Gerber Viewer Online: How to Get a Great Result Every Time
What a gerber viewer online should do for you, how to use this one step by step, and the mistakes that waste time.
What a gerber viewer online is for
Open Gerber and Excellon drill files, or the zip from KiCad, EasyEDA, Eagle or Altium, and see the board as the fab will make it: solder mask, copper, silkscreen and holes, zoomable to the last 0.1 mm track. Nothing uploaded.
Where most converters let you down
Plenty of tools will happily take your file and give you something back. The trouble is what they give you: many need a desktop EDA install, or produce artwork that breaks the board house’s minimum line widths. You only find out later, when the file will not cut, print, import or open the way you expected.
What you actually want is board files you can see, check and send to a manufacturer. That is the standard this gerber viewer online is built to.
How to use the gerber viewer online in 5 steps
- Export Gerbers and a drill file from your CAD program, or take the zip you are about to send to the fab.
- Drop the zip or all the files on the converter.
- Check the layer list: each file's type and side are filled in for you; correct one if your CAD named it oddly.
- Look at the top and the bottom, then the layer stack; zoom into the fine-pitch parts.
- Download a PNG or SVG of the board for documentation if you want one.
Why Veconvert is the better gerber viewer online
- Read to the specification. Checked against gerbv and KiCad output.
- Real size. Everything at 1:1 in millimetres.
- No install. No EDA suite needed to view, convert or make board art.
- Nothing uploaded. An unreleased board stays on your computer.
What happens to your file
Gerber and drill files are read in your browser to the specification: apertures, macros, arcs, regions, polarity and step-and-repeat, checked against gerbv and KiCad. Layers are stacked and drawn as the board will look.
The conversion runs in your browser, so the file is never uploaded: client work, statements and unreleased designs stay on your computer.
Getting the best result: mistakes to avoid
- Keep lines at least 0.15 mm (6 mil) wide for most board houses; check yours.
- High-contrast, simple artwork gives the cleanest copper.
- Always open the files in the manufacturer’s own Gerber viewer before ordering.
What it costs
Yes, converting is free: the conversion and checking the result cost nothing, and the work runs in your browser, so nothing is uploaded. The side-by-side preview on the converter pages comes with a free account. Saving the finished file is paid: $3.49 for one file ($3.99 for a technical file such as DXF, G-code, STL or embroidery) with no account needed, or included in a plan from $6.99 a month.
You see the result before you spend anything, so you only pay for a file you are happy with.
Frequently asked questions
Which Gerber files does it open?
RS-274X Gerber, with or without X2 attributes, from KiCad, EasyEDA, Eagle, Altium, OrCAD, DipTrace, gEDA, Proteus and others, and Excellon drill files (.drl, .xln, .txt, .drd). A zip of them all works.
Is my design uploaded anywhere?
No. The viewer runs in this browser tab. Nothing is sent to a server.
Why is my board shown as a box?
No board outline layer was found (Edge.Cuts in KiCad, .gko or .gm1 elsewhere). The box is the extent of the artwork. Fabs need the outline too, so add it before you order.
Can it open old RS-274D files?
Only if the apertures are in the file. RS-274D kept them in a separate aperture list, which is why it was replaced; export RS-274X instead.
Is it free?
Yes, converting is free: the conversion and checking the result cost nothing, and the work runs in your browser, so nothing is uploaded. The side-by-side preview on the converter pages comes with a free account. Saving the finished file is paid: $3.49 for one file ($3.99 for a technical file such as DXF, G-code, STL or embroidery) with no account needed, or included in a plan from $6.99 a month.
Is my file uploaded?
The conversion runs in your browser, so the file is never uploaded: client work, statements and unreleased designs stay on your computer.