Drawing Exchange Format (DXF)

> > > >

The Drawing Exchange Format (DXF) is the exchange format of AutoCAD. This format supports vector graphics (such as polygons, arcs, lines, and points) and layers. The different editions of the specifications of the DXF format corresponding to the various AutoCAD releases can be accessed from the following URL: http://usa.autodesk.com/adsk/servlet/item?siteID=123112&id=5129239.

Using the DXF reader

Reading a DXF File into IlvManager shows how to read the content of a DXF file into an IlvManager object.

Reading a DXF File into IlvManager

IlvManager manager = new IlvManager(0); //with no layer
IlvDXFReader reader = new IlvDXFReader();
try {
  reader.read("myDXFFile.dxf", manager);
} catch (IOException e) {
  e.printStackTrace();
}

You can also read a DXF file directly with the read method of the manager. First, you must create the manager and the stream factory as shown in Preparing to Read a DXF File with the Manager.

Preparing to Read a DXF File with the Manager

IlvManager manager = new IlvManager(0); // with no layer
IlvDXFStreamFactory factory = new IlvDXFStreamFactory();
manager.setStreamFactory(factory);

When the stream factory is set, calling read loads a DXF file instead of an Rogue Wave JViews IVL file. See Loading a DXF File.

Loading a DXF File

try {
  manager.read("myDXFFile.dxf");
} catch (IOException ex) {
  ex.printStackTrace();
}

The content of the DXF file can be read into an IlvManager object or into any implementation of the IlvGraphicBag interface, such as IlvGraphicSet. The layer information of the DXF file is ignored when the file is read into anything other than an IlvManager object.

The IlvDXFReader reads the DXF file and adds the graphic objects defined in the DXF file to the manager. If an error occurs during this process, an exception of the type IOException can occur and must be caught.

An example of the use of the reader is available as part of the demonstration software. For details, see <installdir> /jviews-framework810/samples/dxfreader/index.html.

Customizing the DXF reader

Configuration options can be set on IlvDXFReaderConfigurator. A default configurator is created when the default constructor of IlvDXFReader is used. You can also pass your own instance of a configurator to the constructor IlvDXFReader(IlvDXFReaderConfigurator) . You can retrieve the current instance of the configurator by using IlvDXFReader.getConfigurator() .

The reader delegates the conversion of DXF entities into Rogue Wave JViews graphic objects to a factory, IlvDXFGraphicFactory.

A default implementation is provided:

ilog.views.dxf.IlvDefaultDXFGraphicFactory

You can provide your own implementation or specialize the default implementation.

To set a new factory, use the method:

IlvDXFReaderConfigurator.setGraphicFactory(IlvDXFGraphicFactory)

The following DXF entities are read:

3DFACE
ARC
CIRCLE
DIMENSION
LINE
POLYLINE
LWPOLYLINE
TEXT
MTEXT
POINT
SOLID
TRACE

Limitations

Only the 2D information of the DXF file is read; 3D information is ignored.

The reader recognizes the most popular attributes, but does not process all the attributes of the entities. Some attributes are not rendered in the same way as Autodesk® AutoCAD.

Current section

Managers