Guaranteed to be the easiest CAD drawing Add-in for Microsoft Excel, or your money back!
No AutoCAD Required! EVER!
Excel Draw provides a unique solution for users who need CAD work within Excel’s familiar environment. It offers flexibility, integration with VBA, and compatibility with DXF files.
Save time, money and resources! Anyone with an spreadsheet application can view your CAD drawings!
Use Excel to not only create CAD drawings, but open, export and share with everyone in the office! Most of our customers use Excel Draw’s VBA to automatically export their drawings directly to their CNC machines! Talk about a time save! With that kind of service, Excel Draw basically pays for itself on its first project.
Not only that, but you also get a 100% completely free copy of DXF Reader GT that pairs and activates with Excel Draw! Typically a $135 value, completely free!
Read more about that below!
What is Excel Draw?
Excel Draw can create, view and export CAD style DXF drawing files using only Microsoft Excel. The best part; anyone with Excel can view the drawing! No CAD required!
With Excel Draw you can create technical and engineering CAD style drawings directly inside Microsoft Excel without ever needing CAD. The Excel Draw version 5 add-in gives you the ability to open, import, create, graph, export and view X1 Y1 Z1 X2 Y2 Z2 data in 2D/3D only using Excel. With Excel Draw you can guarantee that anyone with a version of Excel can view your drawing regardless if they have CAD or not! This saves you, your customers and your company valuable time and money. No other software needed, no down time waiting on software approval permissions. Create, view, send and even export directly into DXF drawings, all from inside Microsoft Excel!
Loading Objects
Load a DXF file, copy XYZ data directly or create data on the spot inside your Excel spreadsheet. Objects are simple to add with a visually distinct icon for every object type: Rectangles/Rounded Rectangles, Lines, Points, Circles, Arcs, Polygons and Text. For the users familiar with CAD input dialogs, Excel Draw also includes a Command Line Windows Input to quickly input data. In Excel Draw, Absolute, Relative and Z Values are all optional. This means you can enter data the way that you are most comfortable. Even XYZ orientation is optional. Reset Excel Draw’s default layout to your preference.
All objects are completely customizable if needed. From color to line width and even custom XYZ orders, every object can have its own unique settings. This is optional, as Excel Draw comes with generic pre-set settings for each object, making it unique and easily distinguishable. Select between color defined objects or color defined layers, and many more!
Loading DXF files into Excel Draw is now easier with DXF Reader GT. DXF Reader GT is a stand alone application that is now included in every install of Excel Draw version 6! This $75 program is included for free and integrates the ability to open, load, and gather data from a wide range of DXF files.
Easy Management and Distance Calculator
With the built-in Drawing Manager you can organize all your data and quickly select, remove, change layer(s) or delete data as needed. This manager allows you to highlight and select one or more objects from a complete list of shapes making it easier to locate and modify object data. Modifying graphed object values will automatically update your drawing in real time.
Inside this handy tool is also our Distance Calculator. Excel Draw can calculate distances between two objects and graph the results for you in labels that can be relocated on your graph. (Distance calculations are only visible in Excel and will not export into DXF)
Easy User-Friendly Interface with Sharing and Exporting
Excel Draw can create as many drawings as you want inside of one workbook. Each sheet can contain its own drawing. This is beneficial because multiple drawings can be loaded or created inside of the Excel document and then emailed to colleagues or customers. With Excel Draw you can guarantee that anyone with a version of Excel (2007 and up) can view your drawing! This saves you, your customers and your company valuable time and money, allowing you to invest where it really counts.
Excel Draw version 5 includes an updated look. Now you can select between three different styles: Classic, Light or Dark. If you would like more options you can customize object/chart colors to your own personal preference. Version 5 now has an interactive graph as well. Click and drag to rotate, zoom and pan without opening up any other dialogs or windows.
Exporting your drawing is just as easy as opening or creating it. You can quickly export your data in several different formats; including drawing (DXF and TXT), image (PNG and JPG), document (PDF and HTML) and spreadsheet (XLS and CSV).
