Working With DXF Files

A DXF file (or Drawing Exchange Files) is a vector file (remember that “Vector” refers to the cuttable lines in your design) that has become a popular file type because there are so many different programs that can open them. The great thing about these files is because they are “vector” files you can open them up in your software and cut them right away without having to use Auto-Trace or Manual Vectorization. For those of you who don’t know, you can identify DXF files by looking at the name of your file, if it is named, for example, “MyPicture.dxf” then it is a DXF file. Notice the last part of the name “.dxf” which tells us what type of file it is.

To open a DXF file in the Inspiration Studio, open a new page and then go to your File drop down menu , hover over “Import” and select “DXF”. You will then need to locate where you saved your file on your computer. Once you find it, select it, and then press the “Open” button in the bottom right corner of that window.

Sometimes, but not always, DXF files will import as very large in the Inspiration Studio Software. The best explanation I have for this is that some information is getting “lost in translation”. If you have ever tried to translate Spanish to English using a computer you know that often even though the “jist” of what was said gets through, there is a little something lost in translation. Think of the Inspiration as trying to “translate” the language of a DXF file to something the Inspiration Studio can read and you’ll start to understand why a little something gets lost every now and again.

Thankfully all you need to do is Zoom Page and size your file down and save, it’s a very easy fix if you know what is going on. Depending on just how big the DXF file opens as you might not even be able to see the outline of your page anymore, it’s important to check the size of your design. You can check it by selecting it and look down in the bottom right of your screen for the height and width which will be shown by an “H” followed by a number and a “W” followed by a number. If the numbers are bigger than your page, you will need to decrease the size of your design.