The developer Autodesk, with the main software AutoCAD, is a market leader in the field of CAD. The AutoCAD formats DXF and DWG are used extensively.

Various CAD applications use a DWG format for storing the data; the format is therefore also being developed by several organizations (Autodesk, Open Design Alliance and others). Every release of Autodesk ’AutoCAD also includes a new version of the DWG format.
The interoperability of DWG between different CAD applications is not always without problems. Difficulties may also arise when importing a DWG into another package from the same developer, or into a different version of the package.

Autodesk offers the DWG TrueView tool for the import of recent DWG versions for free; from TrueView the maps can also be exported to older versions of the AutoCAD DWG format.

DWG now offers possibilities for which not all properties can be stored in DXF. If export to DXF R12 (ASCII) does not lead to information loss, this version of the DXF format is considered the best option for preserving AutoCAD formats in a relatively open, widely supported format. A conversion from DWG to DXF must be carefully checked for completeness. If elements of the DWG cannot be stored in the DXF, an export to a more recent version of DXF is acceptable. If conversion is not possible without loss of information, the DWG must be retained.

DWG is a non-preferred format for file type Computer Aided Design (CAD).