What is a DWF file?

A DWF file (Design Web Format) is a compressed, read-only package that Autodesk programs publish from a drawing so that others can view, print and mark it up without CAD software. Think of it as Autodesk's own PDF for drawings. DWFX is the newer variant built on Microsoft's XPS container. Note that this viewer opens DWG and DXF but not DWF; the readers that do are listed below.

DWF format: a published copy, not a drawing

The meaning of DWF is Design Web Format. Autodesk created it in the 1990s to put drawings on the web at a time when a DWG was too heavy and too editable to send to a client. A DWF is produced by plotting or publishing: AutoCAD's PLOT command with the "DWF6 ePlot" driver, or PUBLISH for a whole sheet set. The output is what the plot would have looked like on paper, with the layers, scale and plot styles already applied, plus enough structure to zoom, measure and toggle layers in a viewer.

Who uses it: contractors and clients who need to review drawings, reviewers who add markups in Autodesk Design Review and send them back, and project teams that want a lightweight, non-editable record of a drawing set. The important point is that a DWF is not a drawing file. You cannot open it in AutoCAD and keep editing, and the original DWG has to be re-published every time the design changes. The DWF vs DWG page goes through this in detail.

DWF vs DWFX: what is inside the file

Since version 6, a .dwf is a ZIP archive (rename it to .zip and you can look inside). It contains one or more sheets (2D plots stored as compressed vector streams), optional 3D models exported from Inventor, Revit or AutoCAD 3D, embedded fonts and images, markup layers, and an XML manifest with sheet names, scales and properties. A multi-sheet DWF from PUBLISH is a complete drawing set in one file.

A .dwfx is the same idea on Microsoft's Open Packaging Conventions, the ZIP-of-XML container also used by XPS and DOCX. Autodesk introduced it with AutoCAD 2008 so that Windows could preview the file natively: a DWFX opens in the built-in XPS Viewer on Windows without any Autodesk software. Both formats are read-only by design; the only "editing" that exists is adding markups on top.

How to open a DWF file

This viewer does not open DWF or DWFX yet; it reads DWG and DXF only. Use one of these instead:

• Autodesk Design Review (Windows, free): the reference DWF reader, with measuring, markups, printing and batch printing. Autodesk no longer develops it, but it still downloads and runs.
• Autodesk Viewer online: upload the DWF to your Autodesk account and view it in a browser on any OS.
• Windows XPS Viewer: opens .dwfx (not .dwf) with zoom and print, no install.
• AutoCAD: attach a DWF as an underlay with DWFATTACH to trace over it; this does not turn it back into editable geometry.

Platform-specific steps are in how to open a DWF file, and a comparison of readers is on the DWF viewer page.

How to create, combine and convert DWF files

Create: in AutoCAD, run PLOT and pick DWF6 ePlot.pc3 or DWFx ePlot (XPS Compatible).pc3 as the printer, or run PUBLISH, select the layouts, and choose DWF or DWFx as the output. Inventor and Revit have Export to DWF commands. See DWG to DWF.

Combine: PUBLISH writes several layouts into one multi-sheet DWF. To merge existing files, open them in Autodesk Design Review and drag sheets from one file's list into the other, then save.

Convert: DWF to PDF is a print job from Design Review or the Autodesk Viewer to a PDF printer; it keeps vectors. DWF to DWG has no exact path, because the DWF only stores the plotted result; converters rebuild lines and text approximately, and block structure, dimensions and most layer logic are lost. If you need the editable file, ask for the DWG.

Frequently asked questions