Frequently Asked Questions

eDrawings software is a product design communication tool for sharing representations of both 2D drawings and 3D models. The electronic data format of eDrawings files is highly compressed to enable easy transmission via email. When viewed with the eDrawings Viewer, these files provide intelligent interpretation tools (3D Pointer, Virtual Folding, Animated Drawing Views) that help the recipient easily understand and navigate the data they receive. eDrawings files are created through the use of the eDrawings Publisher add-in, which works as a plug-in to many popular CAD products. Once created, an eDrawings file may be sent to anyone via email. To eliminate the frustrations normally associated with 2D and 3D design data, the viewer may be embedded directly in an eDrawings file. These files can immediately be viewed by anyone with a Windows operating system. No additional CAD software or viewers are required.

All versions of eDrawings can open eDrawings files (*.eprt, *.easm, *.edrw), SOLIDWORKS files (*.sldprt, *.sldasm, *.slddrw) files and DXF/DWG files. Additional file types can be opened on specific versions of eDrawings, please follow the operating-system specific links above for more details.

You can create eDrawings files from the following applications using the appropriate eDrawings Publisher application:

• SOLIDWORKS 2005 or later
• AutoCAD version R14.x, AutoCAD 2000, AutoCAD 2002, or AutoCAD 2004
• Pro/ENGINEER® 2001, Pro/ENGINEER® WildFire 1.0, 2.0, 3.0, 4.0 and 5.0
• CATIA V5 R14, R15, R16, R17, R18 & CATIA V5 R19
• Unigraphics: NX3, NX4, NX5, NX6 and NX7
• Autodesk Inventor 8, 9, 10, 11, 2008, 2009 and 2010
• Solid Edge® V17, V18, V19, V20, ST and ST2
• RapidFire Lite (View/Publish IGES, STEP & STL files)
• Sketchup (Free/ Professional) 5.0, 6.0 and 7.0

eDrawings Professional extends the functionality of eDrawings Viewer to include Virtual Reality and the ability to save as WebHTML format. The Virtual Reality feature allows customers to enter a virtual environment using their HTC Vive™ or Vive Pro™ headset and interact with their designs. The new eDrawings WebHTML format is an all-in-one format allowing customers to save their CAD data and the entire eDrawings Web application into a single HTML file. The HTML file can be viewed in any HTML5 enabled browser on any device with no installation required. Solidworks and eDrawings files can be saved as WebHTML.

eDrawings Viewer is a free product. The advanced collaboration capabilities of eDrawings Professional are available at additional cost.

To purchase eDrawings Professional please contact the SOLIDWORKS office nearest you, or call 800-693-9000 toll-free for more information. Outside the U.S. and Canada, please call +1-781-810-5011.

eDrawings for iOS and Android can be purchased from the App Store or Google Play store. Pricing may vary by region.

You can visit the Augmented Reality FAQ section for more information on this topic.

You can find more more on eDrawings API here.

You can view FAQs and get support for these eDrawings Publisher products here.

You can purchase and install eDrawings for Android from the Google Play App Store here.

Please refer to the product matrix here.

Yes, you can upgrade to eDrawings Pro by making an in-app purchase.

1. Launch eDrawings for Android.
2. Press the Menu icon (three dots).
3. Select Upgrade to Pro.

eDrawings for Android is compatible with Android phones and tablets running Android 10 or later.

Please refer to the instructions on the Google Play store here.

You can open eDrawings files (*.eprt, *.easm, *.edrw), SOLIDWORKS files (*.sldprt, *.sldasm, *.slddrw) files and DXF/DWG files in eDrawings for Android.

Simply select the file you wish to open in the Dropbox app, it should then open in the eDrawings app and will be added to the My Files area. Other cloud storage apps typically operate in a similar way.

You can open files attached to emails by following these steps:

1. Open the email in your email App.
2. Tap on the file attachment.
3. The file will open in eDrawings, and be added to the My Files area.

Note: files cannot be opened from within .zip files.

Yes, eDrawings 3.0.1 and onwards includes AR on Android devices.

You can email a marker to yourself from within the eDrawings App by following these steps:

1. Tap on the AR icon.
2. Tap Get Marker.
3. Tap Email and print this marker.

You can report problems on the Report a Problem page. Please try to include a detailed description of the problem. 

