v.in.dxf(1)

📦
version 8.4.2 · 8 versions
, in fedora 44

💖 v.in.dxf — bestie edition 💖

okay so this is the manual page for v.in.dxf, a GRASS GIS User's Manual situation, and it is genuinely one of the most useful little tools ever. it takes your DXF files (yes, the CAD ones) and turns them into GRASS vector maps. slay.

✨ KEYWORDS ✨

vector, import, DXF, level1

🌸 SYNOPSIS 🌸

v.in.dxf
v.in.dxf --help
v.in.dxf [-etbfli1] input=name output=name  [layers=string[,string,...]]
[--overwrite]  [--help]  [--verbose]  [--quiet]  [--ui]

🎀 Flags

  • -e — ignore the map extent of the DXF file, like it's not even there
  • -t — do NOT create an attribute table
  • -b — do not build topology. genuinely advantageous when you're handling a huge number of points, no cap
  • -f — import polyface meshes as 3D wire frame
  • -l — just list the available DXF layers and exit. window shopping, iconic
  • -i — invert the selection by DXF layers (so: don't import the layers that are in the list)
  • -1 — import all objects into one layer
  • --overwrite — allow output files to overwrite existing files
  • --help — print usage summary
  • --verbose — verbose module output
  • --quiet — quiet module output
  • --ui — force launching GUI dialog

🦋 Parameters

  • input=name [required] — path to input DXF file
  • output=name [required] — name for output vector map
  • layers=string[,string,...] — list of DXF layers to import (default: all)

💅 DESCRIPTION 💅

v.in.dxf converts DXF format CAD files to GRASS vector format. periodt.

here's the whole roster of graphical objects (DXF entities) it supports, and bestie it is a list:

  • point
    • DXF POINT
  • line
    • DXF LINE
    • DXF POLYLINE
    • DXF LWPOLYLINE
    • DXF ARC
    • DXF CIRCLE
    • DXF TEXT
  • face
    • DXF POLYFACE MESHES
    • DXF 3DFACE

Table and column names are changed to lowercase characters for easier SQL usage — and the reason that matters is that lowercase table/column names avoid the need to quote them if the attribute table is stored in a SQL DBMS such as PostgreSQL. iykyk.

The "layer" column will contain the name(s) of the DXF input layer(s). The DXF entity type string will be stored in the "entity" column as uppercase.

The "handle" column can be used to store small bits of data associated with any entity in the DXF file (i.e., entity handle or unique object identifiers in the layer). The entity handle is a "text string of up to 16 hexadecimal digits", which is a 64-bit integer — and heads up, that's currently not supported by GRASS database drivers. For text type entities, the text value will be stored in the "label" column of the GRASS vector output map. Neither the "handle" nor "label" column is mandatory.

📚 REFERENCES 📚

  • AutoCad DXF (from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)
  • DXF References (Autodesk-supplied documentation)

👀 SEE ALSO 👀

v.out.dxf, v.in.ogr, v.out.ogr

How-to import DXF files in wxGUI (from GRASS User Wiki)

👑 AUTHORS 👑

Original written by Chuck Ehlschlaeger, 6/1989 Revised by Dave Gerdes, 12/1989 US Army Construction Engineering Research Lab

Updated for GRASS 6 and 3D support. Huidae Cho, 3/2006 With minor additions by Benjamin Ducke (Oxford Archaeology), 4/2009

⭐ SOURCE CODE ⭐

Available at: v.in.dxf source code (history)

Accessed: Saturday Jan 17 05:41:24 2026

Main index | Vector index | Topics index | Keywords index | Graphical index | Full index

© 2003-2025 GRASS Development Team, GRASS GIS 8.4.2 Reference Manual

and that's the whole page, bestie 🫶 this was GRASS 8.4.2, and the vibe check was completed on Saturday Jan 17 05:41:24 2026. go import something pretty. 💖✨

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