The Conversion Workflow

LinkCAD's main purpose is converting CAD files between formats. The conversion follows a wizard-style workflow with clear stages.

Workflow Overview

flowchart TD
    A[Select Input Format] --> B[Configure Input Options]
    B --> C["Select Input File(s)"]
    C --> D[Import]
    D --> E[Review Import Log]
    E -->|Has issues| C
    E -->|OK| F[View / Edit / Repair]
    F --> G[Select Output Format]
    G --> H[Configure Output Options]
    H --> I[Select Export Destination]
    I --> J[Export]
    J --> K[Review Export Log]
    K -->|Has issues| F
    K -->|OK| L([Conversion complete])

1. Select Input File

Choose your source file by:

• Clicking Browse in the Import section
• Dragging a file onto the LinkCAD window
• Using the command line: linkcad.exe -i design.gds

LinkCAD auto-detects the format from the file extension. Override with the format dropdown if needed (for example, when a .txt file contains CIF data).

2. Import Options

Each format has specific import settings. Common options across formats:

Option	Description
Units	Physical units of coordinates in the source file
Precision	Resolution of coordinate values
Scaling	Scale factor to apply during import
Ignore text	Skip text elements to reduce complexity
Font size	Size for imported text elements

Format-specific options are documented in each format's reference page.

3. Apply Tools (Optional)

Before exporting, you can apply geometry processing tools:

• Merge Overlapping Polygons — combine touching/overlapping shapes
• Flatten Hierarchy — expand cell references into a single level
• Convert Quasi-Circles — detect and reconstruct circular approximations
• Sanitize Polygons — fix self-intersecting shapes

Tools can be applied individually from the Tools menu, or configured in the export wizard to run automatically during conversion.

See the Tools Reference for details on each tool.

4. Export Options

Choose the output format and configure:

Option	Description
Output units	Physical units for the exported file
Precision	Coordinate resolution in the output
Format version	Target version (e.g., DXF R12 vs. 2000)
Flatten	Whether to expand the cell hierarchy
Layer map	Map input layers to output layer names/numbers

5. Execute Conversion

Click Convert. A progress bar shows the status. The result appears in the viewer for inspection.

Layer Mapping

During conversion, layers from the source format must map to layers in the target format. This can happen:

• Automatically — LinkCAD preserves layer names/numbers where possible
• Via Layer Map — a CSV file defining the mapping rules

See Layer Maps for details.

Batch Mode

To convert multiple files at once, enable Batch Mode from the Tools menu or pass --batch on the command line. In batch mode, LinkCAD processes all files in a directory using the same import/export settings.

See Batch Processing for the full workflow.