eDrawings Viewer — The Complete Guide: Viewing SOLIDWORKS and DWG Files Without a CAD Licence
A supplier sent a SOLIDWORKS assembly and you have no licence? eDrawings Viewer from Dassault Systèmes opens SOLIDWORKS parts, assemblies and drawings, eDrawings files and DWG and DXF files, and lets you rotate, zoom and inspect them. There are versions for Windows, macOS and mobile.
eDrawings Viewer
Dassault Systèmes SOLIDWORKS
Free viewer for SOLIDWORKS, eDrawings and DWG/DXF files — for reviewing parts, assemblies and drawings without CAD software.
Get it from the vendorWhat you get
- Native files — opening SOLIDWORKS parts, assemblies and drawings directly.
- DWG and DXF — viewing 2D drawings.
- Model inspection — rotating, zooming and moving between assembly components.
- Save to other formats — on desktop, for sharing with people who lack the viewer.
- Augmented reality — placing the model in the room on the mobile versions.
What is free and what is not
The Viewer edition is free for Windows, macOS and mobile. The paid eDrawings Professional adds VR and save-as-HTML, and on mobile also measuring, markup and dynamic cross-sections. In every case it is a viewer only: you cannot edit geometry. For editing you need CAD software.
Related tools
For viewing in the browser with no install — Online 3D Viewer. For Autodesk files and many other formats in the cloud — Autodesk Viewer. For neutral formats such as STEP and IGES with conversion — CAD Assistant.
Online 3D Viewer
Online 3D Viewer project
Open STEP, IGES, IFC, STL, OBJ and more in the browser — files are processed locally, not uploaded to a server.
Get it from the vendor
Autodesk Viewer
Autodesk
A free online viewer for more than 80 formats — DWG, RVT, IPT, STEP, SOLIDWORKS and more, right in the browser.
Get it from the vendor
CAD Assistant
Open Cascade SAS
Free viewer and converter for STEP, IGES, BREP, glTF, STL and OBJ files, built on the OpenCascade kernel, commercial use included.
Get it from the vendor
F3D
F3D-APP Foundation
Fast, minimalist 3D viewer — STEP, STL, OBJ, glTF and PLY, including thumbnails in the file manager.
Get it from the vendorThe bottom line
The simplest way to open SOLIDWORKS files without a licence. The Viewer edition covers most checks; measuring and markup on mobile need the paid edition.