WillAdams Posted November 15, 2022 Share Posted November 15, 2022 (edited) Is it also possible to export to a DXF in addition to importing? I don't see an export option. Edited November 15, 2022 by WillAdams add image Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GarryP Posted November 15, 2022 Share Posted November 15, 2022 You can only import DWG or DXF. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dharmic Posted December 1, 2022 Share Posted December 1, 2022 As someone who regularly exports to CAD packages as well as subcontractors for waterjet and our own laser cutting equipment, I was super psyched when 2.0 was announced. Imagine my disappointment today on realising that it's DXF import only. Please, folks, add DXF export. Bonus kudos if there's a choice to export polylines or curves. austinprince 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bksldr7 Posted December 7, 2022 Share Posted December 7, 2022 YEP! Another voice pleading for dxf export from Affinity Designer. Just designed a ranch sign as a Christmas present to be laser cut from 1/8" steel plate but have found no way to successfully get afdesign format to dxf. Tried SVG into CanvasXDraw then output dxf on a MAC but the cutting facility can't see the file even though all the vector objects show in Canvas AND Affinity Designer. Also tried various online converters with no luck. They complete but when I open the file it is blank. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bksldr7 Posted December 7, 2022 Share Posted December 7, 2022 Several people have mentioned exporting to svg then finding a converter to dxf. I work on a MAC and haven't found anything to convert to dxf that can be read on a PC at the laser cutter facility. The CanvasXDraw app shows all the objects, paths and nodes of the vector drawing in the dxf, dwg, eps and CanvasXDraw native format as does AffinityDesign for MAC but the dxf file doesn't show up properly on the PC nor does a dwg file. Anyone done this successfully from Affinity Design 2 for Mac to dxf on a PC via third party converters or other MAC programs? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaoloT Posted December 8, 2022 Share Posted December 8, 2022 1 hour ago, bksldr7 said: Tried SVG into CanvasXDraw then output dxf on a MAC but the cutting facility can't see the file even though all the vector objects show in Canvas AND Affinity Designer. Also tried various online converters with no luck. What if you send a PDF directly generated by Designer? Paolo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bksldr7 Posted December 8, 2022 Share Posted December 8, 2022 Most cutting programs including the AutoCad based one at the laser cutter require input file to be dwg or dxf format. PDF is not supported. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joel France Posted December 9, 2022 Share Posted December 9, 2022 (edited) Hello, just export in .svg with Affinity Designer. Then open it in Inskape (free vector software), and save it in .dxf Enjoy ! Edited December 9, 2022 by Joel France Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hohenheim Posted December 9, 2022 Share Posted December 9, 2022 25 minutes ago, Joel France said: Hello, just export in .svg with Affinity Designer. Then open it in Inskape (free vector software), and save it in .dxf Enjoy ! I'm sure there are many ways to find a way to do DXF conversion outside of Affinity, however, that is not the issue of this topic. We are asking for having it included in Affinity itself since it is a commonly used format. Hooe it helps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
walt.farrell Posted December 9, 2022 Share Posted December 9, 2022 9 minutes ago, hohenheim said: We are asking for having it included in Affinity itself since it is a commonly used format. It's nit-picking, I know, but technically this topic was a question asking about how to do it. A request to have it included in the application would be in the Feedback forum (where Serif looks for enhancement suggestions), not in the Questions forum. R C-R and austinprince 2 Quote -- Walt Designer, Photo, and Publisher V1 and V2 at latest retail and beta releases PC: Desktop: Windows 11 Pro, version 23H2, 64GB memory, AMD Ryzen 9 5900 12-Core @ 3.00 GHz, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 Laptop: Windows 11 Pro, version 23H2, 32GB memory, Intel Core i7-10750H @ 2.60GHz, Intel UHD Graphics Comet Lake GT2 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Laptop GPU. iPad: iPad Pro M1, 12.9": iPadOS 17.4.1, Apple Pencil 2, Magic Keyboard Mac: 2023 M2 MacBook Air 15", 16GB memory, macOS Sonoma 14.4.1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bksldr7 Posted December 10, 2022 Share Posted December 10, 2022 PaolaT-It is a bit more complicated than that. Inkscape tutorial says make sure all objects are ungrouped and lwpoly objects are unchecked or not included in the dialog. Before I found this in the tutorial the saved dxf file did not open correctly in the laser cutting program. Haven’t heard from the laser cutting guys yet on the latest attempt because they are in the middle of installing a new laser. They looked at it briefly and said it looked more promising Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bksldr7 Posted December 10, 2022 Share Posted December 10, 2022 Also in the Inkscape tutorial was a note about most cutting facilities using older AutiCad revisions