Standard
For viewing, printing, annotating, and converting PDF, DWF, PLT/HPGL, CGM, Gerber, Excellon, and other technical formats.
Explore Standard →ViewCompanion Supported File Formats
Windows software for technical documents
View, print, annotate, compare, and convert technical drawings, CAD files, PDF documents, plotter files, and raster images. Compare format support across ViewCompanion Standard, Pro, and Premium.
ViewCompanion is available in three editions. All editions support widely used technical formats such as PDF, DWF, PLT, HPGL/2, CGM, Gerber, and Excellon. Pro adds raster and scanned-image formats, while Premium also adds support for 2D DWG and DXF files.
Choose the right ViewCompanion edition
Use this quick overview or consult the complete comparison table below.
Pro
Everything in Standard, plus TIFF, CALS, PNG, JPEG, WebP, and many other raster image and document formats.
Explore Pro →Premium
Everything in Pro, plus AutoCAD DWG and DXF support and the most comprehensive PDF and conversion toolset.
Explore Premium →Supported input file formats
The table shows which formats each edition can open. Supported files can be viewed, printed, annotated, and converted; available functions may vary by format.
Supported Not supported1 Additional software required
| Extension | Format | Standard | Pro | Premium |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| .AVIF | AVIF image | — | ✓ | ✓ |
| .BMP | Windows Bitmap | — | ✓ | ✓ |
| .CAL | CALS Type 1 and 2 | — | ✓ | ✓ |
| .CIT, .RGB, .RLE, .TG4 | Intergraph raster formats Type 9, 24, 27 and 65 | — | ✓ | ✓ |
| .CGM | Computer Graphics Metafile | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| .DCX | Multipage PCX | — | ✓ | ✓ |
| .DRL | Excellon drill format | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| .DWF, .DWFX | Autodesk Design Web Format (2D) | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| .DWG, .DXF | AutoCAD drawing format (2D) | — | — | ✓ |
| .ECW | Enhanced Compression Wavelet | — | ✓ | ✓ |
| .EMF, .EMZ | Enhanced Windows Metafile | — | ✓ | ✓ |
| .GBR, .GBX, .PHO | Gerber RS-274D and RS-274X | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| .GIF | Graphics Interchange Format | — | ✓ | ✓ |
| .HEIC | HEIC image format (also known as HEIF) | — | ✓ | ✓ |
| .IDW | Autodesk Inventor Drawing 1 | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| .JP2 | JPEG 2000 | — | ✓ | ✓ |
| .JPG, .JPEG | JPEG image | — | ✓ | ✓ |
| .JXL | JPEG XL | — | ✓ | ✓ |
| .PCX | PC Paintbrush | — | ✓ | ✓ |
| Adobe Portable Document Format | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | |
| .PLT, .HP2 | HPGL/2, KIPGL and HP-RTL plotter files | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| .PLT, .907 | Calcomp plotter files | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| .PNG | Portable Network Graphics | — | ✓ | ✓ |
| .PSD | Adobe Photoshop | — | ✓ | ✓ |
| .SFF | Structured File Format | — | ✓ | ✓ |
| .TG4 | EDMICS C4 Tiled Group 4 | — | ✓ | ✓ |
| .TGA | Truevision Targa | — | ✓ | ✓ |
| .TIF, .TIFF | Tagged Image File Format | — | ✓ | ✓ |
| .TXT | Plain text | — | ✓ | ✓ |
| .WEBP | WebP image | — | ✓ | ✓ |
| .WMF | Windows Metafile | — | ✓ | ✓ |
Note 1: Autodesk Inventor Drawing (IDW) support requires Autodesk Apprentice Server on the same computer. Download Autodesk Apprentice Server free of charge.
Additional document formats
With Microsoft Office or LibreOffice installed, ViewCompanion Pro and Premium can open and convert additional word-processing, spreadsheet, presentation, and drawing formats.
| Extension | Format | Standard | Pro | Premium |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| .DOC, .DOCX | Microsoft Word | — | ✓ | ✓ |
| .LWP | Lotus Word Pro 1 | — | ✓ | ✓ |
| .ODG | OpenDocument Graphics 1 | — | ✓ | ✓ |
| .ODP | OpenDocument Presentation 1 | — | ✓ | ✓ |
| .ODS | OpenDocument Spreadsheet | — | ✓ | ✓ |
| .ODT | OpenDocument Text | — | ✓ | ✓ |
| .PPT, .PPTX | Microsoft PowerPoint | — | ✓ | ✓ |
| .RTF | Rich Text Format | — | ✓ | ✓ |
| .VSD, .VSDX | Visio Drawing 1 | — | ✓ | ✓ |
| .WPD | WordPerfect 1 | — | ✓ | ✓ |
| .WPG | WordPerfect Graphics 1 | — | ✓ | ✓ |
| .XLS, .XLSX | Microsoft Excel | — | ✓ | ✓ |
Note 1: Formats marked with 1 require LibreOffice. Download LibreOffice, or learn how LibreOffice extends ViewCompanion format support.
Supported conversion output formats
Depending on the source format and ViewCompanion edition, files can be converted individually or in batches to a wide range of document, CAD, vector, plotter, and raster formats.
- PDF/A
- DWG
- DXF
- DWF
- SVG
- TIFF
- PNG
- JPEG
- WebP
- CGM
- Gerber
- HPGL/2
Frequently asked questions
Which ViewCompanion edition supports DWG and DXF?
ViewCompanion Premium supports opening, viewing, printing, annotating, and converting 2D DWG and DXF drawings. DWG and DXF input is not included in Standard or Pro.
Can ViewCompanion open TIFF and other raster images?
Yes. ViewCompanion Pro and Premium support TIFF, CALS, PNG, JPEG, WebP, BMP, and many other raster image formats. Standard does not support raster image input.
Can supported files be converted to PDF?
Yes. Supported input formats can be converted to PDF, either individually or with the batch conversion function. Other output formats are also available depending on the source format and edition.
Is Microsoft Office or LibreOffice required?
No additional application is required for ViewCompanion's native technical, CAD, PDF, plotter, and raster formats. Microsoft Office or LibreOffice is required only for the additional document formats shown in the second table.
Does ViewCompanion support 3D CAD files?
No. The DWG, DXF, and DWF support listed on this page is intended for 2D drawings and layouts.
Not sure which edition you need?
Choose Standard for common technical and plotter formats, Pro when you also need raster and scanned-image formats, or Premium when you need DWG and DXF support.
Only the most common file extensions are shown. Some formats may also use other extensions.