You can purchase and install eDrawings for iOS from the App Store here. eDrawings Pro can be purchased here.

Please refer to the product matrix here.

This is not currently possible.

eDrawings for iOS is compatible with iPhone, iPad and iPodtouch, running iOS 12 or later.

Apple® does not allow developers to process refunds directly. To start a refund request, please find the original email receipt when the app was purchased or find the purchase history in iTunes and click on the ‘Report a problem’ link.

You can open eDrawings files (*.eprt, *.easm, *.edrw), SOLIDWORKS files (*.sldprt, *.sldasm, *.slddrw) files, DXF, DWG, IGES, JT, STEP, IFC files in eDrawings for iOS.

Select the file you wish to open in the cloud storage app, then follow these steps:

1. Tap the Share icon in the top right.
2. Tap Open In...
3. Tap the Copy to eDrawings or Copy to eDrawings Pro icon

When you attempt to use Augmented Reality for the first time, you will be prompted to allow eDrawings to access the camera on your device. If you mistakenly select 'No', Augmented Reality will not be allowed to use the camera, hence it will not work. To enable the camera later:

1. Go to Settings of your iPhone or iPad.
2. Select the eDrawings or eDrawings Pro application.
3. Allow eDrawings to access the camera.

You can open files attached to emails by following these steps:

1. Open the email in the iOS Mail App.
2. Tap on the file attachment.
3. Tap the Copy to eDrawings or Copy to eDrawings Pro icon

Note: files cannot be opened from within .zip files.

When you attempt to use Augmented Reality for the first time, you will be prompted to allow eDrawings to access the camera on your device. If you mistakenly select 'No', Augmented Reality will not be allowed to use the camera, hence it will not work. To enable the camera later:

1. Go to Settings of your iPhone or iPad.
2. Select the eDrawings or eDrawings Pro application.
3. Allow eDrawings to access the camera.

You can email a marker to yourself from within the eDrawings App by following these steps:

1. Tap on the AR icon.
2. Tap Get Marker.
3. Tap Email and print this marker.

You can report problems on the Report a Problem page. Please try to include a detailed description of the problem.

You can download eDrawings Viewer for Mac here.

For the latest on OS support, please refer to the System Requirements page here.

eDrawings Professional is not available for Mac.

In OS X Lion v10.7.5 and newer, Gatekeeper may prevent the app from opening.
 

There are two ways to solve this:

• Open the app from its shortcut menu; see here for more information.
• Change your Gatekeep settings to allow apps downloaded from 'Anywhere' to launch; see here for more information.

You can open the following file types:

• SOLIDWORKS native files (.sldprt, .slddrw, .sldasm)
• eDrawings native files (.edrw, .eprt, .easm)
• DXF/DWG files (.dxf, .dwg)

eDrawings files (.eprt/.easm/.edrw) saved from SOLIDWORKS: the Okay to measure option must be enabled at the time the file was saved in SOLIDWORKS.

eDrawings files (.eprt/.easm/.edrw) 'Saved as' a copy from eDrawings: the Enable measure option must be checked at the time the file is saved in eDrawings. This option will only be available if the original file was measure-enabled.

SOLIDWORKS files (.sldprt/.sldasm/.slddrw):  only files last saved with a SOLIDWORKS Professional or Premium license can be measured in eDrawings Viewer. In eDrawings Professional, measure is available regardless of the SOLIDWORKS license used when saving the file.

Other files (.dxf/.dwg): measure cannot be enabled in these files on eDrawings Viewer for Mac. 

No, executable and .html eDrawings files can only be opened on Windows PCs since the file contains an embedded version of the eDrawings Viewer application.

You can report problems on the Report a Problem page. Please try to include a detailed description of the problem.

You can download eDrawings Viewer for Windows here.

For the latest on OS support, please refer to the System Requirements page here.

Chinese (traditional), Chinese (simplified), Czech, English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Polish, Portuguese-Brazilian, Russian and Spanish

Please refer to the product matrix here.

eDrawings 2015 Special Edition (SE) is available, as a one-time release, for 32-bit versions of Windows. You can download this version of eDrawings from the 'FREE CAD TOOLS' section on the SOLIDWORKS downloads page. This special eDrawings version is the last version which runs on 32-bit operating system. eDrawings 2016 or newer will work only on a 64 bit operating system.

