Click the "Select File" button above, and choose your IDW file.
You’ll see a preview, if available.
Click the "Convert file to..." button to extract text information.
Convert IDW to another file type
To convert IDW drawings to another format, you need Autodesk Inventor or other Cad software.
Convert a file to IDW
To convert other file formats to the "2D CAD Drawing" file type, you need software like Autodesk Inventor or a similar tool.
About IDW files
The .IDW file extension is a proprietary 2D drawing format created by Autodesk Inventor. Engineers and designers use it to create detailed, annotated manufacturing drawings derived from 3D part and assembly models. Internally, it relies on the Microsoft Compound File Binary Format to store complex relational CAD data. Opening an .IDW file usually requires a costly subscription to Autodesk Inventor or importing it into a competitor CAD package like SolidWorks. This makes the format a major bottleneck when sharing designs with clients, machinists, or external contractors who do not have specialized CAD software installed. They cannot view the files in a web browser or standard document viewer. To share these drawings efficiently, you must convert .IDW to universal formats like PDF for standard viewing, or DWG and DXF for cross-platform CAD compatibility. Because .IDW is a closed, highly complex proprietary format, standard online converters usually fail to process it. If our analysis detects a supported underlying or embedded format, viewing or conversion may still be possible.
Convert.Guru analyzes your IDW file, detects the exact format, and lets you read the text inside.
If you want to convert IDW file to DWG, PDF, DXF, STEP, SLDDRW, DGN, RVT, RFA, SKP, 3DM, IGES or SAT, you can use Autodesk Inventor or similar software from the "2D CAD Drafting" 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 IDW, try Autodesk Inventor or another comparable tool in the "2D CAD Drafting" category.
The IDW Converter Story
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 IDW converter.