Working Towards Complete Automation
Excel Draw comes with the ability to automate almost everything with VBA. With the new Excel macro API for Excel Draw, you can create your own custom processes for creating, graphing, mapping and exporting your documents exactly the way you want. Do you have a series of data you want to create on a regular basis? Automate it! Do you want to simplify your colleagues work when creating drawings? With Excel Draw you can create your own custom VBA to use Excel Draw exactly the way you need it! Most of Excel Draw’s functions have already been added in to this collection of custom codes, and more are being added through various updates!
What type of measurements are accepted?
Any type of measurements are accepted! Excel Draw creates a simple DXF CAD format, known as DXF R12. This is great because it means almost all software that uses DXF drawings can read the exports that Excel Draw creates. This includes CMMs, CNCs and many more! This is also great because the measurements can be in inches, feet, meters, kilometers, miles or even microns; as long as the measurements stay consistent on the sheet the drawing was created on, everything will line up!
- New Graphing Engine *IMPROVED
- Faster Load Times *NEW
- RGB to ACI Color Conversions *NEW
- Excel Cells To CAD Table *NEW
- Graph drawing objects
- Rectangles, Rounded Rectangles, Lines, Points, Circles, Text, Arcs, Cells/Tables and Polygons
- Smart Create feature *IMPROVED
- Rotate, pan and zoom in 3D
- Automation and Custom VBA *IMPROVED
- Ground Layer
- Customize drawings and Export colors *NEW
- Automatically update values and objects in real time
- CAD style command line input option.
- Create CAD Drawings with Customized Layers
- Universal Decimal Conversion (“.” and “,” accepted)
- Use Absolute, Relative, Z and Non Z objects interchangeably
- Export drawings into several formats:
- DXF, PDF, TXT, HTML, JPG, XLS, XLSX and CSV
- Load preexisting DXF files with DXF Reader GT *IMPROVED
- Adjustable origin
- Graph color customization (by layer or object)
- Anyone with Excel can view your drawing!
You can do all of this only using Excel!
Why Excel Draw?
The major advantage Excel Draw has over other Excel/CAD products is its ability to view and graph objects in 3D without any other added software. Other Excel to DXF software have options like opening DXF files, or creating DXF files and some interact with AutoCAD to manipulate DXF files through VBA. The problem with all of these is the requirement of AutoCAD. Excel Draw is the first and only commercial application that literally turns Microsoft Excel into a CAD drawing software. View, create and graph drawings only using Microsoft Excel. No AutoCAD Required! And the best part; your clients do not need Excel Draw to view the drawings! All the created drawings are made using Excel’s default graphing engine. This means that anyone with Excel, or an Excel equivalent, can view your drawings without any extra software.
3D Y Axis Rotation
3D Zoom
3D Panning
Trial versions are limited to:
- Maximum of
- 15 object plotted at one time
- Exports limited with watermark
- Lowest priority support
Download your trial of Excel Draw today and see how easy opening, creating and viewing drawings can be using Microsoft Excel!
See some of our sample files below:
Please note: These sample files are created as samples and are not intended to be opened with Excel Draw. They are to be opened as stand-alone examples.
Version 6 Samples
Sample Documents with Excel Draw v6.2
If you would like to see more about Excel Draw, check out our YouTube Excel Draw Training Video playlist with a full breakdown of every feature!
Many virus scan and malware detection products will flag any Microsoft Excel Add-in that did not come directly from the Microsoft Store as a ‘Potential Virus’.
Excel Draw Purchase Options
License numbers are emailed only after purchase and are contained inside the email purchase receipt.
If you do not receive an email like this, directly following your purchase, please email our support at support@graytechnical.com .
License numbers are activated inside Excel Draw by going to Help and Activation.
Select this option if you would like to use Excel Draw for a limited time (1 calendar year from purchase date).
Subscription License option offer:
- 1 computer install
- 365 day activation
- Free updates and upgrades
- DXF Reader GT inclusion
- Full capabilities
- VBA Automation
Does not auto renew
$75 /Year
Select this option if Excel Draw is for your own personal use.
Personal Perpetual License offers:
- 1 Computer Install
- Free version updates (v6)
- DXF Reader GT inclusion
- Full capabilities
- VBA Automation
$145
Select this option if Excel Draw is being used for a single individual at an organization.