You can open the following file types:

• SOLIDWORKS native files and templates (.sldprt, .slddrw, .sldasm, .prtdot, .drwdot and .asmdot)
• eDrawings native files (.edrw, .eprt, .easm, .edrwx, .eprtx, .easmx)
• DXF/DWG files (.dxf, .dwg)
• ProEngineer files (.prt, .prt., .xpr, .asm, .xas)
• 3DXML files (.3dxml)
• STL Files (.stl)
• CALS Files (.cal, .ct1)

eDrawings files (.eprt/.easm/.edrw) saved from SOLIDWORKS: the Okay to measure option must be enabled at the time the file was saved in SOLIDWORKS.

eDrawings files (.eprt/.easm/.edrw) 'Saved as' a copy from eDrawings: the Enable measure option must be checked at the time the file is saved in eDrawings. This option will only be available if the original file was measure-enabled.

SOLIDWORKS files (.sldprt/.sldasm/.slddrw):  only files last saved with a SOLIDWORKS Professional or Premium license can be measured in eDrawings Viewer. In eDrawings Professional, measure is available regardless of the SOLIDWORKS license used when saving the file.

Other files (.dxf/.dwg): measure cannot be enabled in these files on eDrawings Viewer for Mac. 

You can enable stereoscopic 3D views by following these steps:

1. Ensure your NVIDIA 3D Vision or 3D Vision Pro, Glasses and emitter are installed, and the NVIDIA Control Panel is showing that stereoscopic 3D is enabled.
2. Start the eDrawings application.
3. Select Tools > Options.
4. In the Options dialog box window, under Performance, enable Graphics boost.
5. Enable 3D Stereo Viewing.
6. Click OK.
7. Open a model in eDrawings, and click Perspective on the top nav. bar to turn on 3D viewing. Put on your glasses, and watch your SOLIDWORKS designs come to life!

Requirements: eDrawings version 2013 or later, NVIDIA Quadro Professional graphics card.

Save the eDrawings file as an HTML file and add an embedded web browser control to your PowerPoint presentation. You will need to enable macros in PowerPoint and set macro security to low or medium. (Tools->Macro->Security). In your eDrawings slide, you will need to add two items: the Microsoft Web Browser control and a button to activate it. Your button will typically set the URL of the web browser to the location of your eDrawings file.

No, you don't need to install any other software alongside eDrawings Viewer.

To minimize the impact of the larger viewer size and email virus filters, a ZIP and HTML option has been added to the File...Send command. This option does not embed the eDrawings Viewer in an executable file; instead it automatically downloads it from the Internet and embeds the eDrawings Viewer in a standard web page. Since the HTML file only contains the eDrawings file data and a small amount of HTML code, this results in a smaller file size than the original .EXE option.

If you send a review-enabled eDrawings file in either executable (.exe), masked executable (.ex) or HTML (.htm) format, the recipient is not required to install eDrawings Viewer to mark up a review-enabled eDrawings file.

To protect your design data, you can permanently disable the measure capability. Measure Enabled/ Disabled is a property of the eDrawings file. This attribute of the file is set when the eDrawings file is created.

You can report problems on the Report a Problem page. Please try to include a detailed description of the problem.

eDrawings for iOS and Android now includes Augmented Reality (AR). This allows users to view their SOLIDWORKS (or 3D design from many other CAD products) CAD designs in the real world. They simply activate the device’s camera and moments later, on the device’s screen, they can see their virtual design sitting on their desk or conference room table. This is a dynamic experience where the user can use their mobile device as a portal to view their model in their current environment and move around the room to see it from any perspective.

AR is a technology which “augments” a live video feed by digitally adding information, graphics, or in our case, 3D models. The digital items are added to the video in such a way that they look like they truly exist in the real world.

A very popular example is the first-down marker shown on the field during NFL broadcasts. The line of scrimmage and first-down line look like they exist on the field, and update from play to play. But they don’t exist on the field. They are digitally added in real-time as the broadcast is happening.

In eDrawings, we add the 3D model at full scale and render it with the correct perspective. This is done to provide an accurate perception of what the final product’s size and shape will truly be when the product is finally produced.

