Overview#
A drawing is only useful once someone else can read it. Fusion exports drawings to PDF for review and print, to DWG and DXF for use in other CAD systems, and exports tables to CSV. Each format has trade-offs: PDF preserves appearance, DWG and DXF preserve editable geometry but simplify some annotations.
Where to find it#
Drawing workspace toolbar, Export panel: Export PDF, Export DWG, Export Sheet as DXF, Export CSV (for tables). You can also print with File > Print. In the Fusion web client a drawing can be exported as a Fusion Archive (.f3z) and a template as .f2t.
Export to PDF#
Step by step#
- Open the drawing and make sure the sheets are final (views updated, no warnings).
- Choose Export > Export PDF.
- Select the sheets: Current Sheet, Selected Sheets (hold Ctrl to select several in the Sheet Bar first), Range (for example 1-3, 5, 7) or All Sheets. Whatever you choose, one PDF file is produced.
- Optionally check Open PDF to open it afterwards, and uncheck Lineweights to export with a thin, uniform lineweight.
- Click OK, then choose a filename and location and click Save.
- Open the PDF and verify scale, line thickness, text, and tables.
Fusion refuses to export while content is out of date or annotations are disassociated; click Get Latest on every sheet first. For printing at true scale, set the PDF viewer to print at 100 percent ("Actual size"), not "Fit to page".
Export to DWG#
Autodesk documents two DWG options:
| Option | Contents | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Simplified DWG | Contents of the current sheet: views, title block, border, and annotations as 2D geometry in Model Space | Best for handing a single sheet to someone to edit or to use as linework |
| AutoCAD DWG | Contents of all sheets, each exported as a separate Layout tab | Better when you need all sheets together; saved in AutoCAD 2013 format |
Step by step#
- Choose Export DWG.
- Pick Simplified DWG or AutoCAD DWG.
- Click OK, choose a name and location, and save; the file is written in the AutoCAD 2013 format.
- Open the file in AutoCAD or another DWG viewer to check.
Export to DXF#
Export Sheet as DXF exports the current sheet as a DXF file (2013 file format) and gives a result similar to the Simplified DWG option in the Export DWG command. DXF is widely supported by laser, waterjet, and plasma cutters and by CAM software. For cutting profiles, a drawing is not always the right source: exporting a sketch or a flat pattern as DXF from the Design workspace gives clean geometry without title block and dimension clutter.
What changes in a CAD export#
Autodesk notes that in DWG/DXF exports:
- Some annotation objects, such as Datum ID, Feature Control Frame, and Surface Texture, are simplified.
- Dimensions are no longer associative, and the drawing keeps no relationship to the Fusion design.
- Simplified DWG and DXF put the contents of the sheet (views, title block, border, annotations) into Model Space as 2D geometry.
Autodesk does not document how hatching, tables or fonts translate; check a test export (for example, use a common font in the template).
If your recipient must have exact GD&T, send the PDF as the controlling document, and the DWG as reference geometry.
Export tables as CSV#
- Choose Export > Export CSV.
- Select the table, parts list or bend table on the sheet.
- Enter a file name, choose a location and save, then open it in a spreadsheet.
Text formatting is not carried to CSV. Use CSV for purchasing lists, ERP import, or inspection plans.
Other outputs#
- Print: File > Print offers printer, paper size, sheets (Current, All, or a range), Portrait or Landscape, Print Line Widths, number of copies, Scale, Offset and Print Preview. At 1:1 the paper must be at least as large as the sheet or part of it will not print.
- Fusion Archive: In the Fusion web client open the drawing's overview page, choose Export > Fusion Archive, and download the .f3z from the emailed link; templates export as .f2t.
- Image export: not confirmed in Autodesk's documentation. Export a PDF and convert it if you need an image.
Options reference#
| Option | What it does | Notes/default |
|---|---|---|
| Sheets | Current Sheet, Selected Sheets, Range, All Sheets | PDF export; one PDF regardless |
| Open PDF | Opens the file when done | Optional |
| Lineweights | Keep drawn lineweights or flatten to thin | Uncheck for uniform thin lines |
| Simplified DWG | Current sheet as 2D geometry in Model Space | Annotations simplified |
| AutoCAD DWG | All sheets into one DWG, one Layout tab per sheet | AutoCAD 2013 format |
| DXF | Current sheet as DXF (2013 format) | Similar to Simplified DWG |
| CSV | Table data only | No formatting |
| File name/location | Destination | Local download or cloud project depending on UI |
Tips and pitfalls#
Tip: Before exporting, update all views and confirm no "out of date" warning remains. A PDF cannot be refreshed after the model changes.
Tip: Name PDF files with part number and revision (for example BRK-001_RevB.pdf) so versions never collide.
Tip: Check line weights in the PDF zoomed at 100 percent. If thin and thick lines look identical, enable lineweights.
Warning: DWG and DXF exports are not a replacement for the Fusion drawing. Dimensions lose their link to the model. Treat the export as a snapshot.
Warning: If you need cut-ready geometry, do not use the drawing's DXF with its title block and annotations. Export from the Design workspace (sketch or flat pattern) instead.
Note: not confirmed in Autodesk's drawing documentation: any license limits on the Drawing export commands. (The design-side limit below is documented.)
