CAD QuickLook

App 06 / 0110 · Finder utility

Now Available

Preview 3D CAD models and 2D drawings right in Finder.

CAD QuickLook adds QuickLook previews and Finder thumbnails for 3D CAD and mesh files and 2D DXF drawings. Press Space on a supported file to open an interactive view — rotate, zoom, and pan a model, or pan and zoom a drawing — without launching a heavy CAD application. Thumbnails appear automatically in Finder's icon and gallery views.

Interactive 3D preview on Space — rotate, zoom, and pan
Finder thumbnails in icon and gallery views
2D DXF drawings shown flat — lines, arcs, splines, blocks, dimensions, text, and hatch fills
Z-up models shown upright; choose Z up or Y up for STEP, IGES, and AMF, which don't record an up direction
Eight formats: 3MF, STEP, IGES, AMF, glTF / GLB, FBX, 3DM, and DXF
Native STEP and IGES tessellation via OpenCASCADE; Rhino 3DM via openNURBS
Sandboxed Finder extension — no network requests, no analytics, no tracking

Platforms macOS

Minimum macOS 15 · Apple silicon

A CAD QuickLook preview of a STEP CAD model rotating as an interactive 3D render inside a macOS window

2D drawings

A 2D DXF opens flat, viewed from above, with pan and zoom. Lines, arcs, circles, polylines, splines, blocks, dimensions, text, and solid and patterned hatches are drawn. Embedded images, leaders, and 3D solids are not drawn yet.

A CAD QuickLook preview of a 2D DXF drawing of a dimensioned plate, shown flat with its dimensions and angles

Which way is up

3MF, Rhino 3DM, and DXF files are Z-up, and CAD QuickLook turns them upright. glTF and FBX carry their own orientation. STEP, IGES, and AMF don't say which way is up, so the CAD QuickLook app has a setting for them: Z up (the default, and what most CAD software uses) or Y up.

Supported formats

3MF — 3D Manufacturing Format, including embedded thumbnails and materials
STEP / STP — ISO 10303 CAD exchange (B-Rep tessellated for preview)
IGES / IGS — legacy CAD exchange
AMF — Additive Manufacturing File format
glTF / GLB — Khronos transmission format
FBX — Autodesk exchange
3DM — Rhinoceros 3D (NURBS tessellated for preview)
DXF — AutoCAD exchange: 2D drawings (lines, arcs, polylines, splines, blocks, dimensions, text, hatches) and 3D faces and meshes

Open source & licensing

CAD QuickLook is built on open-source libraries, including Open CASCADE Technology (OCCT) for STEP and IGES, and openNURBS for Rhino 3DM. OCCT is licensed under the GNU LGPL v2.1; the app links it dynamically, and you are free to rebuild it and run a modified copy. Open-source notices, source, and rebuild instructions →

Privacy

CAD QuickLook makes no network requests and collects no analytics, identifiers, or telemetry. It reads only the file you preview. Read the full privacy policy →