This product is for anyone involved in any stage of product design. Once a 3D model of a design is started, anyone in the process can view the model in the real world using their iOS or Android device and eDrawings. People who can use include:

• Product designers
• Engineers
• Product Managers
• Industrial designers
• Design detailers
• Manufacturing
• Sales
• Marketing
• And others

The primary benefit provided by AR is that it allows people to visually experience a 3D design in a real-world context. This can be done at any stage in the design process, even at the very beginning. A designer can spend minutes creating an initial design concept, and then moments later, have the design concept sitting on the table, placed next to real objects for visual comparison. This real world experience can be applied throughout the many steps of the design process.

Before this, product teams would need to wait for physical models to be made to get their first real world experience. This comes at both a financial and time cost, so physical models are typically produced intermittently when it is most prudent.

Design communication is a very important part of the product development process. There is a great deal of information, much of it very complex, which is constantly communicated throughout the process. Team members have varying levels of expertise, and can in turn, interpret information differently. Design communication challenges increase mistakes, along with development time and costs.

CAD has continually evolved to make designs easier to understand for everyone involved. 3D CAD makes a design more tangible, and easier to understand, than antiquated 2D blueprints. Now, AR continues this trend by being more tangible than just a 3D model viewed on a computer screen.

By seeing a design at full scale in the real world, we eliminate the opportunity to misinterpret a design’s size and scale. This is a common problem, even when working with 3D design tools.

The sooner everyone truly understands the design, the more confidently the design can progress with few mistakes, which means creating a better design faster.

eDrawings with AR will primarily be used when a product design is being reviewed or shared with others. Engineers will typically take their designs from SolidWorks and put them in AR when discussing with other people, such as other engineers, managers, customers, and so on.

This will be useful in one-on-one interactions, and in meetings, especially when attempting to convey scale and design intent to a user unfamiliar with the product design or its context.

Sales people can show off their products to prospects in a new and compelling way without having to travel with real physical products. And by using a tablet with eDrawings, the sales person can put their entire product line right on the customer’s conference table.

AR is an excellent complement to rapid prototyping.

AR allows a design to be visually experienced in the real world at any time in the design process, as many times as needed.

Rapid prototyping is typically done more sparingly due to cost and time, but it goes beyond just a visual experience. The models can be held, and in some instances physically tested. By using both technologies, design teams will get the best of both worlds.

Yes, there is value to AR beyond the initial “wow”. There is no denying that AR is a new and exciting technology in the design space, but its value-add goes further.

Many people involved in product design, including the person that does the design in 3D CAD, are surprised by the size and form of new designs when they see the first physical manifestation. This is a problem for any product, but especially for consumer products. AR provides that first real-world experience much sooner in the design process, thereby eliminating these undesirable (and costly) surprises later in the process.

Any 3D model that can be opened in eDrawings for iOS or Android can be viewed using AR.

eDrawings with AR has been specifically designed to make it effortless for 3D CAD users to get their 3D designs into augmented reality. Simply open the published file in eDrawings, and it is automatically rendered in the real-world at full scale for an accurate experience. There are no special settings that must be tweaked repeatedly to get a desired view. Just open and view.

eDrawings can directly read in eDrawings files published from the CAD systems listed earlier. It can also directly read in your SOLIDWORKS files.

Nothing further must be done to read in and view the 3D design; simply select the AR button and you should be on your way.

When a model is too big or too small, the scale functionality can be used to change the size of the model.

In the case of a model that is too large, if you want to keep 1:1 scale, the resolution of the camera may not be able to see the marker clearly enough. To get around this, try scaling up the size of the marker when you print it, and simply remember to scale the model down by the same amount to maintain 1:1 scale

YES! Using a single finger and sliding side-to-side will rotate the model as if it is on a turntable. You can also tumble the part with one finger by using more of an upward or downward direction when swiping. Dragging with two fingers will move the part on the table or surface. Two finger double tap and then hold on the third touch will allow you to raise the model off the ground. You can always bring the part back to its original location by selecting the Home button.

YES! Use the share button at the top of the page to share and save pictures without the toolbars in the way. Try using the freeze-frame function to freeze the screen and make small changes before selecting saving the image.

• Annotation (notes and symbols) of the AR image
• Cross-section – use your iOS or Android device to dynamically cut into the design to see inside
• Freeze background – have a prolonged AR experience without having to hold up your device the entire time.