Warning: Scale in DXF is 1:1 model units per sheet unit only if you export the model-space geometry; views scaled on the sheet appear scaled in the DWG. Verify scale in the receiving software with a known dimension.
Verified export behavior#
Autodesk's help for the Drawing workspace lists the Export panel commands as Export PDF, Export DWG, Export Sheet as DXF and Export CSV. Details confirmed from Autodesk's Output and DWG export pages:
- Simplified DWG exports the current sheet only, with annotations as 2D geometry in Model Space.
- AutoCAD DWG exports all sheets, and each sheet becomes its own Layout tab in the file.
- The DWG is written in the AutoCAD 2013 file format, which every current AutoCAD release can open.
- Exported drawings are not associative; Datum ID, Feature Control Frame and Surface Texture symbols are simplified, and dimensions become static objects.
- Export Sheet as DXF gives a result similar to Simplified DWG.
Autodesk's supported file formats page states that DXF export through File > Export is available with commercial subscriptions only, while all licenses can export DXF from a sketch using Export DXF. That is a design export, not a drawing export, but it matters for the cut-profile workflow below, so check your license before planning around it.
Choosing a format#
| Need | Best choice | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Review, approval, archive | Vector, exact appearance, includes all sheets | |
| Print at true scale | PDF at 100 percent / Actual size | Avoids "fit to page" scaling |
| Hand a sheet to an AutoCAD user for edits | Simplified DWG | Current sheet in Model Space |
| Deliver a full set to an AutoCAD user | AutoCAD DWG | All sheets as layouts |
| Laser, waterjet or plasma profile | Sketch or flat pattern DXF from the Design workspace | No title block or dimension clutter |
| Purchasing or ERP | CSV from a table | Data only |
Worked example: checking scale in an export#
Export a sheet containing a 100 mm wide plate at 1:1, then open the DWG in a viewer and measure the plate. It should read 100 drawing units in Model Space; if the same view was placed at 1:2 on the sheet, the geometry in the simplified DWG is half size, 50 units, because it is exported as it appears on the sheet. The check takes one minute and prevents a common error: a shop who cuts from a DXF of a scaled view gets a part at the wrong size. For cut-ready geometry use a model-scale export from the design side, where one drawing unit is one millimeter at full size.
For PDF the same test is a physical one: print at 100 percent on A4, and measure a known 100 mm dimension with a ruler. If it reads 94 to 97 mm, "fit to page" was applied, because printers add margins. Correct by printing at Actual size, or choose the sheet size matching the paper.
Failure modes and fixes#
| Symptom | Likely cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| PDF lines all look the same weight | Lineweights cleared | Re-export with lineweights on |
| PDF text looks fuzzy | Raster conversion by a viewer or print driver | Use a vector-aware viewer and print at the native resolution |
| DWG has only one sheet | Simplified DWG selected | Choose AutoCAD DWG for all sheets (one Layout tab each) |
| DWG dimensions will not update | Not associative | Make changes in Fusion and re-export |
| GD&T looks like loose lines in AutoCAD | Symbols simplified | Send the PDF as the controlling document |
| DXF dimensions or scale off | Exported at sheet scale | Check with a known dimension; export from sketch for cutting |
| Fonts differ in the DWG | Receiving machine lacks the font | Use a common font in the template, or send a PDF |
| Export blocked | Out-of-date sheets or disassociated annotations | Click Get Latest on every sheet; reassociate or delete flagged annotations |
| PDF contains an out-of-date view | Views not updated before export | Update, then re-export |
Workflow advice#
Treat the PDF as the legal drawing and everything else as convenience data. Establish a naming convention that carries part number, revision and date, and export a PDF every time a revision is released. Keep exports in a project folder so the Data Panel history and the exported files stay together. For vendors, send three files: the PDF, a STEP of the 3D part, and, if they need profiles, a separate DXF made from the flat pattern. State in the email which file controls, so that no one reads dimensions from the DXF.
Before each release, run a short check: update all views, flip through every sheet at 100 percent zoom, verify the title block, export the PDF, open the PDF, and measure one dimension against the model.
Practice exercise#
- Take the two-sheet assembly drawing. Export a PDF with all sheets and a second PDF with lineweights cleared. Open both at 100 percent and describe the difference in line weights.
- Print one sheet at A4 with the viewer set to Actual size and measure a known 100 mm dimension; then print at Fit to page and measure again. Record both readings.
- Make sheet 2 current, export it as Simplified DWG and open it in a DWG viewer. Check which annotations survived and measure the plate to see whether it matches the sheet scale.
- Export the whole drawing as AutoCAD DWG and count the Layout tabs; it should equal the number of sheets.
- Export the parts list as CSV and compare the row count with the sheet.
- In the Design workspace export the plate's sketch (or flat pattern) as DXF and compare it with the drawing-based DXF in terms of what is inside the file.
- Expected result: a two-page PDF with correct lineweights, a measured printing error between Actual size and Fit to page, a DWG with simplified symbols, an AutoCAD DWG with one layout per sheet, a CSV that matches the BOM, and a clean profile DXF for cutting.
Related#
- Drawing workspace overview
- Tables, parts lists, balloons, and hole tables
- GD&T and drawing symbols