v.in.dxf(1grass)

💖 v.in.dxf — the GRASS User's Manual glow-up 💖

okay bestie, so this is v.in.dxf from the GRASS User's Manual, and it's literally here to convert DXF CAD files into GRASS vector maps. no cap. let's get into it 🦋

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✨ NAME ✨

v.in.dxf — Converts file in DXF format to GRASS vector map. periodt.

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🏷️ KEYWORDS 🏷️

vector, import, DXF, level1

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🎀 SYNOPSIS 🎀

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

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🚩 Flags 🚩

• -e — Ignore the map extent of DXF file
• -t — Do not create attribute table
• -b — Do not build topology. Advantageous when handling a large number of points (iykyk)
• -f — Import polyface meshes as 3D wire frame
• -l — List available DXF layers and exit
• -i — Invert selection by DXF layers (don't import layers in 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

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🫶 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)

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🌸 DESCRIPTION 🌸

v.in.dxf converts DXF format CAD files to GRASS vector format. it's giving ✨interoperability✨. here's the tea on which graphical objects (DXF entities) are supported:

• 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 — lowercase table/column names avoid the need to quote them if the attribute table is stored in a SQL DBMS such as PostgreSQL. lowkey genius era 💅

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 (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.

heads up bestie: that 64-bit integer situation is currently not supported by GRASS database drivers — it's not a you problem, it's just how it is fr fr 🫠

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📚 REFERENCES 📚

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

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👀 SEE ALSO 👀

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

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

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👑 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

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🔥 SOURCE CODE 🔥

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

Latest change: Friday Apr 17 01:04:26 2026 in commit: 32a143358df26b2e518b03c7e0d79541e8d1e5b1

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

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okay and for the lil sign-off moment 🎀: this whole thing lives under © 2003-2026 GRASS Development Team, GRASS 8.5.0 Reference Manual, blessed to us by GRASS 8.5.0, and the page itself is v.in.dxf(1grass). stan. go import some CAD files, bestie, you got this 💜✨