View DWG files in a browser

Question

I have an application developed with Asp.Net and C#. I have to display DWG - CAD files(stored in a server) in a client side browser. I cannot install Auto CAD or any other software or activeX control in my client side machines and it can be installed only on the server. Is there a way to achieve it?

I have tried the DWGViewX, but it was not able to display the image when accessed from a client. But when accessed from the server itself, am able to view the DWG file. I have just tried the trial version of DWGViewX. Is this issue because of the licensing issue?

ANy help in this regard will be greatly apprecited.

Regards

Vignesh

Answer 1

Have a look at CadLib. It has an ASP.NET example solution in the evaluation download. There's also a beta version for a Silverlight 4 edition (see the forum).

Answer 2

First, download the free DWG TrueView from Adobe and install it.
After that open Visual Studio (I use 2008) and open a new Windows Form Project.
Then switch to the form-designer.
There you open the toolbox and add a new tab "TrueView" or so.
After that rightclick and "Choose Items..."
--> wait a couple of seconds
--> then choose the tab "COM Components"
--> there you should find "Autodesk AcCtrl" mark it.

Now you have a component "Autodesk AcCtrl" in your "TrueView" Toolbox --> use it on the form.

and now, very simple, you need only one line of code in the Form1_Load function (generated through Visual Source) and put the following code in it:

axAcCtrl1.PutSourcePath(@"C:\WHERE\EVER\YOUR\DWG\FILE\IS\example.dwg");

Thats all!

Hope it helped!