GuideIntermediate13 min
Export DXF for 3D CAD coordination
Choose a receiving-software profile, DXF release, encoding, mesh/entity policy, layers, units and origin for reliable 3D coordination exchange.
- Applies to
- Current Prism release · Navisworks Manage 2025–2027
- Availability
- Pro and higher
- For
- CAD and BIM coordination teams
- Last reviewed
DXF scope and limitations
Receiving-software profiles
| Profile | Resolved baseline |
|---|---|
| AutoCAD 2018–2026 | R2018 ASCII MESH, blocks, adaptive color and explicit edges; default. |
| BricsCAD V26 | R2018 ASCII MESH, blocks, adaptive color and explicit edges. |
| DraftSight 2025 | R2018 ASCII polyface mesh, blocks, adaptive color and explicit edges. |
| Rhino 8 | R2018 ASCII polyface mesh, blocks, source true color and viewer-style edges. |
| SOLIDWORKS 3D | R2013 ASCII polyface mesh, blocks, adaptive color and explicit edges. |
| Maximum compatibility | R2010 ASCII polyface mesh, blocks, adaptive color and explicit edges. |
| Custom | Your selected release, encoding, entity, structure, color and edge controls. |
Configure compatibility and structure
- ASCII has the widest interchange compatibility; Binary reduces size and parse time when the receiver supports the Autodesk binary representation.
- MESH uses modern subdivision-level-zero mesh records. Polyface uses classic POLYLINE/VERTEX/SEQEND records for older consumers.
- Blocks + INSERT preserves reusable geometry and structure; direct entities are simpler but can expand repeated content.
- Choose automatic/source layers or a controlled mapping, and include explicit mesh edges when the receiver's visual style would otherwise hide faces.
- Set source or explicit units and choose Federation center for stable local coordinates unless preserved world placement is required.
- Identity/property data is bounded and optional; it is not a full IFC property model.
Verify in the CAD receiver
Open the profile output
Use the exact receiving application/version rather than only a generic DXF viewer.
Check visibility
Inspect shaded and wireframe/edge views, adaptive black/white color and transparency limitations.
Check scale and location
Measure a known dimension and compare origin/alignment with a reference.
Check structure and layers
Confirm block selection, source separation and layer naming support the downstream task.
Check identity companions
Verify required XDATA or JSON/CSV joins and keep companions with the DXF.
Related guidance
Choose an export format and compatible settingsCompare Prism output formats, plan availability, packaging, coordinate conventions and the most important interoperability limits.Choose exactly what Prism exportsUse whole-model, selection, saved/search-set, visibility, source-model and section controls without losing required context.Validate an export and read the reportsConfigure Prism checks, IDS validation, halt-on-blocking policy, HTML/JSON/CSV reports and BCF issue output, then decide whether a result is deliverable.