Someone Sent You a DWG and You Don’t Have AutoCAD. Here’s How to Get It Printed.
A .dwg is AutoCAD’s drawing file. Print shops work from PDFs, so a DWG has to become a PDF before anyone can plot it on paper. That includes us. You don’t need to buy AutoCAD for that. Autodesk’s own support article says: “Autodesk provides a freeware viewer program called DWG TrueView. In addition to opening DWG files, the software can also be used for plotting, creating PDFs, and converting from one DWG format to another.”
Before you install anything, though, try the easy route.
First, ask for the PDF
Whoever drew the plans already has AutoCAD and set up the sheets. A one-line email gets you a PDF made with their own settings:
Could you send the full set as a PDF at full sheet size (for example 24×36), plotted at 1:1 from the layouts?
If they can’t or won’t, or it’s the weekend and the permit counter opens Monday, keep reading.
What DWG TrueView is, and what it isn’t
- Windows only. Autodesk’s viewers page lists DWG TrueView’s platform as Windows. On a Mac, see the FAQ below.
- Free. No AutoCAD license needed. Autodesk’s support site says it can be used offline without signing in.
- A viewer, not an editor. Per the TrueView 2027 Help: “DWG TrueView is limited to viewing, publishing, and converting DWGs. You cannot use it to change or save drawing files.” If a dimension is wrong or a sheet is missing, only the designer can fix it. We print plans; we don’t design them, so we can’t fix it either.
- You don’t need to know AutoCAD. Autodesk says so, adding that “it is helpful to understand how AutoCAD Layers work, and how to use the page setup, plotting, and publishing dialog boxes.” The next section covers the parts that matter for a print.
Plot from a layout tab, not the Model tab
Open the DWG and look along the bottom-left of the drawing area. You’ll see a Model tab and usually one or more layout tabs, often named after sheet numbers.
That difference matters more than any other setting. Autodesk’s plotting overview explains: “Elements that appear only on a plotted page, such as title blocks and notes, are drawn in paper space in a layout.” The Model tab holds the building itself, with no sheet around it.
A layout is already set up as a page. Autodesk: “In a layout, you work with two scales. The first affects the overall layout of the drawing, which usually is scaled 1:1, based on the paper size. The second is the scale of the model itself, which is displayed in layout viewports.” The designer set that second scale. Plot the layout at 1:1 and the 1/4-inch details stay 1/4-inch.
If the file has no layouts, only the Model tab, you’ll have to supply a scale yourself, and you need to know what it should be. Ask the sender. The FAQ explains why “Fit to Paper” is the wrong answer for anything someone will measure.
One sheet: the Plot dialog
These steps follow TrueView’s “Plot Adobe PDF Files” help page:
- Click the layout tab you want.
- Go to Home tab > Output panel > Plot.
- Under Printer/Plotter, in the Name box, choose a PDF configuration. Autodesk’s PDF Preset Reference describes AutoCAD PDF (High Quality Print).pc3 as one that “Produces a PDF file optimized for printing on paper.” That’s the one to use for a print shop. The older DWG to PDF.pc3 is listed as the “General purpose driver used in AutoCAD 2015 and earlier.”
- Under Paper Size, pick the sheet the title block was drawn for, such as 24 x 36. If a page setup came with the layout, it may already be filled in. Autodesk notes that “The list of paper sizes depends on the printer or plotter that you have selected.”
- Under Plot Area, leave Layout. For a layout, Autodesk says it “plots everything within the printable area of the specified paper size, with the origin calculated from 0,0 in the layout.”
- Under Plot Scale, use 1:1. Autodesk lets you “choose from a list of real-world scales, enter your own scale, or select Fit to Paper.” On a layout, Fit to Paper isn’t offered anyway: “This option is not available when the Plot Area is set to Layout.”
- Click OK, choose where to save, and click Save.
The whole set: Export PDF
For a set with many layout tabs, Autodesk’s “Export PDF Files” page has a faster route. Click any layout tab, then go to the Application menu > Export > PDF. In the Export drop-down, select All Layouts, check the preset under Current Settings, and save. Every layout lands in one multi-page PDF.
To export only some sheets, Ctrl-click their tabs, right-click, choose Publish Selected Layouts, set Publish To to PDF, and decide whether you want one file. Autodesk: “To generate a multi-page PDF file, select Multi-sheet file.”
Black and white or color
Under Plot Style Table (Pen Assignments), the drawing’s plot style decides how its colored layers come out. One of TrueView’s predefined tables, monochrome.ctb, “Plots all colors as black.” Two catches:
- Autodesk says, “You can assign a color-dependent plot style table to a layout only if the drawing was originally set to use color-dependent plot style tables.” Some drawings use named styles instead.
- The Plot with Plot Styles option has to be on for any table to apply. If it’s off, Autodesk says “objects are plotted with their assigned properties and not with the plot style overrides.”
If the PDF comes out in color and you only need black and white, you don’t have to fix it. Order it in black and white at $1.95 a sheet and we print it that way.
Check the PDF before you upload it
TrueView’s help is frank that a PDF won’t always match a paper plot. For example, “if the PDF drawing uses fonts that are not available in a PDF viewer, the PDF viewer uses a substitute font.” Viewports with a 3D visual style “are converted to raster images,” so rendered views may look softer than linework.
Then confirm the file:
- Run it through our PDF page size checker. Every page should match its title block, for example 24 x 36.
- Find a dimension or scale bar and measure it in your PDF viewer at 100%.
- Use our print-ready PDF checklist for sheet order and blank pages.
FAQ
Can I use Fit to Paper if I plot from the Model tab?
Only for a rough look. Autodesk positions it for review: “When you review drafts, a precise scale is not always important.” Fit to Paper picks whatever ratio fills the sheet, so the result rarely lands on a standard scale. A contractor or plan reviewer measuring the print would get wrong numbers.
I’m on a Mac. What now?
Autodesk lists DWG TrueView for Windows only. The simplest fix is still to ask the sender for a PDF. Failing that, use any Windows PC to run TrueView. We didn’t find an Autodesk page confirming that its browser tools make print-ready PDFs, so we can’t recommend them for this.
Does TrueView change the DWG when I plot?
No. Autodesk says you “cannot use it to change or save drawing files.” Autodesk lists converting DWG files “forward and backward” between versions as a separate feature, and you would have to run it on purpose.
I already have AutoCAD. Is this guide for me?
Not really. Our guide to exporting PDFs from AutoCAD and Revit goes deeper into plot settings in the full program.
Printing it
Once the PDF checks out, upload it. We print every page at the size it’s drawn, from 18×24 up to 36×48, including our most common sheet, 24×36. Black and white is $1.95 per sheet and color is $3.75, at any size, with no minimum. Order by 3 PM ET, ships same day, arrives as soon as the next day.
AutoCAD, DWG TrueView and DWG are trademarks or registered trademarks of Autodesk, Inc. Print My Plans is not affiliated with Autodesk. Steps reflect the DWG TrueView 2027 Help and Autodesk support pages as checked on Oct 19, 2026.
