Vector & CAD format

DWG format guide

The .dwg extension is AutoCAD's native drawing database, the working format in which much of the world's 2D and 3D CAD is actually authored. It is a dense proprietary binary that packs geometry, layouts, styles, and application data far more compactly than its DXF sibling.

Current availability

Format information only

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Where DWG comes from

DWG shares its 1982 birth with AutoCAD itself, and Autodesk has kept the specification closed ever since, revising the binary layout every few releases. The Open Design Alliance has reverse-engineered it continuously since the late 1990s — which is how nearly every non-Autodesk CAD product reads it — prompting Autodesk to add TrustedDWG watermarking to flag foreign-written files.

How DWG works

Proprietary binary database with per-release version codes (AC1015, AC1032, and so on) that determine compatibility.
Stores everything DXF can plus sheet layouts, plot settings, external references, and custom ObjectARX objects.
Considerably smaller than equivalent ASCII DXF because geometry is packed in binary streams.
Write support outside Autodesk comes almost exclusively through Open Design Alliance libraries.

When to use DWG

Native authoring in AutoCAD and ODA-based CAD systems
Architectural and engineering deliverables where contracts specify DWG
Long-lived drawing archives tied to construction and infrastructure projects

Strengths and limitations

Strengths

Compact storage of very large drawings
Preserves the complete drawing state including layouts and plot setup
De facto professional standard in architecture and civil engineering

Limitations

Closed specification means non-Autodesk implementations perpetually chase compatibility
Version churn forces save-as-older-release workarounds on mixed teams
Unreadable without CAD software, so everyone else needs a viewer or a conversion

Compatibility

AutoCAD and the wider Autodesk family are the reference implementations, and ODA-based products such as BricsCAD, ZWCAD, and DraftSight cover most versions faithfully. Free viewing is possible through Autodesk's web viewer and DWG TrueView on Windows, but browsers and general-purpose software cannot open the format, making DXF or PDF the standard export for exchange.

Drawing properties — title, subject, author, and custom fields — are stored in the file and surface through AutoCAD's summary info, alongside per-object extended entity data.