FreeCommunity version, open source on GitHub

DWGXLSXCSVJSONLDXFSVGdwg2excel.exe

CAD Drawing to Excel converter: entities, layers and block attributes as a table, without AutoCAD®

DWG drawings from R13 to 2018 become one row per entity, keyed by the DWG handle, in XLSX, CSV and JSONL, plus a DXF and an SVG of the drawing. Our sample drawing DDC-Sample-House.dwg (a fictional house: plans, section, elevations, schedules) gives 8,435 rows and 95 columns.

DDC-DWG-to-Excel-0.4.1-Setup.exe20 MBWindows 10/11 x64DDC Converters 2.0no AutoCAD licence needed

XLSXDDC-Sample-House.xlsx8,435 × 95
CAD Drawing to Excel: real output excerpt: 7 of 8,435 rows and 7 of 95 columns.
handletype_namelayer_namexyblock_nametext_plain
400INSERTA-GLAZ14000WIN_2010x365
41DINSERTA-GLAZ43000WIN_1260x365
503INSERTA-DOOR69109125DOOR_1010_B
14D0TEXTA-ANNO-TEXT3369.1-6446.1GROUND FLOOR PLAN
ED1TEXTA-ANNO-TEXT35052.53545Garage roof, extensive green roof
8B7LINEA-GRID245-3280
8BELINEA-GRID3445-3280
8,428 more rows, 88 more columns in the file
Fig. 1. Real converter output from DDC-Sample-House.dwg by DataDrivenConstruction. Shown: 7 of 8,435 rows and 7 of 95 columns, values as written by the converter. Coordinates are in drawing units (mm in this drawing). Real rows from model space: windows, a door, sheet titles and grid lines.

One model, every parameter as rows

Rotate the model or zoom into the drawing and click any element: on the right you see the row the converter wrote for it, with every parameter. The same table holds all elements at once, ready for Excel, BI or code.

Drawing Sample house, general arrangement (DDC-Sample-House.dwg), from the SVG the converter writes

Redrawn from the XLSX rows only: 2,319 entities on 28 layers

In a model viewer 1 element at a time 38 parameters for the selected element
In the DDC output 279,475 data points 8,435 rows x 95 columns, non-empty cells only

Example row: A-GLAZ (INSERT), ID 400

handle
400
generation
AC1032
type_code
7
type_name
INSERT
type_name_source
OWN_FIXED_TYPE_TABLE
kind
INSERT
coverage
DECODED
native_coverage
NATIVE_PARAMETER_PREVIEW
coverage_legacy
DECODED
decoded_sources
native;content_entity;entity_properties;block_ownership
decoded_by
write_drawing_json
status
GENERAL_ENTITY_GRAMMAR
coordinate_space
INSERT_NATIVE_PARAMETERS_SPACE_UNQUALIFIED
owner_block_handle
17

and 24 more parameters in this row.

Sample: DDC-Sample-House.dwg, a fictional house drawn by DataDrivenConstruction for this demo (download the DWG). Converted on our build machine with the DDC DWG to Excel 0.4.1; every figure here is counted from that output (attribution). It also writes the same rows as CSV and JSONL, and the drawing as DXF and SVG.

What you get

One row per drawing entity, keyed by its handle

Lines, polylines, blocks, dimensions and texts each get a row with layer, linetype, geometry values and block attributes as columns.

Columns in Fig. 1, with real values

Columns of DDC-Sample-House.xlsx, with the value from the first row of the excerpt
ColumnExampleWhat it holds
handle400DWG handle, unique per entity
type_nameINSERTEntity type
layer_nameA-GLAZLayer
x1400Insertion or start point X
y0Insertion or start point Y
block_nameWIN_2010x365Block name, for block inserts
text_plainText content, for TEXT and MTEXT

Fig. 2. Values from the first row of DDC-Sample-House.xlsx.

