How to convert DXF to SVG

Converting DXF to SVG takes two steps in Vectornation by Zaweba: open the DXF, then save or export it as SVG. When you have a whole folder of drawings, the command line --convert option does the same job with no window, file after file. Both run offline on your PC, and the program is free.

Vectornation reads DXF from R12 onwards, the long standing exchange format that almost every CAD program can write. SVG is the web's vector format and the one most design and cutting software understands, so moving from one to the other is a common chore.

Converting a single file

Choose File > Open and pick the DXF. The drawing opens as a normal Vectornation document, with its CAD layers as layers. Before exporting, take a quick look. CAD drawings tend to carry construction lines, dimensions and notes on their own layers, and you may not want those in the SVG. Hide or delete them first.

Then save as SVG. Vectornation writes plain SVG as well as its own .vecz, which is compressed SVG. Plain SVG is what you want for a web page, another design tool or most cutting software.

It is worth checking scale. CAD files measure in drawing units, and if the SVG is going to a cutter or to someone who needs true sizes, compare a known dimension against Vectornation's rulers before you export.

Converting many files at once

For a batch, use the headless convert. Running Vectornation with the --convert option converts files without opening a window. Add --format to say which format you want, which here is SVG, and --out-dir to say which folder the results go in. There is a --set option for passing settings and a --report option that writes a record of what was converted, which is useful when a few files in a large batch need a second look.

This is the route for a parts library, an archive of old drawings or any job where opening each file by hand would take the afternoon. Run it on a copy of the folder the first time, look through a handful of the SVGs, and then run it on the rest.

Getting clean SVG out of CAD drawings

CAD and illustration think about lines differently. In a DXF, a rectangle may be four separate lines that happen to meet; in SVG you usually want one closed shape that can be filled. If you plan to colour or fill the converted shapes, open the SVG in Vectornation and use the Shape builder or Pathfinder to turn those meeting lines into closed paths.

Hatching comes across as patterns of lines, which can make an SVG heavy. If the hatch is only there for show, remove it before export and use a fill instead.

Text in a DXF arrives as text. If the SVG will be viewed on a computer without the same font, convert the text to outlines first so it looks the same everywhere.

Other ways out of a DXF

SVG is not the only destination. The same drawing can be exported as PDF for printing or sharing with people who have no design software, as EMF for older Windows programs, as HP-GL for plotters, or as G-code for laser cutters, pen plotters and drag knives. Vectornation can also save DXF again after you have edited it, so a drawing can go back to the CAD user with your changes.

For one file, open and save. For a hundred, let --convert do it. Either way Vectornation by Zaweba turns DXF into SVG without uploading anything to a converter website.