This page contains information on the DXF file extension (), a popular cad file format
| File extension | .dxf |
| Category | CAD File |
| Description | The DXF file format was created by Autodesk in 1982 and the intention was to create a format that was independent of CAD applications and therefore eased the difficulties of sharing files created by different applications. This was particularly important for early versions of CAD as reverse engineering of the closely guarded DWG format was limited. However in recent years the usefulness of DXF format has reduced due to DXF not being able to support more advanced CAD elements such as dynamic blocks. The market leading popularity of AutoCAD has also reduced the requirement for an application independent format. |
| Actions | Convert DXF file View other cad file formats |
| Technical Details | DXF files are organised in way that allows the files to be opened by a normal text editor application.vA DXF file has a common format containing a number of sections. These include the Header which contains file property information, Classes, Tables, Entities, Blocks and Thumbnail Image section. The data contained within a DXF is known as tagged data which means that the tags identify how the data should be interpreted. For example there are a large number of group codes related to the creation of an ellipse. Various group codes allow for the definition of the start and end points, centre point and extrusion directions. |
| Associated programs | Adobe Illustratror AutoCAD CorelCAD Open Office PaintShop Pro |
| Developed by | Autodesk |
| MIME type | application/dxf application/x-autocad application/x-dxf drawing/x-dxf image/vnd.dxf image/x-autocad image/x-dxf zz-application/zz-winassoc-dxf |
| Useful links | DXF Specification More Information on DXF Convert DXF file |
Convert DXF file
Using Zamzar it is possible to convert DXF files to a variety of other formats
- dxf to bmp (Windows bitmap)
- dxf to gif (Compuserve graphics interchange)
- dxf to jpg (JPEG compliant image)
- dxf to pdf (Portable Document Format)
- dxf to png (Portable Network Graphic)
- dxf to tiff (Tagged image file format)
