DXF Converter
Convert a DXF drawing — ASCII or binary — to GDSII, OASIS, CIF, SVG, PNG or EPS, free, online, entirely inside your browser. There's nothing to install and nothing to upload: the same DXF reader that backs Glyph's own File → Open runs locally, in this tab, and the flavour (ASCII vs binary) is detected automatically from the file's bytes.
Where a DXF file can go
| Target | What you get |
|---|---|
| GDSII | Blocks become cells, inserts become SREF/AREF, curves flatten to polygons within a chord-deviation budget. The most common target for mask/lithography work — see the dedicated walkthrough for units, layer naming, and why an outline-only drawing can convert to something that exposes nothing. |
| OASIS | Same hierarchy mapping as GDSII, written into OASIS's more compact record set. |
| CIF | Blocks and inserts map the same way; a magnified insert is flattened, since CIF calls carry no scale. |
| SVG | A flattened vector image — hierarchy is expanded, not preserved. |
| PNG | A raster snapshot at a pixel width you choose. |
| EPS | A PostScript figure, alpha flattened onto the page background. |
How to convert a DXF file
- Drop your
.dxffile onto the converter above — ASCII and binary are both read. - Pick the target format. If you're heading to GDSII or OASIS and your drawing is line art rather than filled regions, turn on close open contours in the advanced options first (see the FAQ below).
- Download the result. Nothing is uploaded to a server first.
Honest limits
- DXF layers have no datatype field. Converting to GDSII, OASIS or CIF lands every imported shape on datatype 0 — you assign the real datatype pairing afterward if your process needs one.
- Only a handful of DXF entities are read: LINE, LWPOLYLINE (incl. bulge arcs), POLYLINE/VERTEX, CIRCLE, ARC, ELLIPSE, SOLID/TRACE, 3DFACE, TEXT, MTEXT, SPLINE, INSERT, DIMENSION (via its picture block), and HATCH boundary loops. Anything else in the drawing is skipped, not guessed at.
.dxbis refused by name — it's a different, opcode-based plotting format with no group codes, and Glyph doesn't decode it.- There's a file-size ceiling (~50 MB warn, ~200 MB refuse). Open large drawings in the full Glyph editor instead.
For the full pairwise matrix across all six formats Glyph handles, see the Glyph File Converter hub. For why DXF and mask-layout formats model geometry so differently, see DXF vs GDSII.
Frequently asked questions
Does this DXF converter handle binary DXF, or only ASCII?
Both. The DXF flavour is detected from the file's own bytes, so a binary .dxf needs no re-save step first. The separate .dxb plotting format is not DXF group codes at all and is declined by name.
Is my DXF file uploaded anywhere?
No. The conversion runs entirely in your browser using the same parser as the Glyph editor. There is no server to upload to, and your design data never leaves your machine.
What can I convert a DXF file to?
GDSII, OASIS, CIF, SVG, PNG or EPS. Converting to GDSII or OASIS turns DXF blocks into cells and inserts into SREF/AREF placements, preserving hierarchy — see the DXF-to-GDSII page for the full detail.
Why did my converted mask file turn out empty?
CAD outlines are often drawn as separate LINE and ARC entities that trace an outline but enclose no area. Converted literally those become zero-width paths — centrelines, not exposable regions. Turn on close open contours (available in this converter's advanced options and in the full editor) to chain touching segments into closed rings first.
Is there a file size limit?
The conversion runs inside your browser tab, so your machine's memory is the real ceiling. The converter checks the file size before parsing, warns above roughly 50 MB and declines files beyond roughly 200 MB rather than risking an out-of-memory crash.
It's also a full DXF editor
If you need to inspect, fix, or edit the drawing rather than just convert it, open it in the free Glyph editor — the same reader, plus the canvas, layers, and design-rule check. See Free DXF editor for what that actually covers.
Glyph is made by NANYTE. For where a finished layout goes next, read NANYTE's maskless lithography overview.