This is a simple help page to help you view DXF files on any
computer. If you have a CAD program, likely it will be able to view
dxf files. Otherwise you will have to download a program to do
the viewing for you. The program we describe how to configure is
called dxfview and it is jave based so it runs on almost all
desktops. Here are the steps.
- Create a DXF file for testing. Use WebMaple to create a dxf file
using the dxf mode and a maple command like:
- plot3d(sin(x)*sin(y),x=0..2*Pi,y=0..2*Pi);
When prompted save the file as `sin.dxf' or whatever.
- You can download dxfview.jar from its
home page
- Test it. At a unix or dos prompt type (replace sin.dxf with what name
saved your test file in step 1.
- java -jar dxfview.jar sin.dxf
- If it works you, you can skip this step. If it failed, then likely
you do not have java installed. Java is a free program which you
can get from Sun. After installing
the correct Java for your platform. Try step 3 again.
- This step is optional, your can create a shell script or window's
shortcut to run the command in step 3. And you can make your browser
automatically run this script or shortcut when it gets a dxf file
from WebMaple. The example below is for unix.
- The shell script "dxfview"
- #!/bin/sh
- exec java -jar "$@"
- Add this to your mailcap file
- vector/x-dxf; dxfview %s