Output files

  • <name>.xlsx, <name>.csv, <name>.jsonlEntities, layers and block attributes.
  • <name>.dxf, <name>.svgThe drawing as DXF and as SVG.
  • report.json, REPORT.txtWhat was converted, refused or not supported yet.
CAD Drawing to Excel conversion A AutoCAD DWG R13 to 2018 file is read by dwg2excel.exe on your own computer. It writes: XLSX, entities × properties; CSV, same table, plain text; JSONL, one entity per line; DXF, drawing as DXF; SVG, drawing as SVG. Nothing is uploaded. YOUR COMPUTER OR SERVER, OFFLINE DWG AutoCAD DWG R13 to 2018 DDC CONVERTER dwg2excel.exe runs locally, no upload XLSX entities × properties CSV same table, plain text JSONL one entity per line DXF drawing as DXF SVG drawing as SVG CAD Drawing to Excel conversion A AutoCAD DWG R13 to 2018 file is read by dwg2excel.exe on your own computer. It writes: XLSX, entities × properties; CSV, same table, plain text; JSONL, one entity per line; DXF, drawing as DXF; SVG, drawing as SVG. Nothing is uploaded. YOUR COMPUTER OR SERVER, OFFLINE DWG AutoCAD DWG R13 to 2018 DDC CONVERTER dwg2excel.exe runs locally, no upload XLSX entities × properties CSV same table, plain text JSONL one entity per line DXF drawing as DXF SVG drawing as SVG
Fig. 3. dwg2excel.exe writes a new folder per drawing. --no-dxf and --no-svg skip the drawings; report.json says what was converted, refused or unsupported.

In short

  • XLSX, CSV and JSONL with entities, layers and block attributes.
  • The drawing as DXF and SVG.
  • report.json and REPORT.txt: how many records were converted, refused or of a type that is not supported yet.
  • Batch conversion of several drawings in one call, with one JSON status line per file (--json).

Worked example

Entity count per type for a whole drawing, in one line of pandas

DDC-Sample-House.dwg by DataDrivenConstruction, converted with DDC DWG to Excel 0.4.1: the Entities sheet has 8,435 rows. The 8 most frequent entity types cover 6,792 of them.

Python, pandas
import pandas as pd
df = pd.read_excel("DDC-Sample-House.xlsx", sheet_name="Entities")
df["type_name"].value_counts().head(8)

Block attributes, lines, texts and block inserts make up most of the rows; filter by layer_name or type_name to schedule what you need.

Rows by type_name in DDC-Sample-House.xlsx
type_nameRowsShare
ATTRIB1,54918.4 %
LINE1,17313.9 %
TEXT1,15013.6 %
INSERT84910.1 %
LWPOLYLINE6417.6 %
POINT5887.0 %
SEQEND4525.4 %
ATTDEF3904.6 %
All rows8,435100 %

Fig. 4. Result of the code on the real output file DDC-Sample-House.xlsx.

Real output

The output, as it opens

Screens of real converter output from our test files, not mock-ups.

DDC-Sample-House.xlsx: window and door block inserts with handle, type_name, layer_name, x, y and block_name
DDC-Sample-House.dwg (DataDrivenConstruction), written by CAD Drawing to Excel 0.4.1: 8,435 rows × 95 columns, one row per entity keyed by the DWG handle. Filtered to window and door inserts; coordinates in mm.

How to convert

Convert from the window, PowerShell or Python

Same converter, same output. Start with the window, then put the command in a batch file, a script or an n8n workflow.

In the window

  1. Download the Setup.exe or the portable ZIP.
  2. Start the app and choose DWG files.
  3. Press Convert. A folder per drawing appears.
PowerShell, in the unzipped folder
# a folder Plan with xlsx, csv, jsonl, dxf, svg and the report
> dwg2excel.exe "C:\Drawings\Plan.dwg" -o "C:\Out"
Python, every file in a folder
import subprocess, pathlib
files = [str(f) for f in pathlib.Path(r"C:\Drawings").glob("*.dwg")]
subprocess.run(["dwg2excel.exe", *files, "-o", r"C:\Out", "--no-dxf", "--no-svg", "--json"], check=True)

Folders of files, nightly runs, checks and reports: n8n workflows that call the converters.

