How does dxf file get generated?[SOLVED]

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wdfortee
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Joined: Fri Mar 23, 2018 3:18 pm

How does dxf file get generated?[SOLVED]

Post by wdfortee » Sat Mar 06, 2021 8:06 pm

I'm not exactly sure if this is the right spot to ask, but here goes anyway. Currently using QCAD Pro 3.25.0 on Windows 10.

When I save to dxf with multiple layers, how does QCAD decide the order they are generated in the file? I've used a simple text editor to view dxf file after saving and it appears to be somewhat random to me which layer comes first in the file.

I have a third party dxf to gcode converter that basically just starts at line 1 of the dxf file and creates the first operation based on position in the file and continues to next. All of the operations are the exact same in my case, so it's not actually a big deal, but it just made me curious if there was some way I could control how the dxf file is created.
Last edited by wdfortee on Mon Mar 08, 2021 3:03 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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andrew
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Re: How does dxf file get generated?

Post by andrew » Mon Mar 08, 2021 12:16 pm

I can confirm that layers (by definition) do not have a particular order and a DXF reader should not rely on any particular order. QCAD stores layer in an arbitrary order. This might be changed in a future version as I don't see any disadvantages of using the same order as shown in the layer list.

wdfortee
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Posts: 10
Joined: Fri Mar 23, 2018 3:18 pm

Re: How does dxf file get generated?

Post by wdfortee » Mon Mar 08, 2021 3:02 pm

Thanks andrew.

No need to go out of your way for me. If it's a problem or I get bored, I could modify third party source and re-compile to sort by layer name before generating gcode.

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