How to open a PcbDoc file without Altium.
Someone sent you a .PcbDoc and you don't have Altium. Good news: you don't need it. To look at the board, a free viewer opens it in your browser. To actually work on it, KiCad imports it directly. The one thing worth knowing before you start is that those are two different jobs — and importing quietly changes the board in ways the tool won't warn you about.
Parsed in your browser — nothing is uploaded.
Yes — you can open a .PcbDoc without Altium.
A .PcbDoc is Altium's binary PCB board file, and Altium isn't the only thing that reads it. To view the board, use a free viewer in your browser — Altium's own 365 Web Viewer, an independent client-side viewer, or Crosspad's PcbDoc inspector. To edit, route or manufacture the board, open it in KiCad, the free open-source EDA tool, which has imported .PcbDoc files natively since KiCad 7 (2023). All of these work with no Altium license, and the browser viewers plus KiCad run on Mac and Linux, where Altium has no native build at all. One caveat before you rely on what you see: opening a .PcbDoc in KiCad is an import, not just a view, and a standard import can silently change the board — so check the result against the original rather than trusting that it opened.
A .PcbDoc is an Altium PCB file — that's why it won't just open.
A .PcbDoc is the PCB layout document from Altium Designer: the copper, layers, footprints, nets and board outline of a specific board, stored in Altium's own structured binary format (a compound/OLE file since the V6 era). That's why double-clicking does nothing useful — your OS has no default app for it, and it isn't text you can rename to something else and read. It needs software that understands the format: EDA software that can import it, or a viewer built to parse it. A .PcbDoc usually travels with siblings — a .PrjPcb project file, one or more .SchDoc schematics, and libraries — and you'll want those too if you plan to do more than glance at the board.
It's a board, not a document — it opens in EDA tools, not a file opener.
Four honest ways to open a .PcbDoc without Altium.
Which one fits depends on whether you just need to look at the board or actually use it. All four work without an Altium license; the browser viewers and KiCad run on Mac and Linux, where Altium has no native build.
| TOOL | COST | RUNS ON | WHAT YOU GET | THE CATCH |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Altium 365 Web Viewer | Free (Altium account) | Any browser | An official, accurate view of the board | View-only, and you upload your board to Altium's cloud — worth a thought for a confidential design. |
| KiCad (native import) | Free, open-source | Windows / Mac / Linux | An editable board you can route, review and send to a fab | It's an import, not a view — a standard import can silently drop rules, net-class membership and copper fills. Verify what came across. |
| Independent client-side viewer | Free | Any browser | A quick local look with nothing uploaded | Inspect-only; coverage and fidelity vary, and some render the PCB but not the schematic. |
| Crosspad PcbDoc viewer & inspector | Free | Any browser | The board, parsed in your browser with nothing uploaded — layers, nets, pad stacks, zones and keepouts, inventoried as it draws | It renders and counts; it does not judge. View and inspect only — it draws the board's geometry, not 3D bodies, design rules or the filled copper of a pour. |
On a Mac or Linux you can't run Altium at all — it has no native macOS or Linux build — so a browser viewer or KiCad is the whole answer, not a workaround.
A viewer shows you the board. Whether it survives a KiCad migration is answered by the free analysis, not by anything drawn in a browser tab.
Open a .PcbDoc in four steps.
- 01DECIDE WHAT YOU NEED
Just read the board once, or actually use it? Reading points you at a viewer. Editing, routing or manufacturing means importing it into your own EDA tool — which is a migration, not just opening a file.
- 02GATHER THE WHOLE PROJECT
A .PcbDoc rarely stands alone. If you have them, collect the .PrjPcb project, the .SchDoc schematics and any libraries, so nothing you open depends on a file you're missing. Crosspad's launch scope is narrower: the free analysis takes one .PcbDoc board file, so the siblings are for your KiCad import, not for the scan.
- 03OPEN IT
In a viewer, drag the .PcbDoc into the browser. In KiCad, use File → Import → Non-KiCad Board and pick the .PcbDoc; KiCad reads it directly.
