On 13/06/2012 23:50, || ΣΖΟ || wrote:
I'm wondering why .dxf export isn't better supported
Inkscape is a great tool for drawing plans for lasercutters, but all the companies who do the cutting ony accept .dxf
There are a few 'reasonable improvements' available like Better DXF, Better Better DXF and BigBlueSawDXF https://sites.google.com/site/scidiy/inkscape-dxf-output-for-lasercut
But none of them are good enough to deliver a cut file without hassle. Most important are the support of layers (and the use of spaces in the layer names) and SPLINE objects that aren't rendered right.
A good support for .dxf could draw Inkscape into the maker-world. Makershed/Thingtverse/Instructables websites etc.
And I noticed that .dxf is NOT mentioned @ http://wiki.inkscape.org/wiki/index.php/FileTypes Is there any particulair reason for this?
What is needed to get .DXF up to par?
Did you actually try the DXF export extension 'Desktop Cutting Plotter (AutoCAD DXF R14)(*.dxf)' provided by current Inkscape versions (0.48.x)?
Saving a copy as 'Desktop Cutting Plotter' DXF has much improved and includes most (if not all) enhancements from the frequently cited external extensions (based on 'Better DXF'), and has some additional features (many thanks to Alvin Penner!).
See also http://thread.gmane.org/gmane.comp.graphics.inkscape.devel/35292/focus=35293 (older thread, doesn't include the latest rounds of bug-fixes)
Note: I would _not_ recommend to install any of the (dated) variants of the 'Better DXF' output extension as is: last time I checked they all include an ancient version of a shared python module (which is maintained and distributed with Inkscape). The original installation instructions will result in overwriting (or overriding) the current installed version of the module without notifying the user (potentially breaking other extensions). The instructions of the site you mentioned won't prevent breaking other extensions either: the renamed original module 'simpletransform-original.py' won't be found by other extensions which might depend on newer versins of that module and fail with the replaced older and modified version.
See also http://thread.gmane.org/gmane.comp.graphics.inkscape.devel/35292/focus=35295
hth, ~suv