How to open a DWG file without AutoCAD
Open Pixly's free DWG Viewer in your browser and drop the DWG on the page, or click Choose a file. The drawing appears with its layers and colours; zoom, switch layers off, click Measure to check a length, and click PDF for a PDF. Free, no account, and the file is read on your device, not uploaded.
These are the real DWG Viewer screens. Click a step to jump to it.
- 4 steps
- About a minute
- Free
The four steps
- 01
Open the free DWG viewer
Go to pixly.app/tools/dwg-viewer and drop the DWG on the page, or click Choose a file. No file to hand? No file? Try an example drawing.
- 02
Look around and switch layers
Scroll or pinch to zoom, drag to move. In Layers, switch off what you don't need, such as furniture or electrical.
- 03
Measure a wall
Click Measure, then two points; the ends snap to corners. The length is shown in the drawing's units, with metres alongside.
- 04
Download or trace it
Click PDF for a PDF on A4, A3 or Letter with the scale printed, or a PNG or SVG. For a listing, Trace in the floor plan creator opens the plan behind the floor plan creator at its true size.
The steps on one page
Save it, print it or send it to your team.
Tips for opening DWG files
- Check the file really is a DWG: a renamed PDF or image won't open, and the viewer says so.
- Zoom to the part you need before you trace it or print it.
- Switch off furniture, electrical and dimension layers for a cleaner PDF.
- On a phone it works the same: open the page in the browser and pick the file from Files.
What to avoid
- Expecting to edit the DWG: the viewer shows, measures and prints; changes go in your CAD program.
- Drawings that only reference other files (xrefs) or only hold 3D solids: those parts aren't shown.
- Sending clients' drawings to upload-converter sites when a viewer on your own device will do.