Before you download

What it reads, how we test it, where it stops

Supported versions and formats

Input
AutoCAD DWG R13 to 2018
Output
XLSX, CSV, JSONL, DXF, SVG, reports
Platforms
Windows 10/11 64-bit (desktop app and command line)
AutoCAD needed
No

Supported scope

  • Some object types are reported as unsupported or refused instead of being exported; report.json lists them.
  • Output is data plus DXF and SVG drawings, not 3D geometry for BIM.
  • We do not convert DWG to IFC or RVT.
  • Windows 10/11 64-bit only.

A file that does not convert? Send it to us and we add it to the test set.

Reviews

Reviews and a walkthrough

AutoCAD DWG Processing with ChatGPT: No AutoCAD Needed. Guide for Efficient File Management. Plays from youtube-nocookie.com after you click.

Most civil design files are basically data prisons. Loads of useful info—alignments, surfaces, quantities—just sitting there, locked inside formats that were never meant to play nice with anything outside their original software. I’ve wasted way too much time trying to answer simple questions like 'how many manholes are in this job?' or 'what’s the volume by phase?'—only to find out the data’s buried five layers deep in a DWG or DGN. DataDrivenConstruction fixes that. Their converters crack open these closed formats and give you structured data you can actually use—in Power BI, in Excel, or even in an LLM prompt if you're doing something fancy. It's not flashy, but it’s insanely useful. If you’re trying to move beyond screenshots and PDFs and actually use your design data, this is the kind of tool that makes it possible. It’s the difference between guessing and knowing. And honestly, it’s saved me more than a few Saturday mornings.

Chris AndrewDigital Transformation Technical Lead, AECOM

DataDrivenConstruction Excel Add-In is a wonderful additional tool to help extract data from CAD (BIM) Revit, IFC, DWG files in order to move forward with information validation processes in your workflows. Additionally the possibility to turn the long complex Excel file into easily human-and machine-readable files keep the Add-In modern and compatible with recent developments within IT. As we move forward in the industry it is crucial to think about diversity of data and how to find the most suitable outputs in order to keep said data valuable, up to date and usable. An influential tool with a user-friendly interface helping the construction industry move towards the future!

Marie Annette KittusBIM Manager, Esttareal solutions

Questions

Questions about CAD Drawing to Excel

Short answers, including the ones that are no. Where we do not do something, we say what works instead.

All questions
Which DWG versions are supported?

Drawings from R13 to 2018. Object types that are not supported yet are reported in report.json instead of being silently dropped.

Do I need AutoCAD?

No. The converter reads DWG files without AutoCAD or an Autodesk licence.

What columns does the Excel file have?

One row per entity with its handle, class, layer, linetype, length, area and block attributes. Our sample drawing DDC-Sample-House.dwg gives 8,435 rows and 95 columns.

Which files does it write?

XLSX, CSV, JSONL, DXF and SVG plus a report, in a folder per drawing. The free <a href="https://github.com/datadrivenconstruction/cad2data-Revit-IFC-DWG/tree/main/ddc-tools">ddc-tools</a> (check, qto, table, convert) work on them.

Can it convert DWG to IFC or RVT?

No. It extracts data to tables and writes the drawing as DXF and SVG. There is no 3D BIM output.

Is this an online converter?

No. It is a download that runs on your own Windows computer. Files are never uploaded, so confidential projects stay on your machine.

Is it free for commercial work?

The Community version is free for personal and research use. Commercial use, including processing files for clients, needs the licence: one payment, perpetual use of the version you have, 12 months of updates, no ads. Request a quote on the licence page.

Related

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Not sure which one? Versions, outputs, command line and smoke test for every input, side by side.

Compare all converters

Free Community version

Turn your next DWG file into XLSX

Entities, layers and block attributes from DWG drawings as XLSX, CSV and JSONL, plus DXF and SVG drawings. Free Community version, runs on your computer.

20 MBWindows 10/11 x64runs offline

Licence, team setup or a file that does not convert?

Artem Boiko or an engineer from the DDC team replies by e-mail.