Best Free Open Source DWG Viewer Software for Windows

Here is a list of Best Free Open Source DWG Viewer Software for Windows. Using these free open source software, you can view an AutoCAD DWG file using a variety of visualization tools. As these are open source freeware, you can download, study, and manipulate the source code of these viewers without any restrictions. Apart from DWG, these also let you view another popular 2D model format namely DXF.

These software are primarily 2D and 3D CAD software using which you can view, edit, create, and convert several 2D and 3D files. Some of the other supported files in these include OBJ, 3DS, PLY, DAE, etc. To view DWG files, these viewers provide standard tools like zoom, rotate, pan, move, etc. You can also toggle different view modes like top, front, back, perspective view, etc. Additionally, some also provide features like redraw, layer list, block list, measurement tool, properties tab, and more. All in all, these let you properly visualize a DWG file without much hassle.

In these software, you can also convert a DWG file to other formats including DXF, SVG, PDF, PNG, JPG, and more. External plugins are also supported by most viewers. You can go through the list to know more about these DWG viewers.

My Favorite Free Open Source DWG Viewer Software for Windows:

LibreCAD is my favorite software. It is an easy to use software that lets you view a DWG file as well as edit and convert it to other formats.

FreeCAD is another great one with powerful visualization tools. But, it requires an external plugin to import an AutoCAD DWG file.

You can also check out lists of best free DWG Version Converter, DXF to DWG Converter, and DWG Viewer software for Windows.

LibreCAD

LibreCAD is a free open source DWG viewer software for Windows. It is basically a 2D CAD software that lets you view DWG and DXF files. You can also use it to create, edit, and convert DWG files. It provides several handy view tools that allow you to properly visualize DWG models. A lot of designing tools are also available in it, such as draw line, draw ellipse, draw curve, draw circle, rotate, scale, mirror, divide, trim segments, move, stretch, etc. Let us now have a look at its primarily DWG viewing features that you can look forward to.

Main Features:

• It provides standard viewing features that include auto-zoom, rotate, pan, previous view, etc.
• You can also use its redraw function to view a DWG model.
• It contains a Layer list where you can view and manage individual layers of a DWG drawing.
• Library Browser and Block List are some of its other features.
• You can also print a DWG drawing.
• It allows you to convert DWG to SVG, PDF, DXF, PNG, JPG, BMP, TIFF, ICO, and more file formats.

Additional Features:

Apart from already available features, you can further enhance its functionality using external Plugins.

Conclsuion:

It is a great open source DWG viewer software that also lets you edit and convert DWG files to other formats.

FreeCAD

FreeCAD is another free open source DWG viewer for Windows, Mac, and Linux. It is a popular 2D and 3D CAD software that lets you view multiple 2D and 3D models including DWG. Other than DWG, you can also view DXF, 3DS, OBJ, PLY, DAE, WRL, STL, and more files. Not just viewing, you can also create new models or edit existing ones. It provides an extensive set of designing and viewing features to work with 2D and 3D models. Additionally, you can also convert DWG files to other formats using it.

To be able to view DWG files in this software, you need to use an external plugin. You can download the plugin from here and install it on your system. After installing this plugin, launch FreeCAD and then go to Edit > Preferences and then to Import-Export > DWG section. Now, in the “Path to Teigha File Converter” field, enter the path to this installed plugin. You can now restart FreeCAD and start viewing DWG files.

Now, let us have a look at its key features.

Main Features:

• You get muiltple draw styles to view a DWG file like normal, flat lines, shaded, wireframe, points, hidden line, no shading, etc.
• It provides various view modes to visualize DWG files, such as orthographic, axonometric, fullscreen, top, front, right, rear, left, bottom, etc.
• It lets you measure distance in a DWG model.
• You can also freeze view of a DWG file to view that part properly.
• Standard tools like zoom, rotate, pan, and more to analyze DWG files.
• You can view individual elements and properties of a DWG file.
• Apart from above listed features, it also contains functions like Appearance, Stereo, Clipping Plane, Scene Inspector, Toggle Visibility, etc.

Additional Features:

• You can find different workbenches in it to create specific kinds of models, like Ship, Raytracing, Part Design, Mesh Design, Robot, Ship, Architecture, etc.
• It lets you convert DWG to DXF, PDF, and various 2D images.

Conclusion:

It is another powerful open source DWG viewer that lets you view a DWG model using an extenal plugin.

SolveSpace

SolveSpace is yet another open source DWG viewer software for Windows. It is also a 3D and 2D CAD software using which you can visualize DWG file. You can also view DXF models in it. It also lets you edit DWG file using various design tools using its Sketch and Constrains menus. You can also convert DWG to several other file formats like PDF, DXF, EPS, SVG, GCODE, STEP, etc.

Main Features:

• All basic viewing functions like zoom in, zoom out, zoom to fit, fullscreen mode, and more to view DWG file.
• Align view to workspace, nearest ortho view, center view at point, use perspective projection, etc., are some other features of this open source DWG viewer.
• To analyze a model, it provides different measuring features, show interfering parts, show naked edges, tace point, step dimension, and more functions.
• You can also view properties of a DWG file using its Property Browser.

Conclusion:

It is a simple yet useful open source CAD software in which you can import and view DWG files.