but was dissatisfied with the ones I tried. ---
**Author:** ![Santo\_Rugger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e95f7d/32.png) [@Santo\_Rugger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Santo_Rugger)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2006, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/architects-and-engineers-dxf-viewer/381992/2 "2006-11-27T22:05:35Z")
I don’t know if it helps, but most CAD programs I’ve used allow you to save the files as .jpg (you’d have to talk to the person sending the email, though). ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2006, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/architects-and-engineers-dxf-viewer/381992/3 "2006-11-27T22:19:46Z")
Bwuh? You can get a DWG/DXF viewer [straight from Autodesk](http://usa.autodesk.com/adsk/servlet/index?siteID=123112&id=6703438)! Is theirs too big? Do they ask for too much information? ---
**Author:** ![Stan\_Doubt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/53a042/32.png) [@Stan\_Doubt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stan_Doubt)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2006, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/architects-and-engineers-dxf-viewer/381992/4 "2006-11-28T02:41:23Z")
I have tried quite a few over the years, and can recommend the evaluation version of DWGSee, available [here](http://www.autodwg.com/dwg-viewer/) and one called Free DWG Viewer. I think the latter program is owned by a new company and now available from > **[Sorry, the site you were trying to reach is currently unavailable](https://blogs.opentext.com/otbus/)** > > www.opentext.com is currently undergoing scheduled maintenance. If you require immediate assistance, please contact us: In the meantime, please browser our latest blogs for ideas and insights from our team of experts at OpenText. General Inquiries... The Autodesk one mentioned by **Sunspace** has some fancy options like rotation, but it is a whopping download and probably overkill for your needs. When I tried it it also “stole” a whole bunch of file associations from the proper programs. I may very well have missed a checkbox during the install, but do beware if you go that route. ---
**Author:** ![Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/a9a28c/32.png) [@Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oslo_Ostragoth)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2006, 5:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/architects-and-engineers-dxf-viewer/381992/5 "2006-11-28T05:45:21Z")
[QUOTE=Sunspace] Bwuh? You can get a DWG/DXF viewer [straight from Autodesk](http://usa.autodesk.com/adsk/servlet/index?siteID=123112&id=6703438)! Is theirs too big? Do they ask for too much information? [/QUOTE] IIRC, it is 150M. And, yes, they do want a [lot](http://usa.autodesk.com/adsk/servlet/index?siteID=123112&id=2404513&CMP=ILC-GN9219645015) of information. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2006, 5:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/architects-and-engineers-dxf-viewer/381992/6 "2006-11-28T05:47:59Z")
Try eDrawings from Solidworks. I’m not sure how big it is but it works well. ---
**Author:** ![Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/a9a28c/32.png) [@Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oslo_Ostragoth)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2006, 5:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/architects-and-engineers-dxf-viewer/381992/7 "2006-11-28T05:47:59Z")
[QUOTE=Stan Doubt] I have tried quite a few over the years, and can recommend the evaluation version of DWGSee, available [here](http://www.autodwg.com/dwg-viewer/) and one called Free DWG Viewer. I think the latter program is owned by a new company and now available from > **[Content Management Solutions | OpenText Content Cloud](https://www.opentext.com/products/content-cloud?utm_source=infograph.com&utm_medium=redirect)** > > OpenText Content Cloud delivers a suite of intelligent content management solutions that connect and govern enterprise content for secure, AI-powered outcomes The Autodesk one mentioned by **Sunspace** has some fancy options like rotation, but it is a whopping download and probably overkill for your needs. When I tried it it also “stole” a whole bunch of file associations from the proper programs. I may very well have missed a checkbox during the install, but do beware if you go that route. [/QUOTE] Thanks, I’ll give FreeDWGViewer a shot. ---
**Author:** ![Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/a9a28c/32.png) [@Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oslo_Ostragoth)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2006, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/architects-and-engineers-dxf-viewer/381992/8 "2006-11-29T03:43:39Z")
[QUOTE=hajario] Try eDrawings from Solidworks. I’m not sure how big it is but it works well. [/QUOTE] And this as well. Thanks.