CATDRAWING File (What It Is & How to Open One) GA S REGULAR Menu Lifewire Tech for Humans Newsletter! Search Close GO Software & Apps > File Types

What Is a CATDRAWING File?

How to open, edit, & convert CATIA drawings

By Tim Fisher Tim Fisher Senior Vice President & Group General Manager, Tech & Sustainability Emporia State University Tim Fisher has more than 30 years' of professional technology experience. He's been writing about tech for more than two decades and serves as the VP and General Manager of Lifewire. lifewire's editorial guidelines Updated on May 16, 2022 Tweet Share Email Tweet Share Email File Types File Types Apps Windows MS Office Linux Google Drive Backup & Utilities Design Cryptocurrency

What to Know

A CATDRAWING file is a CATIA drawing file. Open one with CATIA, Glovius, or SOLIDWORKS 3D CAD. Convert to PDF, STEP, or DXF with CATIA. This article describes what a CATDRAWING file is and how to open one on your computer, plus how to convert one to a different format.

What Is a CATDRAWING File

A file with the CATDRAWING file extension is a CATIA drawing file created with the 3D CAD manufacturing software called CATIA. It stores a two-dimensional drawing and is always linked to a CATPART file, which holds the 3D elements of the model. Without that part file, the drawing can't open.

How to Open a CATDRAWING File

The typical program used to open CATIA drawings is CATIA from Dassault Systèmes. However, other 3D CAD programs might also work, like Oracle's AutoVue. Glovius and SOLIDWORKS 3D CAD are compatible with the format, too, and possibly Siemens NX and WORKXPLORE. Here's a video showing how to open a CATIA v5 file in SOLIDWORKS if you need help. You can also try using a text editor. If you see the text "V5" at the very beginning of the file or the word "CATIA" anywhere within it, then your drawing is, in fact, a CATIA file. The reason it's not opening may be that there's an issue with the installation of the program or a problem with your specific file. If your CATDRAWING file doesn't have that text at its start and is full of clear text that you can read perfectly fine, then your specific file is a text document and can be read normally with any text editor. This is probably not the case with most CATDRAWING files, but it is something you should look for if CATIA doesn't work.

How to Convert a CATDRAWING File

CATIA can export the drawing to CAD formats like STEP, DXF, and others. You can also save the file as a PDF in that program via File > Save as. If you want to save multiple CATDRAWING files to the same PDF, you have to change some of CATIA's settings. Go to Tools > Options and expand the General tab to select Compatibility. Access the Graphics Formats tab and place a check in the box next to the Save multi-sheet document in a single vectorial file option. Another option for converting CATDRAWING to PDF is to use Tetra4D Converter. The other file openers from above might support converting the file, too. eDrawings Professional for CATIA V5 is a plug-in for CATIA that lets you export models to a read-only format that's compressed and easy to share with others.

Still Can' t Open It

Some files look similar because their file extensions use some of the same letters or numbers, so they can be easy to confuse for other files and therefore not open with the program you'd expect to use them with. This most likely isn't the case with CATDRAWING files, since the extension is fairly easy to read. However, maybe you have a CATPRODUCT file which looks similar and is indeed used by CATIA, but it's not in the exact same format. So, if your file won't open as you'd expect, consider that you might be dealing with one of those files instead. DRAWING files resemble this file extension, too, but they're Artboard drawings. Was this page helpful? Thanks for letting us know! Get the Latest Tech News Delivered Every Day Subscribe Tell us why! Other Not enough details Hard to understand Submit More from Lifewire EPRT File (What It Is and How to Open One) DDOC File (What It Is & How to Open One) IGS File (What It Is and How to Open One) HPGL File (What It Is & How to Open One) DWG File (What It Is and How to Open One) ARD File (What It Is & How to Open One) DRF File (What It Is & How to Open One) FH10 and FH11 Files (What They Are and How to Open Them) ACV File (What It Is & How to Open One) MQ4 File (What It Is & How to Open One) DYLIB File (What It Is & How to Open One) RVT File (What It Is and How to Open One) DWF File (What It Is and How to Open One) DDL File (What It Is & How to Open One) DMC File (What It Is and How to Open One) XFDF File (What It Is & How to Open One) Newsletter Sign Up Newsletter Sign Up Newsletter Sign Up Newsletter Sign Up Newsletter Sign Up By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device to enhance site navigation, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts. Cookies Settings Accept All Cookies