DWG viewer?

[keelay711]

My department's current dilemma:

The drafters are working on 2005, which can save down only so far. Some of our engineers still have versions of 98 LT. They don't need to edit or markup the drawings in any way. They only need to be able to view and print them, as in a read-only style. Since DWG format is proprietary, I have not found a 3rd party viewer which can accurately view the DWG files. Does anyone know ANY software which can satisfy this task, short of buying more CAD licenses? (The department budget is "strained" as it is)

Thank you for any help or tips you can give.

[JASONM30395]

have your drafters plot a DWF for the engineers.

[Glenn Pope]

Check out these threads.
2005 DWG viewer (http://forums.augi.com/showthread.php?t=4675)

free cad viewer (http://forums.augi.com/showthread.php?t=6495)

[Brian Myers]

This might be a little overkill, but two programs I've recommended in the past are:

Free AutoCAD Viewer
Brava! Desktop (Standard Version) ($200)

Both can be downloaded here:
http://www.infograph.com/products/dwgviewer/

Brava! Desktop works for the latest version of AutoCAD and can print and view multiple file types.
Free AutoCAD Viewer is good, but it can't print or measure. You can either upgrade to Brava! Desktop or pay an annual $29 fee to get print / measure capabilities.

Another good program on the site is the Brava! Reader. I use it to view oversized (24x36) PDF files and it's free!

So I would recommend Brava! Desktop... it costs a little money, but for it's functionality and ability to read just about any version of a DWG file it might be your best bet. You can download a free trial from here: http://www.infograph.com/products.htm