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Another DXF IMPORT Request


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Maybe quantity of posts will help with this feature request:  I absolutely NEED DXF import to make Affinity useful to me.  I keep an ancient copy of Illustrator around simply because it does this.

 

My application is for the silkscreening and label generation for electronic products.  

 

My CAD tool is SpaceClaim - a wonderful tool for usability, but very limited in terms of things it exports.  DWG/DXF is the only usable vector format it will export.

 

Very detailed and relatively complex information is exported in the DXF, exactly to scale.  That is the aspect that needs to be preserved.  If I export as PDF, I lose the scale.  I cannot capture as raster files and reconvert as information is lost and it is not accurate enough to do what I need.

 

I have read other posts and it sounds like others wish to do exactly as I.  I periodically check on Affinity to see if this capability has been added.  Until it is added, I cannot switch over to it from Illustrator - and believe me, I WANT to move away from Illustrator.  I regret not having checked this exact capability before actually paying for Affinity Designer.   I just assumed it HAD to be there.

 

I like the looks and the promise of the Affinity Designer tool, but without this key capability (DXF import), I cannot yet use it or recommend its use to my peers.

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I'd like give this thread a bump.  I check back on Affinity Designer  every couple of months to see if anything has been done about DXF import/export.  Nope.

 

Every now and again someone new comes in to these forums and asks about DXF and gets a response about it being "on the roadmap" or some such, but people (myself included) have been asking about it for 2+ years.  Doesn't really seem important to Affinity.

 

I have tried the various "workarounds" - PDF in and out - maybe my cad tool isn't the greatest PDF writer, but information is lost or not scaled properly.    .DXF to SVG through Inkscape - cumbersome process, many steps, and prone to data loss/change or mis-scaling.

 

Reading my CAD-generated DXF into AI, adding/editing the artwork, then exporting a DXF to my laser shop, or an EPS to the print shop just works - no muss, no fuss.  It just kills me to pay Adobe over and over again.  Paying the CC charge is onerous for a tool I only use once every couple of months.  I want to move away from them.  I am guessing there are plenty of commercial customers in the same boat as me - as well as the entire world of "Makers" whom I bet would jump in if DXF worked well.    

 

However, hacking through a set of improvised steps to get into and out of AD with multiple tool dependencies isn't going to cut it as a replacement for a production tool.  I would happily pay an upgrade to Affinity Designer to get native DXF ability into a new version of the tool.  I like the interface and want to start using it.  I just can't without this capability.  Hey, Affinity!  Any solid news on DXF capability?

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  • Staff

Hi smetzger,

Welcome to Affinity Forums :)

There wasn't time yet to pick up other requested features (with a few exceptions) besides those listed on our roadmap. We have a small team and it takes time to fulfil all functionality users are requesting no matter how hard we try. What some users consider essential may not be that important to others. Version 1.6 will include a light interface option and brush stabilisation both highly requested features that were not initially planned to be released so soon. Bear with us while we work to improve the apps.

 

Note: please consider change your forum's username to something else to prevent spammers from getting you e-mail 

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  • 1 year later...

BUMP.  DXF Import/Export please!   There are a ton of DXF Import/Export requests in these forums.

If it is never going to happen, please let me know so I can just delete my purchased copy of AD, instead of checking back every few months, only to find more user requests in these forums and no response.  I remain hopeful, but have no use for the tool if it cannot import/export DXF.  I would pay for an upgrade if the capability was added.  Instead, I have to give my money to Adobe.

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Second that!! DXF/DWG is a must for vector software - it's industry standard and I can't think of any software that doesn't include. And yes, I would pay more too considering the workarounds I need to do.

 

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Bought this program to replace Illustrator.  From the specs I saw the export file types that I needed, so I bought it. I assumed it did .dxf/.dwg imports like any other vector drawing program does.  WRONG! It's useless to me without that functionality.  Creators must not have had any "industrial" experience when  they came up  with this.

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MEB,

What I saw on the specs mostly was that it opened .AI files (especially needed if you no longer have Illustrator), and exported into all of the standard "vector" formats out there. The program is good, but it lacks an ability to interact with the industrialized world, where basic CAD files exist. I've been using commercial vector drawing programs for over 30+ years. Even back then, they all had the ability to  import .dxf/.dwg.  This is not new, and can't be that hard to implement.  In the industrial workflow space, precise, accurate drawings are made in CAD, and then transferred to vector illustration programs like Designer (mostly Illustrator or Corel Draw) for artistic enhancement everyday. Whether that be straight artwork creation on top of a drawing or die line, or just simple coloration treatments.

If you want this product to succeed, it must at least be able to do this. The applications and sales potential for your program that can do .dxf/.dwg file interchange, far outweigh any "purely artistic" oriented need.  There are thousands of users out there that feel abandoned by Illustrator, only to be stuck with them because of Designer's inability to match that simple capability. I know I'm not alone.  I don't want my money back. I want you to see the potential to make your good product great, and unlock it's full potential.

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I cpotsch,
It imports Ai files as long as they include a PDF stream (Create PDF compatible file must be checked when saving the Ai file in Illustrator). Regarding DXG/DWG, we are aware of the importance of those formats. We simply didn't have time yet to add support for them. Affinity apps are all quite recent and still miss a few features that we hope to cover/implement as the development moves forward.

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MEB,

I don't want you to think I'm being antagonistic here, as that its not my goal.  I'm taking my precious time (and yours) to exclaim a real shortcoming/need with your program. Most people won't do that. They'll do a drive-by complaint and move on to another product.