- 04CHECK WHAT CHANGED
If you imported, don't stop at “it opened.” Compare the result against the source: net classes, design rules, copper fills, keepouts and the board outline. This is exactly where a standard import quietly differs — and where an evidence-based check earns its place.
Opening the file and getting a working board are two different problems.
The reason “open a .PcbDoc” gets searched at all is that people receive one — from a client, a contractor, an acquisition, an old archive — and can't get in. Getting a view of it is easy. Getting a board you can actually route, review or send to a fab is a migration, and a standard one changes things without telling you. Net-class membership can drop, so your design rules constrain nothing (KiCad #15584). Copper fills can arrive with the wrong clearances, so a routine refill silently disconnects copper (KiCad #18408). An older ASCII or pre-V6 .PcbDoc can import as nothing at all, with no error to tell you why (KiCad #18467). The board opens; the loss surfaces later, at review or at the fab, or not at all. That's where Crosspad starts — it checks the whole board against your source PcbDoc, repairs what it can prove safe, rolls back what it can't, and flags the rest, so nothing disappears in silence.
So which one should you use?
| IF THIS IS YOU | WHAT TO DO |
|---|---|
| I just need to see what's on the board, once. | Any free viewer. Altium 365 if you're fine uploading to its cloud; an independent viewer or Crosspad's inspector if you'd rather keep the file local. |
| I'm on a Mac or Linux and can't run Altium. | A browser viewer for a look; KiCad — which runs on both — if you need to work on it. There's no Altium to install, so this is the answer, not a compromise. |
| I need to route, edit or manufacture this board in my own tools. | Import it into KiCad, then verify what came across — because a standard import changes the board silently. |
| Someone handed this off and I have to take it over. | That's a migration, not just opening a file. Start with whether it's safe to migrate, then get evidence of what a KiCad migration keeps, repairs and flags. |
Frequently asked questions.
Can you open a .PcbDoc file without Altium?
Yes. To view it, use a free browser viewer — Altium's own 365 Web Viewer, an independent client-side viewer, or Crosspad's PcbDoc inspector. To edit or manufacture it, import it into KiCad, the free open-source EDA tool, which has read .PcbDoc files natively since KiCad 7 (2023).
What program opens a .PcbDoc file?
Altium Designer created it, but it isn't the only program that opens it. KiCad imports .PcbDoc boards directly; free web viewers display them; Crosspad opens the board in your browser and inventories what is inside it. A generic file opener won't help — it's a structured EDA board file, not a document.
Can KiCad open an Altium .PcbDoc?
Yes. KiCad has imported .PcbDoc boards natively since version 7 (2023), via File → Import → Non-KiCad Board. It's an import rather than a plain view, so it can change the board — verify net classes, rules, fills and the outline against the original (KiCad #15584 / #18408).
Is there a free PcbDoc viewer?
Yes, several: Altium's official 365 Web Viewer (free account, cloud upload), independent client-side viewers that parse the file in your browser, and Crosspad's free PcbDoc inspector, which parses the file locally and counts what is in it — including the parts it does not draw.
How do I open a .PcbDoc on Mac or Linux?
Altium has no native macOS or Linux build, so you can't run Altium there at all. Use a browser-based viewer to look at the board, or KiCad — which runs on Mac and Linux — to import and work on it.
Can I open an old or ASCII .PcbDoc?
Sometimes not cleanly. Older ASCII / pre-V6 .PcbDoc files can import into KiCad as nothing at all, with no error (KiCad #18467). If a file opens empty, that's the likely reason. Crosspad splits the two: a pre-V6 (Protel) board it names as unsupported instead of silently producing nothing, while the ASCII text form it converts to the binary form and reconciles against an independent count of your board — naming the board unsupported where the two disagree, rather than migrating on a conversion it can't vouch for.
Do I have to convert a .PcbDoc to open it?
No. Viewing needs no conversion. You only convert — migrate — if you need to work on the board in another tool like KiCad, and then the thing to watch isn't opening the file, it's what the conversion quietly changes.
Open your .PcbDoc — then get evidence before you migrate.
Look at the board in your browser, then, if you need it in KiCad, see exactly what a migration keeps, repairs and flags — before you commit.
Parsed in your browser — nothing is uploaded.