Best DWG (AutoCAD) viewer?

Question

Level 4

1,896 points

Best DWG (AutoCAD) viewer?

Has anyone a good recommendation for a good DWG viewer? I am an architect and work with VectorWorks. It manages DWG files very good but I have to import, choose units, etc. A slow procedure.

There is a simpler viewer called "eDrawings" but it crashes constantly.

Has anyone here discovered a better alternative?

Thank you!

MacBook 2 Ghz White, Mac OS X (10.4.9), 2 Gb of RAM

Posted on Mar 22, 2007 9:31 AM

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Answer 1

sig

Level 8

35,862 points

Mar 22, 2007 10:22 AM in response to Hugo

Why not make PDF files for clients?

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Answer 2

Hugo Author

Level 4

1,896 points

Mar 23, 2007 8:18 AM in response to sig

I want it for myself to open fast DWG files coming from my clients. I do use PDFs for their reviews.

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Answer 3

sig

Level 8

35,862 points

Mar 23, 2007 5:26 PM in response to Hugo

Are you using the latest version of eDrawings Viewer? (2007)

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Answer 4

Hugo Author

Level 4

1,896 points

Mar 26, 2007 6:46 PM in response to sig

Yes, I have the latest one. Thanks to an email for eDrawing's support, I've been able to reduce the problem, checking "Use software Open GL" in the application preferences. Crashes are less frequent, but I still get frequent crashes and slow performance on both my MacBook and the office's iMac. If the DWG file has several megabytes, opening it's painfully slow.

I tried Microspot DWG viewer, but it is not free, and very slow to use, the wheel does not zoom, slow to pan, not a good tool.

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Answer 5

dfouch

Level 1

15 points

Mar 27, 2007 6:09 AM in response to Hugo

Have you tryed Microspot DWG Viewer? I haven't tryed it but it's another option.

http://www.macroenter.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=MIXDL&Click=1763

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Answer 6

Hugo Author

Level 4

1,896 points

Apr 6, 2007 10:48 AM in response to dfouch

Dfouch, thank you. I already tried it, but found it very slow to navigate and use. Importing the DWG files into VectorWorks is still my best option.

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