Single Business License offers:
- 1 Computer Install
- Offline Activation
- Free version updates (v6)
- DXF Reader GT inclusion
- Full capabilities
- VBA Automation
$245
Select this option if Excel Draw is being purchased for a business, company or organization with several users.
Perpetual Business License offers:
- 5 Computer Installs
- Offline Activation
- Free version updates (v6)
- DXF Reader GT inclusion
- Full capabilities
- Complete VBA Automation
$750
Want to install Excel Draw across multiple machines with the same license?
We offer company plans just for that!
Send us an email (support@graytechnical.com) from your company email address and request a quote for how many seats you will need. We always try to respond within 24 business hours!
Gray Technical is proud to support students by offering student discount codes of 50% on most products. Please send us an email from your school issued student email to our support (support@graytechnical.com) requesting a student discount code.
If you are requesting a student discount code, please check your junk mail or spam folder as schools typically have a high filter system on their mail boxes. We usually respond to student request emails within 24 hours.
Try Excel Draw today and see why it is the easiest Excel CAD product available!
Trial versions are limited to:
- Maximum of
- 15 object plotted at one time
- Exports limited with watermark
- Lowest priority support
For security purposes all license keys are emailed via the provided email during purchase. If you do not receive an email directly following your purchase that looks like the image to the right, please email our support at support@graytechnical.com.
System Requirements
2MB hard drive space
Product Support: Email Support Only
Tested OS
Windows XP
Windows 7
Windows 10
Windows 11
Tested Office
Office 2010
Office 2013
Office 2016
Office 365
Office 2019
Office 2021
This program is a MICROSOFT EXCEL ADD-IN. This add-in DOES come with an installation file. It does require Microsoft Office Excel version 2007 or higher. Please note that installing the program from the installation file will only place the add-in on your machine. To have it always present inside Excel you will need to click the ‘Install/Uninstall’ button on the Excel Draw ribbon (please see image below).
To Activate/Deactivate the Excel add-in
- Run the Excel Draw add-in.
- Click the ‘Install/Uninstall’ button.
- Continue with Prompts
The Excel Draw Ribbon Tab Vanishes After Installing:
If you followed the steps outlined on the left and the Excel Draw Ribbon Tab vanishes upon reopening, please follow the steps outlined in this YouTube video (also outlined below).
- Click the File tab, click Options, and then click Trust Center
- In the Trust Center box and click Trust Center Settings. The Trust Center dialog box appears.
- In the Trust Center dialog box click Trusted Locations and then click Add new location….
- In the Microsoft Office Trusted Location dialog box click Browse….
- In the Browse dialog box select the location of the Excel Draw add-in and click OK.
- Finish by clicking OK on remainder of dialog boxes.
Excel Draw v6.0 Training Videos (Playlist)
- Excel Draw can open Lines, Rectangles, Points, Circles, Arcs and Text. Upon opening DXF documents are arranged in the default XYZ formation.
- Excel Draw can create Lines, Rectangles, Points, Circles, Arcs and Text. All other shapes created by Excel Draw are comprised of these shapes.
- XYZ values, while they are changeable, are meant to stay uniform throughout your project. Changing XYZ data orientations between objects will generate false objects and invalidate data.
- PDF exports will export documents based on page orientation, dimension and page breaks. Editing your documents Page Settings will modify the exported PDF.
- CSV Exports are created from the format and layout of the Excel document.
- Excel Draw cannot open DXF files that have a line count which exceeds 2,147,483,647 . Excel Draw cannot graph more than 255 objects in the same drawing when operating on 32bit Office. Please note that while possible to open, load and graph large DXF files the greater the file size the greater time is needed to execute commands for that file.
- Arcs, when calculating distance, will only calculate for the degrees of 0/360, 90, 180 and 270.
- When importing DXF drawings, only compatible DXF objects will be imported (Lines, Rectangles, Circles, Arcs, Text and Points).
- Excel Draw cannot generate graphs with objects ranging greater than 1,200,000 units of measure.
Excel Draw FAQ
Why does my computer say Excel Draw is a virus?
