7 Best Free DGN Viewer Software For Windows

Here is the list of Best Free DGN Viewer Software For Windows. These software let you open and view 2D and 3D DGN files. These freeware provide various tools to view DGN files, whether 2D or 3D. You can Zoom, Dynamic Zoom, Rotate, Move, and Pan objects to view them with the mentioned software. Measurement tools are also a part of most of the mentioned DGN viewers; these tools let you measure distance, angle, and area. Some of these also provide layered viewing of DGN files, where you can selectively view/hide various layers.

Selection tools are provided by these software to view DGN files, where you can select an object to view it. Some also provide Markup tools to freehand draw, add text, or add various shapes on an open file. After markup, files can be exported as images or PDF using some of these DGN viewers.

3D view of 3D DGN files are provided by only few of these software, and some only let you view 3D objects in 2 dimensional plane. Some of these DGN viewers do not support 3D files at all and only open 2D DGN files.

You can also edit DGN files with some of the mentioned software, where you can modify or add new elements to a drawing. Editing features have been mentioned along with the respective software’s review.

Go through the list to know more about these DGN viewer software and also know how to open DGN files on Windows using these.

My Favorite DGN Viewer Software:

I like Bentley View the most, as it is a dedicated CAD viewer and lets you open both 2D and 3D DGN files. Along with the standard viewing tools, it has Markup tools as well. Along with DGN, it supports various other CAD files.

You can also checkout the list of best free CAD Viewer Software, CAD Software, and DWG Viewer Software.

Bentley View

Bentley View is a free DGN viewer from Bentley Systems. You can easily open and view 2D as well as 3D DGN files on Bentley View.

Various viewing tools let you easily look around a 3 dimensional object pretty easily. You can Pan an object, Rotate objects (2 point rotation/dynamic rotation), Zoom dynamically, and view attributes, such as: background, boundary, grid, line style, line weight, markers, patterns tag, text, and dimensions.

For your viewing convenience, you can choose to walk or fly by an object.

You can also view various other CAD files and image files here: dxg, dwg, cel, dgnlib, 3ds, mif, tab, skp, tiff, bmp, jpg, png, pdf, obj, etc.

Bentley System, makers of this DGN Viewer, have another software called MicroStation. It is a CAD software which primarily supports and works with DGN files and can be used for editing DGN files. However, MicroStation is not free.

DualCAD

DualCAD lets you view DGN files as well as edit them for free. It supports and displays both 2D and 3D DGN files. The standard Zoom tool along with Pan and Rotate options are available. A search tool is available which lets you look for specific text, and you can even select various types of elements, such as: cell, line, shape, text-node, curve, ellipse, arc, curve, surface, solid, cone, etc.

For editing and modifying a DGN file, you can draw a line, polygon, circle, ellipse, curve, or add text. A selection can be moved, copied, deleted, rotated, mirrored, etc. A Measurement Tool is also available to measure distance, area, and angle.

A DGN file can be saved as DGN or exported as TIFF, BMP, or PDF files.

Tekla BIMsight

Tekla BIMsight is a free CAD software, which can be used to view DGN files. Simply open your DGN file on its interactive interface, where you will find various viewing tools. These tools let you Zoom In/Out, Dynamic Zoom, Rotate along different axes, and Move the objects on the workspace. Along with viewing tools, markup tool is available to let you draw and add notes on the 3D file.

There’s a panel on the right side of the interface which lists all the objects of the open DGN file, which you can hide/unhide. You can also get general info about the file, right on the interface.

Tekla BIMsight also lets you create as well as edit 3D models. It is a vast CAD software and has numerous tools and options to let you create 3D designs. A wide variety of 3D formats are supported by this DGN viewer, which include: tbp, ifc, ifczip, dgn, dwg, iges, igs, skp, stp, step, xml, and xmlzip formats.

Apart from Windows, you can get this software for Mac and iOS mobile devices.

CARISEasy View

CARISEasy View is another free DGN viewer for Windows. This Software lets you open 2D DGN files and let you view them in 2D as well as 3D views. You can easily Zoom, Move, or Rotate a DGN file here. It provides a layered view of DGN files, where different layers and components can be viewed separately or together. You can switch to 3D view and back by simply clicking on the 3D button available.

Some tools are also available here, which can help you with measuring distance between two points and measuring angles. Lasso select and Circle select options are available.

You can open and view various other CAD files along with DGN, such as: dwg, dxf, kap, bag, des, def, iga, gml, etc.

TNTatlas

TNTatlas is a simple CAD viewer which can be used to view DGN files. It is primarily a geo-data viewer, and displays loaded CAD files in a 2 dimensional plane. It lets you zoom and move a file to view it properly. You can also open multiple DGN files in separate tabs.

Various other options are available which let you annotate, draw shapes, add text, and take snapshot.

To open a file, you will have to select a File type and Object type, then you can open various file formats, such as: rvc, dng, adf, bmp, bna, bt, cdf, csv, dat, ddf, dem, doq, dwg, dxf, gif, gis, jpg, json, png, etc. The object types that this DGN viewer can open are: raster, vector, cad, display group, TIN, Display layout, and shape.

Qcad

Qcad is an open source DGN viewer available for Windows, Linux, and Mac. It is capable of opening 3D DGN files, but in 2D plane. It gives you a layer wise view of DGN files, where you can hide/unhide various layers of a drawing. Tools to Zoom in/out, move, rotate, and pan objects are available. Distance and angle can be measure pretty easily.

You can also edit DGN and other CAD files here. You can make selections, add text, add objects, insert images, draft objects, mirror selection, invert selection, rotate selection, and do much more. New layers can be added and the existing or new layers can be hidden, locked, unlocked, edited, or deleted.

There are various plugins that this software supports, but they are paid.

You can open dxf, dwg, dwt, dxb, dng, dwf, dxflib, svg, gbx, and grb files here. Save your file as dxf, dwg, and dxflib formats, or export files as bitmap, svg, or pdf.

Autodesk Design Review (with DGN Importer Add-in)

Autodesk Design Review is a free CAD viewer software. It does not supports DGN files natively; however, you can download and install a DGN Importer Add-in to open and view DGN files here. First install Autodesk Design Review, then install the DGN Importer. After both installations, the Import option in Design Review lets you open DGN in Design Review.

You can Zoom an object and move it as desired. Measurement tools let you measure distance, angle, and area. Markup tools let you add lines, polygons, freehand drawings, formatted text, and much more. Markup summary can be saved as CSV file. It lets you change background color and take a snapshot as well.

3D DGN files cannot be opened with this DGN viewer.

Other supported formats are: dwf, dwfx, dwg, dxf, pdf, bmp, gif, rst, jpg, tga, tiff, and rlc.