autocad is so expensive is there a good alternative to autocad in linux that
can read native dwg file???

The short answer is no. AutoCadd is a gui database front end for their own propriatary data base--dwg. DXF is also owned by autoCadd. They release info for dxf, but dxf is very limited. No program works well with dwg, it is ilegal to reverse engineer dwg.

Autodesk makes Microsoft look like sweetharts--they have the drafting world by the balls.

One alternative is autocadd LT--around 300 $ us. Has no 3d--good for drafting,

The really sad thing is that autocad has no port for linux/unix--autocad got started in unix and now they dont support it.

Autocadd also has 7 different versions (maybe more) of dwg database--every new version of autocad gets an "updated" one that is not backward compatible with the previous versions. (so if you have the newst version of autocad 2004--autocad 2002 cannot read your files--you have to "save as" 2002 dwg)

Also dont even think about warez--they encode (in multiple ways) your serial number in every drawing database--they catch you they dont just give a little slap on the wrist. Local autocad dealers are always on the lookout for warez, the dealers are usually ploting services.

Think of all the power they have, EVERYTHING that is manufactured or is a construction project is drawn on autocadd. Makes me ill.

Anyway enough ranting---If you find an acceptable alternative please post it.


I use autocad everyday.

Varicad and Linuxcad are alternatives - neither are free and I haven't used either one, so I can vouch for how good they are.

I've given VariCAD a whirl. Like XavierP said, it's not free, so I only had a 15-day trial that came with Mandrake Powerpack. It can read AutoCAD 2000 format dwg files. It seems to have a lot of the functionality of big-time CAD drafting/modelling programs, but the interface is kind of difficult to find your way around, especially if you only take half an hour like I did. I think it costs around $450, which is not bad for a full-featured CAD program. flashingcurser, I agree. I use AutoCAD every day, all day, but I'm definitely looking for alternatives. MS is a joke compared to Autodesk.

There are a number of 2D and 3D CAD apps for Linux. LinuxCAD claims to be most like AutoCAD, including support for AutoCAD formats. There's also Cycas, Octree, GraphiteOne, and several others. Most are commercial - 150 to 400 USD. Octree and GraphiteOne are free for non-commercial use. Licenses for commercial use depend on the number of workstations you want to license. Just fire up Google, and run a search on "linux cad", with quotes. Then start researching the offerings.

Thanks, bigrigdriver. I quickly checked them out, and I think I'll try out Cycas tomorrow.

QCad is another one (if it wasn't already mentioned) and VariCad is worth every penny in Gold. It's a good Cad program. I actually bought the retail version and i use it every day professionally. It has some good features. But forget about importing any useful 3d files or any graphical images as backgrounds. But all and all, VariCad rocks - and for the price when compared to AutoCad light or Bentley (which has a unix build out there for MicroStation) - and it runs in linux perfectly with OpenGL!

Just thought i'd throw my 1/2 cent in there sense i do use it.

Edit** - i found this link a while ago.....it's pretty good.
http://www.tech-edv.co.at/lunix/CADlinks.html