AutoCAD WS is an easy-to-use web application that allows you to work on your AutoCAD drawings from anywhere and with anyone. With AutoCAD WS you can view, edit, and share DWG™ files through a web browser or mobile device.

What can you do with AutoCAD WS?

• Upload DWG files directly from AutoCAD software to an online workspace.
• View and edit DWG files from anywhere, using just a web browser or mobile device.
• Invite design team members to review and edit DWG files online; no software required.
• Allow multiple people to work on the same DWG file online, in real time.
• Record changes to designs in a timeline for version control and auditing
• Store drawings and project related documents online, eliminating the need for redundant copies, backups, or archiving solutions.

It’s easy to get started!

Sign in or Create an Account

Go to AutoCAD WS . If you are a current Autodesk user, you don’t need to create an account, just use your existing credentials to sign in to AutoCAD WS.

Or, simply add your email and a password and click “Create an account.”

AutoCAD WS Overview

Once logged in to AutoCAD WS, you will see three options on the left side of your screen:

1. Messages - get updates on the latest activity in your network, such a new uploads and changes.
2. Drawings - manage and share files and folders in your online workspace.
3. Editor - edit and collaborate on AutoCAD drawings in an easy-to-use interface.

The different sections are accessible via the sidebar on the left of your screen.

Messages

The Messages section in AutoCAD WS displays recently updated drawings, messages and invitations you receive from your collaborators. Read notifications about new drawings which were shared with you, get updates about changes that were made in your drawings, and receive changes sent to you by colleagues for your review.

To view the contents of a message, simply click to open.

Drawings

In the Drawings section you can access and manage all drawings and files you imported, as well as drawings shared with you. The Drawings section supports three different view modes: small thumbnails of the drawing; large thumbnails; and list view. Files or folders which were shared with you or by you are marked with a “Shared” label.

New Folder. You can organize your drawings in folders. Click the “New Folder” icon in the toolbar, and give it a name. You can then drag files into the folder, or import files directly into it in using the Import command. Folders in AutoCAD WS are extremely useful if you are managing multiple files from one project. You can share a  folder with collaborators, which will share all of its contents. This is useful if you are working on the same project with other team members or outside consultants.

Upload Drawings. Click on the “Upload” button in the Drawings toolbar. Click “Browse” and locate and select the drawings or files you want to import to AutoCAD WS  from your desktop. You can select up to 10 files at a time. The drawings and files will be imported automatically. You can see the progress in the window.

Once your DWG files are uploaded to AutoCAD WS, they’ll be available to you from anywhere, just by logging in to your account. You can do this from any computer with a web browser and Internet access; you don’t need specialized software to view and edit your drawings.

You can also upload any other type of file. such as.zip, .doc and .pdf, under 15MB, but you won’t be able to view or edit these file formats online. This make it easy to use AutoCAD WS as a way to share project-related files to accelerate your work and save you some time.

* A note about security: your files are be stored on the Amazon platform that is compliant with the highest security standards. No one can access your files unless you share them.

Open. To open a drawing you imported to AutoCAD WS, select the drawing and then double-click, or click “Open” from the toolbar. You will now see your drawing in the built-in Editor. Only DWG files and image files can be opened in the Editor.

Share. You can share your drawings and files directly from within Drawings. Select the file you want to share, then click the “Share” button in the toolbar.

Download. Whenever you want to work on your drawing back in AutoCAD, you can download the drawing back to your computer. Simply select a drawing you want, then click on the “Download” button in the toolbar, and select a preferred format. You can download your drawing in any of the following formats:

• AutoCAD DWG 2004, 2007, 2010
• AutoCAD DXF 2004, 2007, 2010
• JPG
• PNG
• ZIP archive containing the drawing and any associated file references and resources (images, fonts, plot styles)

You can select multiple files and folders to download, in which case they will be packed together in a zip file. You can also download an open drawing directly from the Editor by clicking on the “Download” button in the Home tab and selecting a preferred DWG/DXF format.

Editor

In the Editor section you can view and edit drawings, and also collaborate on drawings with your colleagues and clients.

Try these basic navigation tips:

• Pan around the drawing by holding the middle mouse button and dragging, or by holding the space bar and dragging.
• Zoom in and out by turning the scroll wheel on your mouse, or with the zoom controls in the bottom toolbar of AutoCAD WS.
• Use the zoom toolbar for zoom extent and zoom window as well.

Draw and Edit. Tools in AutoCAD WS  function like as they do in AutoCAD. Most popular keyboard commands in AutoCAD also work in AutoCAD WS. For example; you can use tools such as Polyline, Zoom window, and Move in AutoCAD WS, and access them with their AutoCAD shortcuts: PL, Z and M/MOVE. Click here to see a full list of available shortcuts.

AutoCAD WS drawing tools are also easy for non-AutoCAD users. For example, you can draw a circle by clicking on the Circle tool, click on a point on the drawing, and drag the mouse until the desired circle is achieved.

Share. Sharing in AutoCAD WS allows you to grant access to your drawings to a colleague or client, without sending the files as attachments to emails. You have full control over whether your collaborators can edit the drawing, download it, or only view it. A key benefit of sharing is that you don’t have to worry about fonts, Xrefs and plot styles when you share. All you need to do is share the main DWG file, and the rest will work automatically for them.

You can share a drawing with anyone, regardless of whether or not they have an AutoCAD WS account.

When you click the “Share” button, a dialogue window will pop up, and allow you to enter the e-mail addresses of one or more individuals. Your collaborators will see your drawing in their Drawings section as well as a message in their Home section. They will also receive an e-mail notification that includes a url link to your drawing. Your recipients do not have to have an AutoCAD WS account to view what you have shared with them.

You can set permission control and determine whether the recipient can edit or download your drawings. You can change these permissions at any time. No one can access your drawings and files unless you invite them to collaborate with you.

AutoCAD WS also enables you to share a folder, making it easy to share multiple files with the same group of people. All content of a shared folder will always be synchronized between the collaborators of that share, making updating and adding projects very simple in the office. In other words, you can share folders in AutoCAD WS instead of an FTP server.

You can share many kinds of files, not just drawings. You can import a PDF, a raster image, a ZIP file or any other file. Sharing it in AutoCAD WS allows your collaborators to download it, reducing you dependence on FTP servers or file hosting services for sharing files with project team members.

Starting real-time collaboration. A real-time collaboration session is when two or more users are in the same drawing, sharing the exact same view. That means that if one user pans the view to the left, the other participants will see that pan. The same goes for zoom, layers, layouts, plot styles and more. During the session you even see the other participants’ mouse pointers, and every modification made to the drawing is shown live to the other participants.

To start real-time collaboration, simply share your drawing with others, then have your collaborators enter the drawing while you’re in it as well well. You can also chat in a real-time collaboration session using the “Chat” button.

Timeline. The timeline is a visual representation of the history of your drawing in AutoCAD WS. It lets you view previous versions and track all changes made by you and others to a drawing.

A version is added to the timeline when you save a version, when you import a drawing (after working on it in AutoCAD), and after every collaboration session.

• The black dots represent versions you import to AutoCAD WS (for example, if you modified a drawing in AutoCAD).
• The green dots represent real-time collaboration sessions.
• The green arrow indicates the version you are currently viewing.

Because AutoCAD WS is a web application, all the different versions are automatically saved on the AutoCAD WS server, so you don’t have to waste time by manually creating backups and copies.

Logging out of AutoCAD WS

To log out of AutoCAD WS, simply click on the “Sign out” link on the top-right corner of the screen.