Convert DWG to PDF online
Drop the DWG file below, click Export, then PDF, and you get a vector PDF of the drawing: lines stay lines, not pixels, so the page zooms without blur. You pick the area, the whole drawing or a rectangle, and the page is sized to fit it. Nothing is uploaded: the file is converted inside your browser tab and never leaves your computer.
How to convert DWG to PDF without AutoCAD
You do not need AutoCAD, an account, or an install. The viewer reads AutoCAD R14 through 2018+ DWG files (the file is converted to DXF on your device with LibreDWG compiled to WebAssembly) and renders them with WebGL. Then one click writes the PDF.
- Drag the .dwg file onto the drop zone above, or click it and choose the file. The first DWG of a session also downloads a 9 MB rendering module once; a typical 1–20 MB drawing opens in 1–10 seconds on a laptop.
- Check the drawing. Use the layers panel to hide anything you do not want in the PDF (hidden layers are left out), and Fit to drawing to confirm that the whole sheet is there.
- Click Export and choose PDF, then select the area: drag a rectangle over the part you want, or take the whole drawing.
- The browser saves a .pdf file with the selected area fit to a white page.
- Prefer paper or a specific printer? Use Print instead; it opens the normal browser print dialog, where “Save as PDF” is also available.
If the file does not open, it is usually one of three things: an R12 or older DWG (not supported), a file over 60 MB (conversion is skipped to protect browser memory), or a file that is not really a DWG. See why a DWG file will not open for the checks.
What the PDF keeps and what it does not
A PDF is a drawing of the drawing, not a copy of it. Knowing what survives the trip saves a second round.
| Element | In the PDF from the viewer | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Lines, arcs, circles, polylines | Kept as vectors | PDF has native path objects; nothing is rasterized |
| Layers | Flattened into one picture; hidden layers are left out, visible ones cannot be toggled later | The export writes what is drawn, not the layer table. AutoCAD can write PDF layers (see below) |
| Text in SHX fonts | Substituted with a regular font | SHX are AutoCAD stroke fonts that live outside the DWG; a browser cannot load them |
| Line weights and plot styles | Not applied like a CTB/STB plot | Plot styles are a plotting feature of CAD software, not part of the geometry |
| Colors | Real layer colors on a white page, whatever theme is on screen | The export does not use the dark/light screen theme; white or yellow lines drawn for a black CAD screen will be faint |
| Paper-space layouts, title blocks | Not plotted as separate sheets | The viewer renders the model; layout sheets are a CAD plotting job |
For the layer logic behind this, see how layers work in a DWG. If the goal is a file that other people will open and inspect rather than print, keeping the original DWG next to the PDF is often the better answer; DWG vs PDF compares the two.
Page size and scale
The PDF from the viewer is fit to page, and the page is custom: its proportions follow the area you selected, the longest side is 1500 pt (about 53 cm), and there is an 18 pt margin around the drawing. It is not an A4, A3, or ANSI sheet, so print it with “fit to paper” in the PDF reader. That is what most people want for sharing, reviewing, or attaching to an email.
It is not what you want for a drawing that must measure true on paper. Plotting to a stated scale, such as 1:50 on A1 or 1/4″=1′-0″ on ANSI D, means picking a sheet, a viewport, and a plot scale, and that is a CAD operation. Use AutoCAD, DWG TrueView, or LibreCAD for that (details below). A sanity check for any scaled PDF: measure a known dimension on the printed sheet with a scale ruler before trusting it.
If you only need numbers, not paper, the viewer can measure the distance between two points on screen; that is often faster than plotting at all.
Other ways to save a DWG as PDF
Different tools suit different jobs. None of these are wrong; pick by what you have installed and what the PDF has to carry.
| Tool | How | Good for |
|---|---|---|
| AutoCAD / AutoCAD LT | PLOT with the “DWG To PDF.pc3” plotter, or EXPORTPDF. The PDF options let you include layer information, choose the sheet, scale, and plot style. | Scaled sheets, PDF layers, line weights |
| Autodesk DWG TrueView | Free download for Windows; same plot dialog as AutoCAD, no editing. | Office PCs without an AutoCAD license |
| Autodesk Viewer (web) | Upload the DWG to Autodesk's cloud, then print or share. | When uploading is acceptable and you need markups |
| LibreCAD (open source) | Convert DWG to DXF first (how), then File → Print Preview sets the scale, then print to PDF. | Linux, scaled prints without Autodesk software |
| This viewer | Export → PDF, nothing uploaded. | Quick review copy, no install, private files |
Command-line options exist too: QCAD Professional ships dwg2pdf, and in Python the ezdxf drawing add-on renders a DXF through matplotlib, where savefig can write PDF. Because both read DXF more reliably than DWG, converting with the free ODA File Converter first is the usual pipeline.
Batch convert DWG files to PDF
The viewer handles one drawing at a time. For a folder of files there are three practical routes.
- AutoCAD PUBLISH (or the Batch Plot in DWG TrueView): add all drawings and layouts, set the output to PDF, run once. This is the only route that keeps plot styles and scales per sheet.
- Script it: an AutoCAD .scr file that opens each drawing and runs
-EXPORT, or a Python loop overezdxfplus matplotlib for DXF input. - Drop them one by one here when the batch is five files, not five hundred. Each export is a click, and nothing goes to a server, which matters for drawings under NDA.
Going the other way, from a PDF back to an editable drawing, is a different problem that needs vectorization; see PDF to DWG.
Frequently asked questions
How do I save an AutoCAD file as a PDF?
In AutoCAD, type EXPORTPDF or use PLOT with the DWG To PDF.pc3 plotter and pick a sheet size and scale. Without AutoCAD, open the DWG in the viewer above and click Export, then PDF.
How to convert a DWG to PDF without AutoCAD?
Open the DWG in a browser viewer like this one and export the PDF; or install the free Autodesk DWG TrueView and use its plot dialog; or convert to DXF and print from LibreCAD.
Can I convert DWG to PDF with layers?
Not from the viewer: its PDF is flattened. AutoCAD's PDF export has an “Include layer information” option that writes PDF layers you can toggle in Acrobat.
Is the DWG to PDF converter free?
Yes. No sign-up, no install, no watermark. The file is read by JavaScript in your browser tab and is never uploaded.
Will the PDF be to scale?
No. The viewer fits the selected area to a custom page (longest side 1500 pt). For a PDF that measures true at 1:50 or 1/4″=1′, plot from CAD software with an explicit scale.
How do I change a CAD file to PDF on a Mac?
The viewer runs in Safari, Chrome, or Firefox on macOS, so open the file and export. The macOS print dialog can also save any printed page as PDF.