Extract text from Drawing standards files (DWS)
To convert DWS Standards files to another format, you need AutoCAD or other Cad software.
To convert other file formats to the "Drawing Standards File" file type, you need software like AutoCAD or a similar tool.
The .DWS file extension primarily acts as an AutoCAD Drawing Standards File. Developed by Autodesk, this format is used to enforce CAD standards across multiple drafting projects. It stores specific properties for layers, dimension styles, linetypes, and text styles. Drafters use the CAD Standards checker feature within AutoCAD to audit standard DWG drawing files against the rules stored in a .DWS file.
The main disadvantage of the .DWS format is its highly proprietary and closed nature. You cannot open or utilize the standards logic without an expensive, active Autodesk subscription. It is not supported by standard web browsers or generic image viewers, making it difficult to share drafting guidelines with external contractors who do not use the same software ecosystem. In rare cases, a .DWS file might also belong to the Klaes software suite as a Window construction project file, or act as an Adobe Dreamweaver Site Cache file.
Because this is a proprietary format, standard online converters often fail to process it. For CAD files, the best conversion targets are DWG or DXF to inspect the geometric and textual standards directly. Converting to PDF provides a universal visual reference, though the mathematical CAD logic will be lost. Our analyzer can inspect the file and show embedded text or metadata, helping you work around these artificial software limitations.
Convert.Guru analyzes your DWS file, detects the exact format, and lets you read the text inside.
Users also converted DWG, DWF, PDF, BAK, SIG, PNG, FRW, NWD, CDW, JPG, DAT, RPT and ZIP files.
If you want to convert DWS file to DWG, DXF, DGN, RVT, RFA, SKP, 3DM, STEP, IGES, SAT, X_T or X_B, you can use AutoCAD or similar software from the "CAD Standards Auditing Storage" category. In the File menu, look for Save As… or Export….
To convert SLDASM, DGN, PRT, IAM, X_B, CATPRODUCT, SLDPRT, RVT, ASM, DWG, CATPART or DXF files to DWS, try AutoCAD or another comparable tool in the "CAD Standards Auditing Storage" category.
The history of Convert.Guru began over 25 years ago in California with Tom Simondi’s file-format database. A former contributor to Space Shuttle development and a software pioneer of the 1980s, Simondi established a trusted resource for file type analysis that was even referenced by Microsoft Windows XP. Today, we use modern technology to process and convert thousands of file formats while continually improving our DWS converter.