The most significant was the ability of these applications to view a myriad of vector and raster file formats in addition to standard AutoCAD DWG drawing files. All the viewers tested here feature zoom and pan capabilities, and most let you turn drawing layers on and off to aid viewing. These capabilities, coupled with displaying files without the creation software, make even the simplest of viewers effective management and communications tools for those who must comment on designs, but are not directly involved in cre ating and editing them. Several applications either are in the process of being updated or haven't been updated yet, so they don't appear in this roundup. In all, we reviewed eight products, ranging from relatively simple drawing viewers to rather comprehensive data management applications with viewing functions.
Most companies offer free downloadable demos of their viewers.
Viewers that use the Internet continue to evolve. Unfortunately, these terms are used loosely, without any universally agreed-upon meaning. Such terms may mean only that the program includes a link in a Help file that takes you to a home page on the Internet. All rights reserved.