A new free CAD file viewer doubles as a test platform for Open Design Alliance members.
The Open Design Alliance has released a free cross-platform viewer for AutoCAD DWG and MicroStation DGN files. The viewer is available on Windows, Linux and Mac OS.
ODA is the CAD industry consortium historically known for its reverse-engineering of the AutoCAD DWG format. It now seeks to be less contentious as it continues its mandate of delivering tools for CAD data exchange. More than 1,200 software developers, including most leading CAD companies except Autodesk, are members.
Teigha Viewer is based on release 3.4 of Teigha, the ODA’s new technology platform being used by members to develop technical graphics applications. Teigha Viewer is available for download by the general public as an executable, with ODA members getting additional access to the source code.
According to ODA Chief Technology Officer Neil Peterson, there were three goals in mind for Teigha Viewer. “First was to develop a cross-platform rendering application with a clean architecture that would demonstrate some of the major capabilities of the Teigha platform. Second, we wanted to create a replacement for the outdated LX-Viewer for the Linux community. Finally, Teigha Viewer can be used as a test container application for end-users who are building Teigha Extension (TX) modules via the ODA’s TX SDK.”
Teigha Viewer contains the following features:
- Load, save, and render DWG and DGN files
- Recover and audit damaged DWG files
- Zoom, pan, orbit, and select various preset 3D views
- Select an active layout via drawing window tabs
- Edit layer properties using the Layer Properties Manager (turn layers on/off, etc.)
- Use menu and command window interfaces
- Customize menus via .cui files
- Load Teigha Extension (TX) plug-ins on demand or explicity via user request
The ODA says print support will be added in a future release.
Teigha Viewer is available for the following platforms:
- Linux (OpenSUSE 11.2 x86)
- Mac OS/X (Leopard x86 10.5 or later)
- Windows (XP or later)
Teigha Viewer is available for public download at http://www.opendesign.com/guestfiles.
