CAD File

What are CAD files and how to open them

Are you having problems opening a CAD file or just wondering what they contain? We explain what these files are used for and show you software that we know can open or otherwise handle your files.

What is a CAD file?

CAD files have multiple uses, and Autodesk QuickCAD Drawing is one of them. Read more about the other uses further down the page.

Autodesk QuickCAD Drawing

The .cad file extension is used for a 3D graphics file format associated with Computer-Aided Design (CAD) projects. These CAD files are also known as CAD drawings. They may be generated using CAD tools like the QuickCAD software from Autodesk, Inc. These .cad files contain digital 2D and 3D graphics as well as other pieces of data like details of materials, dimensions, and processes, among others that were used to create the CAD project.

Some CAD software tools continue to use the CAD file format for drawing-related files. However, as of this writing, more CAD programs use the DFX file format and the DWG file format for digital sketches and drawings that are used in CAD projects instead of these CAD files.

There may be CAD tools other than QuickCAD that can be used to create, open, edit and export these .cad files to more widely used CAD drawing file formats.

How to open CAD files

We have identified one CAD opener that is compatible with this specific type of CAD file.

Programs that open Autodesk QuickCAD Drawing files

Last updated: December 11, 2022

All known file formats using extension .CAD

While Autodesk QuickCAD Drawing is a popular type of CAD-file, we know of 10 different uses of the .CAD file extension. Different software may use files with the same extension for different types of data.

CadStd Drawing

We know that one CAD format is CadStd Drawing. We have not yet analyzed in detail what these files contain and what they are used for. We're working on it.

CAD opener for Windows

We have identified one CAD opener that is compatible with this specific type of CAD file.

ExtraCAD Drawing

We know that one CAD format is ExtraCAD Drawing. We have not yet analyzed in detail what these files contain and what they are used for. We're working on it.

Programs that open these CAD files

We have identified one CAD opener that is compatible with this specific type of CAD file.

IntroCAD Drawing

IntroCAD is a Computer-Aided Design software for the Commodore Amiga home computer.

While we have not verified the apps ourselves yet, our users have suggested ten different CAD openers which you will find listed below.

KiCad Drawing

We know that one CAD format is KiCad Drawing. We have not yet analyzed in detail what these files contain and what they are used for. We're working on it.

Programs that open these CAD files

We have identified one CAD opener that is compatible with this specific type of CAD file.

Rad CAD Drawing

Rad CAD is a Computer-Aided Design software for MS-DOS by Matthew Ratcliff.

More file formats using the CAD extension

Through our research of CAD files, we know that the following formats exist. However, we have not yet analyzed them in detail.

Various apps that use files with this extension

These apps are known to open certain types of CAD files. Remember, different programs may use CAD files for different purposes, so you may need to try out a few of them to be able to open your specific file.

Help us help others

File.org helps thousands of users every day, and we would love to hear from you if you have additional information about CAD file formats, example files, or compatible programs. Please use the links below or email us at submit@file.org to discuss further.