Reading .DXF files

Question

Does anyone know of source code, ideally in C# or similar, for reading .DXF files (as used by AutoCAD etc)? If not code, then tables showing the various codes (elements / blocks / etc) and their meanings?

I am writing a reader myself, and have dead tree documentation detailing the format, but am trying to avoid writing e.g. a converter from each of the 255 ACI colours to RGB... Thanks!

Also a duplicate of: https://stackoverflow.com/questions/169390/open-source-cad-drawing-dwg-library-in-c-sharp — StayOnTarget, Mar 05 '19 at 18:47

score 7 · Accepted Answer · edited Feb 27 '11 at 13:49

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Cadlib from WoutWare have I been using for a couple of projects with good results.

edited Feb 27 '11 at 13:49

Wout

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answered Jun 24 '09 at 14:43

sBENdk

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We have gone with this - the price was right, and it's a nicely put together (and properly commented!) library. – Joel in Gö Feb 11 '11 at 16:53
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Been using this product for over 5 years now.. It's great – Tim Davis Dec 06 '17 at 18:47
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And now with NET-Core, it also works on Linux, and Mac ! Fully managed ! No native binaries required ! – Stefan Steiger Mar 18 '19 at 18:14

score 7 · Answer 2 · answered Feb 26 '10 at 14:49

I have work a couple of years at developing my own DXf-Viewer in java (you could drop your own DXF file or an URL on the viewer) for 2D drawings.
The published information from AutoCAD is a good base but doesn't explain how it works.
Becoming member of the Open Design Alliance, will give you the possibility to convert several CAD formats to DXF. It may be a good idea if you are developing a commercial product.
There is a german book (http://www.crlf.de/Verlag/DXF-intern/DXF-intern.html) about DXF which really explain this format. It's expensive, but could save days of search.
The colors in the DXF Format are indexed, you must have a converter from ACI to RGB. Be careful with values 0 and 1 which having a special meaning.

Regards.

score 5 · Answer 3 · answered Aug 19 '18 at 02:32

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Update in case someone is still looking...
It's the same library, just including both links.

https://github.com/haplokuon/netDxf
https://www.nuget.org/packages/netDXF/

answered Aug 19 '18 at 02:32

Ian

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netDxf is good if you are ok with a net framework 4.5 depedency. If you need netcore/netstandard support, I've had good results with https://github.com/ixmilia/dxf – Sam Sippe Jul 05 '19 at 05:11

score 4 · Answer 4 · edited Jan 08 '20 at 14:37

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Fortunately AutoCAD publish the DXF format information here: DXF Formats

edited Jan 08 '20 at 14:37

Fusseldieb

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answered Jun 16 '09 at 11:12

Lazarus

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score 2 · Answer 5 · answered Jun 16 '09 at 11:13

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You may want to try the Open Design Alliance. It's a while since I looked at it myself, but they had a load of C libraries for dealing with various AutoCAD files.

answered Jun 16 '09 at 11:13

robertc

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The prices are, however, seriously steep, especially if you intend to actually write software which also the library and then sell it. – Joel in Gö Feb 11 '11 at 16:53

score 2 · Answer 6 · answered Jun 17 '09 at 08:58

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Here is a link to a CodeProject dxf reader; it seems very limited (and not particularly well done) though.

answered Jun 17 '09 at 08:58

Joel in Gö

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score 0 · Answer 7 · answered Jun 24 '09 at 12:27

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Here is another open source dxf reader, in Java. Buggy however!

answered Jun 24 '09 at 12:27

Joel in Gö

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Reading .DXF files

7 Answers7

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