DXF file is blank when opened

[sieg01]

On the .47pre version

To recreate
Save SVG as DXF file in inkscape
Open the DXF file

DXF file opened is blank.

The DXF will open in QCad.

[su_v (suv-lp)]

Which OS? pstoedit installed? (Check ~/.config/inkscape/extension-errors.log)

see related bug #407215:
- AutoCAD R12 output extension fixed in SVN.
- Use the output option "Desktop Cutting Plotter (*.DXF)" if you need R13 DXF (uncheck 'Robo-Master ' option)

[sieg01 (sieg01)]

OS: Windows XP

I am using the stock Inkscape .47pre1.1 version.

pstoedit isn't installed.

Which kind of DXF is inkscape supposed to read? It seems like the DXF that it creates it should also be able to read.

[su_v (suv-lp)]

quoting Alvin Penner in <http://article.gmane.org/gmane.comp.graphics.inkscape.devel/30861>:

<quote>
- the pstoedit program produces .dxf output according to AutoCAD Release 12 format.
- the .dxf input routine in Inkscape reads only AutoCAD Release 13 format.
- the level of compatibility between these two AutoCAD Releases is quite poor, so normally a pstoedit .dxf output will probably not be readable by Inkscape.
- QCad can often be used to convert between the two .dxf formats, since the default output in QCad is Release 13 or newer.
</quote>

There are currently 3 extensions handling DXF files in Inkscape:

Export: 'AutoCAD DXF R12 (*.DXF)', needs pstoedit to convert (svg->)ps->dxf
Export: 'Desktop Cutting Plotter (*.DXF)', python script (see bug #192923)
Import: 'AutoCAD DXF R13 (*.DXF)', python script (see bug #293940)

i.e. if you export as 'AutoCAD DXF R12' you can't re-import into Inkscape because ATM there is no input extension to handle DXF R12 format. But if you don't have pstoedit installed, this export format shouldn't even be available in the 'Save as' file dialog.

I tested your attached file: export as 'Desktop Cutting Plotter (*.DXF)' and re-open as 'AutoCAD DXF R13 (*.DXF)', both works as expected with Inkscape 0.46+devel r22011. Layer information is not retained.

If you think there's a bug, please add a list of steps to reproduce the error, as precise as possible (commands used, export formats used etc.).

[sieg01 (sieg01)]

Thanks for your help ~suv.

Yeah I think this one was my lack of understanding of the different DXF formats. I'll investigate some more with this (with what I know now) and see if there are any issues.

[su_v (suv-lp)]

It isn't yet well documented with regard to the version conflicts - though there have been recent updates to the release notes for 0.47: <http://wiki.inkscape.org/wiki/index.php/Release_notes/0.47#DXF_import_and_export>. I guess R12 will not be supported much longer (unless some acad users insist ;-). When Alvin's back I hope he can give you a better explanation and have a look at the layer issue too.

[Alvin Penner (apenner)]

could we close this, since it appears to be caused by incompatibility between different DXF releases?

[su_v (suv-lp)]

Closing this bug report as 'Invalid' due to upstream version conflict (AutoCAD DXF R12/R13).

@sieg01 - please feel free to add a comment and revert the status if you think this is a bug and needs to be fixed in Inkscape.

@Alvin - hope you had a good time on vacation!? Sorry if I kind of assigned the layer wishlist item to you in absentia ;-)