and that saving with 2006 to 2010 revisions might be more successful than 2013 or 2014 revisions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bksldr7 Posted December 27, 2022 Share Posted December 27, 2022 PaolaT-It is a bit more complicated than that. Inkscape tutorial says make sure all objects are ungrouped and lwpoly objects are unchecked or not included in the dialog. Before I found this in the tutorial the saved dxf file did not open correctly in the laser cutting program. Haven’t heard from the laser cutting guys yet on the latest attempt because they are in the middle of installing a new laser. They looked at it briefly and said it looked more promising Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bksldr7 Posted December 27, 2022 Share Posted December 27, 2022 so finally found a procedure to produce a valid dxf file. Save the file from vector drawing program in svg format. Open in Inkscape. Ungroup ALL objects. You may need to select all layers and do this multiple times. Convert ALL objects to paths then save as dxf file AutoCad revision 12. The laser cutter in Reno was able to use this file though it opened as a very large drawing and had to be scaled down. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Olebrumm42 Posted January 28, 2023 Share Posted January 28, 2023 Export to dxf would be so appreciated. We just bought a 3D printer and I would love to make my own designs and export them to dxf and then make a 3D model out of that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pšenda Posted January 28, 2023 Share Posted January 28, 2023 4 hours ago, Olebrumm42 said: Export to dxf would be so appreciated. FYI if you missed it. Quote Affinity Store (MSI/EXE): Affinity Suite (ADe, APh, APu) 2.4.0.2301 Dell OptiPlex 7060, i5-8500 3.00 GHz, 16 GB, Intel UHD Graphics 630, Dell P2417H 1920 x 1080, Windows 11 Pro, Version 23H2, Build 22631.3155. Dell Latitude E5570, i5-6440HQ 2.60 GHz, 8 GB, Intel HD Graphics 530, 1920 x 1080, Windows 11 Pro, Version 23H2, Build 22631.3155. Intel NUC5PGYH, Pentium N3700 2.40 GHz, 8 GB, Intel HD Graphics, EIZO EV2456 1920 x 1200, Windows 10 Pro, Version 21H1, Build 19043.2130. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
walt.farrell Posted January 28, 2023 Share Posted January 28, 2023 And especially this post later in the topic: Quote -- Walt Designer, Photo, and Publisher V1 and V2 at latest retail and beta releases PC: Desktop: Windows 11 Pro, version 23H2, 64GB memory, AMD Ryzen 9 5900 12-Core @ 3.00 GHz, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 Laptop: Windows 11 Pro, version 23H2, 32GB memory, Intel Core i7-10750H @ 2.60GHz, Intel UHD Graphics Comet Lake GT2 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Laptop GPU. iPad: iPad Pro M1, 12.9": iPadOS 17.4.1, Apple Pencil 2, Magic Keyboard Mac: 2023 M2 MacBook Air 15", 16GB memory, macOS Sonoma 14.4.1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pšenda Posted January 28, 2023 Share Posted January 28, 2023 13 minutes ago, walt.farrell said: And especially this post later in the topic I think that for users with an urgent need to export dxf, the information "we have no immediate plans" is more important than the technical reasons and problems why not. Quote Affinity Store (MSI/EXE): Affinity Suite (ADe, APh, APu) 2.4.0.2301 Dell OptiPlex 7060, i5-8500 3.00 GHz, 16 GB, Intel UHD Graphics 630, Dell P2417H 1920 x 1080, Windows 11 Pro, Version 23H2, Build 22631.3155. Dell Latitude E5570, i5-6440HQ 2.60 GHz, 8 GB, Intel HD Graphics 530, 1920 x 1080, Windows 11 Pro, Version 23H2, Build 22631.3155. Intel NUC5PGYH, Pentium N3700 2.40 GHz, 8 GB, Intel HD Graphics, EIZO EV2456 1920 x 1200, Windows 10 Pro, Version 21H1, Build 19043.2130. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bksldr7 Posted January 28, 2023 Share Posted January 28, 2023 On 1/2/2022 at 1:19 PM, sw_nut said: Can confirm the following work-around to export from AD to SW: [1] Export as .SVG [2] Import .SVG in Inkscape 1.1.1 [3] Export file as .DXF [4] Import .DXF in Solidworks Still, I'd love it if AD can export to .DXF directly... this the way I finally found to do it. i use ACD Canvas Draw X a lot so I saved in svg format from that to Inkscape Just needed dxf a couple times for a file to send to a laser cutter for a sign. You have to remember to ungroup all objects and convert to paths in Inkscape prior to saving the svg file in dxf format. Choosing Autocad R12 during the dxf saving process seemed to work best in my case but your laser cutter may want R14. Sure would like dxf format added to AD! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cass.Storm Posted February 4, 2023 Share Posted February 4, 2023 .DXF is definitely needed - affinity designer just doesn't work as an alternative to illustrator without it - it limits real world practical uses like lazer cutting or using 3D modeling software. Speaking as a former Architect - this software NEEDS to have this capability to stay relevant and be a competitor to Illustrator. Kevin M 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin M Posted November 8, 2023 Share Posted November 8, 2023 Just another voice begging for this. I am seriously considering having to stop designing in Affinity since I can't cut. And while people mention Inkscape, I find it makes strange things happen. K Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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