I applaud your company's efforts with this product, but feel you are not seeing the end user's perspective.  I fully understand all of the things you want to do to make your product work better and enhance it, but that's from your (the designers') perspective. To put it another way, you've created a Ferrari.  It's shiny, sleek, and runs really fast. Your staff is always looking at the Ferrari on how to make it better.  You LOVE that Ferrari.  It's your BABY.

But there's a problem that's apparent to a whole lot of people, but maybe not you. Your Ferrari has no doors.  The only way in or out is through the windows.  Now, to a younger user or someone who is accustomed to get in and out that way, that makes perfect sense.  But most users like doors. Not just like them, but in most cases need them. Until you add the "doors",  the people who NEED your Ferrari won't buy it because they can't  get in or out efficiently.  That ability outweighs ANY other enhancement you may make. Anything else is cosmetic.  You need to focus on function. 

Those are the ones you really need to address here. It's really that important. Thank you and Best Regards!

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Hi cpotsch,
I understand your concerns/requests (i worked with DWG/DXF files/prepared them for presentations too). As you will see from other requests on the forum there's also users from other areas who think their feedback/requests are also indispensable (they are also right) - from animating concepts/prototypes scenes/ui for user Interface designers, to tracing/vectorise functions for graphic designers and illustrators, to support for right to left languages for print/web/communication design, linked files etc etc - there's plenty of features/areas that require attention depending on user's interests. However we are limited by time and development resources. Request like these are already with the development teams but only them can decide what's getting implemented first depending on dev plans/constraints/resources available. We are doing our best to close these gaps as fast as possible (when applicable).

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45 minutes ago, cpotsch said:

That ability outweighs ANY other enhancement you may make. Anything else is cosmetic.  You need to focus on function.

It'd be interesting on making a poll or something about the equivalence between doors in a car and those File Formats, considering that I, and others, don't need them. I know you do, and I'll be happy when they are supported so you can take advantage of them.

Best regards!

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And just as an example: people here need the TGA w/Transparency Export functionality; I've read about how that format is so used for games... who can say which should come first, total support for TGA or partial support for DWG/DXF (I don't think it will come fully sopported at once in a future update)?

I can't say, since I don't use such formats. And even if I'd love to see them here and now for you to enjoy, there is a wide gamma of functionalities that are so important for different professionals that the lack of it would prevent them from adopting the Affinity programs. For them, another feature equals the door you mentioned.

Best regards!

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  • 3 weeks later...
On 6/25/2018 at 11:31 PM, Mithferion said:

And just as an example: people here need the TGA w/Transparency Export functionality; I've read about how that format is so used for games... who can say which should come first, total support for TGA or partial support for DWG/DXF (I don't think it will come fully sopported at once in a future update)?

I can't say, since I don't use such formats. And even if I'd love to see them here and now for you to enjoy, there is a wide gamma of functionalities that are so important for different professionals that the lack of it would prevent them from adopting the Affinity programs. For them, another feature equals the door you mentioned.

Best regards!

Basically everyone is right in this thread. What should've been acknowledged though is the underrepresentation of "technical drawing" related features (like being able to import the most common formats, or the "select similar", etc.) compared to "artistic drawing" (brush stabilization, symbols, etc.). That's what @cpotsch was trying to explain in a very kind manner. When you are dealing with such files (containing tens or hundreds of thousands of elements), the time spent getting to a level where you can edit them with the existing feature set is critical. E.g. I want to select all the cut/hidden/visible lines in a technical drawing: can be a time consuming manual task lasting for a day, or three clicks. I am in the user base that have purchased AD out of curiosity (I am using APhoto basically every day though), but it's merely suitable for production due to the above expressed reasons, which is a shame. 

I respect the decisions of Serif, and a poll wouldn't suite as proper preparations on what to implement, but such macro-scale decisions could've been expressed more clearly – as I am pretty sure they monitored which directions are worth exploring first.

Which is harder to grasp though is the lack of clear roadmaps: https://trello.com/b/dgI8vjDb/corona-road-map-cinema-4d (example of a very clear one).

 

MBP 15" + iPad Pro 10,5"

macOS High Sierra 10.14 | iOS 13 | latest Affinity Photo & Designer & Publisher (and Betas)

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On 7/13/2018 at 5:58 PM, furtonb said:

What should've been acknowledged though is the underrepresentation of "technical drawing" related features (like being able to import the most common formats, or the "select similar", etc.) compared to "artistic drawing" (brush stabilization, symbols, etc.).

That's true. Designer is lacking in those areas, but if you have a broader view, you can see that the Affinity range lacks in more areas, like Format support.

On 7/13/2018 at 5:58 PM, furtonb said:

E.g. I want to select all the cut/hidden/visible lines in a technical drawing: can be a time consuming manual task lasting for a day, or three clicks.

That's also another feature that's being asked for. And I'm confident that the folks at Serif took notice of it.

On 7/13/2018 at 5:58 PM, furtonb said:

Which is harder to grasp though is the lack of clear roadmaps: https://trello.com/b/dgI8vjDb/corona-road-map-cinema-4d (example of a very clear one).

I'm sure internally they have something like that. Why they don't shre it with us... well, maybe the dicussions would be even more passionate about why something goes first that the other, and they Devs would spend more time here answering (because people demand answers) than developing.

So, I know how you feel, and things could be made better, but anything they do, it won't be enough.

Best regards!

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