Many virus scan and malware detection products will flag any Microsoft Excel Add-in that did not come directly from the Microsoft Store as a ‘Potential Virus’.
If you are ever in question of a product, we suggest you use an on online scanner, like VirusTotal. This online service runs any uploaded file through over 70 virus scans to comeback with a comprehensive list of what is picked up in each.
Where is the custom API located at?
The API is installed with Excel Draw. You can find the API and the API VBA examples in the install directory of the application.
If you need a back version of the API, here is a complete list of all previous APIs.
I created a drawing but cannot see it?
Try to zoom out.
In the Excel Draw ribbon, go to 3D Graph Orientation and change the zoom scroll bar.
Can I reference cells and leave cells blank when exporting to DXF?
Yes. Excel Draw will notice the cells are blank and skip over then when exporting.
What DXF Format is this?
DXF Formatted v1.0.
How do I transfer a license in Excel Draw?
Inside of the Excel Draw ribbon, go to Extras> Activation> and Deactivate License.
After that you can transfer your license to a new machine.
How do I install or uninstall Excel Draw?
The same as any other application.
To install, run the installer under administration privileges.
To uninstall, go to Control Panel> Add or Remove Programs> Select and uninstall Excel Draw. A faster way (on Windows 11) is to type in ‘Uninstall’ in the search bar, and select ‘Add or Remove Programs’.
How do I open older versions of Excel Draw?
Older versions of Excel Draw do not have active installers. You will need to activate them with the intended Microsoft Excel Add-in installation method.
To support our loyal customers, we are providing legitimate license numbers and installations for these discontinued product variations. This ensures that previous purchasers can still install and use their purchased products if they lose their initial license code, while also protecting users from malware-infected versions circulating online. If you are a new customer, please download the latest version from the trial menu above.
Excel Draw v5: Excel Draw v5.0.26
Excel Draw v4: Excel Draw v4.2.33 – License Number EX4HH969X6
Excel Draw v3: Excel Draw v3.0.16 – License Number EXT3H8EXTC
This program is a MICROSOFT EXCEL ADD-IN. This add-in does not come with an installation file. It does require Microsoft Office Excel version 2007 or higher. You may open the add-in without installing by running the *.xlam file after the download is complete. Opening the add-in without installing will allow the add-in to run only during the current instance of Microsoft Excel. Installing the add-in will allow Excel Draw to be available during every instance of Microsoft Excel, current and future. If you wish to install an add-in into Microsoft Excel please follow the steps below.
To Activate an Excel add-in
- Click the File tab, click Options, and then click the Add-ins
- In the Manage box, click Excel Add-ins, and then click Go. The Add-ins dialog box appears.
- Click the Browse button and locate the downloaded Excel Add-in (xlam).
- In the Add-ins available box, select the check box next to the add-in that you want to activate, and then click OK.
To deactivate an Excel add-in
- Click the File tab, click Options, and then click the Add-ins
- In the Manage box, click Excel Add-ins, and then click Go. The Add-ins dialog box appears.
- In the Add-ins available box, deselect the check box next to the add-in that you want to deactivate, and then click OK.
The Excel Draw Ribbon Tab Vanishes After Installing:
If you followed the steps outlined on the left and the Excel Draw Ribbon Tab vanishes upon reopening, please follow the steps outlined in this YouTube video (also outlined below).
- Click the File tab, click Options, and then click Trust Center
- In the Trust Center box and click Trust Center Settings. The Trust Center dialog box appears.
- In the Trust Center dialog box click Trusted Locations and then click Add new location….
- In the Microsoft Office Trusted Location dialog box click Browse….
- In the Browse dialog box select the location of the Excel Draw add-in and click OK.
- Finish by clicking OK on remainder of dialog boxes.
Version 2 Samples
Sample 2D Excel Doc (.xlsx) - Sample 3D Excel Doc (.xlsx) - Sample 2D DXF File (.Zip) - Sample 3D DXF File (.Zip)
Version 3 Samples
Sample Excel Multi-Sheet (.xlsx) - Sample Floorplan (.xlsx) - Sample Floorplan DXF (.Zip) - Sample DXF Drawing (.Zip)
