ACadSharp Documentation

ACadSharp is a .NET library designed for reading and writing CAD files, specifically supporting DXF and DWG formats. It allows developers to extract or modify geometric information from entities and manage table elements such as Blocks, Layers, and Styles.

Key Capabilities:

• DXF Support: Read and write both binary and ASCII DXF files.
• DWG Support: Read and write DWG files.
• Entity Manipulation: Extract or modify geometric information from various entities.
• Table Management: Control, create, or modify Blocks, Layers, and Styles.

Note: For PDF export capabilities, use the separate ACadSharp.Pdf project.

If the file format (DWG or DXF) is unknown at runtime, use CadReaderFactory.CreateReader to automatically select the appropriate reader based on the file extension. Supported extensions are .dwg and .dxf.

using ACadSharp.IO;
using (ICadReader reader = CadReaderFactory.CreateReader("path/to/file.dwg")) 
{
	CadDocument doc = reader.Read();
}

All readers expose an OnNotification event. You can subscribe to this event to capture and process warnings or informational messages that occur during the file reading process. The event arguments provide the NotificationType and the Message.

using ACadSharp.IO;
using (DwgReader reader = new DwgReader("path/to/file.dwg")) 
{ 
	reader.OnNotification += (sender, args) => { Console.WriteLine($"[{args.NotificationType}] {args.Message}"); };
	CadDocument doc = reader.Read();
}

To save a CadDocument to a DWG file, use the DwgWriter class. You can subscribe to the OnNotification event to monitor the writing process, for example by using NotificationHelper.LogConsoleNotification.

// Writing a DWG file
using (DwgWriter writer = new DwgWriter(file, doc))
{
    writer.OnNotification += NotificationHelper.LogConsoleNotification;
    writer.Write();
}

To read a DWG file, use the DwgReader class. To read a DXF file, replace DwgReader with DxfReader. You can pass a notification delegate (such as NotificationHelper.LogConsoleNotification) to the constructor to monitor the reading process via events.

// Reading a DWG file
using (DwgReader reader = new DwgReader(file, NotificationHelper.LogConsoleNotification))
{
    CadDocument doc = reader.Read();
}

To load a .dxf file into a CadDocument, instantiate a DxfReader with the file path and call the Read() method. It is recommended to wrap the reader in a using block to ensure proper disposal.

using ACadSharp.IO;
using (DxfReader reader = new DxfReader("path/to/file.dxf")) 
{
	CadDocument doc = reader.Read();
}

If you are building ACadSharp from source, you must first initialize and update the necessary git submodules.

git submodule update --init --recursive

To read a DWG file, use the DwgReader.Read method. This method accepts the file path and an optional notification handler to process messages during the reading process via NotificationEventArgs.

public static void Main()
{
	string path = "sample.dwg";
	CadDocument doc = DwgReader.Read(path, onNotification);
}

// Process a notification from the reader
private static void onNotification(object sender, NotificationEventArgs e)
{
	Console.WriteLine(e.Message);
}

Once a document is loaded, you can access all drawing entities through the Entities property of the CadDocument object. This collection represents the entities located in the model space.

// Get all the entities in the model
public static IEnumerable<Entity> GetAllEntitiesInModel(string file)
{
    CadDocument doc = DwgReader.Read(file);

    // Get the model space where all the drawing entities are
    return doc.Entities;
}

When working with Radius dimensions, the following points define the dimension's geometry:

• AngleVertex: The vertex point related to the radius.
• DefinitionPoint: The point used to define the dimension's orientation or scale.
• InsertionPoint: The location where the dimension text/leader is placed.

When working with Angular3pt dimensions, the following points define the dimension's geometry:

• FirstPoint: The first point of the angle.
• SecondPoint: The second point of the angle.
• AngleVertex: The vertex where the angle is measured.
• DefinitionPoint: The point used to define the dimension's orientation or scale.
• InsertionPoint: The location where the dimension text/leader is placed.