de·caff DXF Viewer

de·caff DXF Viewer is a Java-based software utility that comprises some simple and practical options for opening AutoCAD drawing files with the .dxf or .shx format. It lets you export data to file and print it, but you should keep in mind that it doesn't feature editing options.

No installation necessary, aside from Java

Provided that you have Java set up on your computer, you don't need to install anything else. You can drop the .jar file anywhere on the disk and just click it to run. Unlike most installers, this tool doesn't modify Windows registry settings or add new entries to the Start menu, thus leaving no traces behind after its removal.

Customize the view mode and export the model to other file types

The interface is represented by a large window with a clear-cut structure, where you can zoom in and out of AutoCAD drawings, pan the model with the mouse, examine information about .dxf entities, freely rotate the model to any angle, change the viewing mode (e.g. top, bottom), as well as show or hide the parallel projection view.
Furthermore, you can use a search function to track down particular items, check out statistics and log details, toggle between a white and black background color, print the drawing, copy it to the Clipboard, as well as export it to image files (.bmp, .gif, .jpeg, .png), .pdf, PostScript or .svg format.

Configure program settings

As for the app's general customization, you can enable anti-aliasing for .ttf texts, set the maximum duration of animations (in milliseconds), customize the background color, set the coordinate system position, hide 3D VIEWs and VPORTs, invert the mouse wheel direction, alter the default codepage and font cache directory, apply a proxy configuration for connecting to the Internet, and so on.

Evaluation and conclusion

The tool worked well in our tests, without causing the operating system to hang, crash or prompt error messages. Its impact on system performance was minimal, thanks to the fact that it needed low CPU and RAM to work properly.
Although this is not noticeable at a first sight, de·caff DXF Viewer is actually packed with a lot of options for opening, printing and exporting AutoCAD drawing files. It comes in handy to all users who don't want to go through the trouble of installing AutoCAD.