Why convert DWG to DWF?
DWF (Design Web Format) is Autodesk's lightweight publish format for sharing drawings with reviewers who should not edit the original geometry. Recipients can open it in a free viewer and add markups, but the CAD data cannot be extracted or modified. For most sharing scenarios PDF is now more practical since it requires no Autodesk-specific viewer.
How to convert DWG to DWF
DWG TrueView FREE
Open the .dwg in DWG TrueView, click Plot, and select DWF6 ePlot.pc3 as the printer. Choose the layout and paper size, click OK, and specify the output filename.
AutoCAD APP
Open the DWG, press Ctrl+P to open the Plot dialog, and select DWF6 ePlot.pc3 as the printer. Use File → Publish to batch-export multiple layouts or drawings into a single multi-sheet .dwf.
Programs that convert DWG
About these formats
.DWG
AutoCAD Drawing Database
A DWG file is a CAD drawing, the native format of Autodesk AutoCAD, usually an architectural plan or engineering design. To view, measure, or print one for free, use DWG TrueView (Windows),…
Open .DWG details →
.DWF
Design Web Format
A DWF (Design Web Format) file is a compressed, view-only published version of an AutoCAD or Autodesk design - essentially a PDF for CAD. Open it free in any browser using Autodesk Viewer,…
Open .DWF details →Quality & what to watch
- DWF output is read-only by design: geometry is embedded in a compressed, non-editable form and cannot be sent back for editing.
- AutoCAD's Publish command outputs all layouts or multiple DWGs into a single multi-sheet DWF; DWG TrueView's Plot handles one sheet at a time.
- DWF sharing has largely been superseded by PDF, which works on any device without Autodesk-specific software.
