| Extension | DXF |
| Full Name | Drawing Exchange Format |
| Type | CAD |
| Mime Type | image/x-dxf |
| Format | Binary |
A DXF file was created by Autodesk as a standardized format for storing complex 2D and 3D Computer Aided Design (CAD) drawings in a single, standard package that can be used for seamless exchanging of data between different CAD systems.
The DXF format is plain text and allows CAD elements such as points, lines, curves, and other elements to be represented in an efficient manner that is easy to read by other CAD applications. The use of plain text does, however, cause the files to grow in size quickly when storing large and complex CAD drawings.
As DXF files are designed from the start to be an open and standard format, there are many CAD and 2D drawing applications that offer support for importing and exporting to the DXF format.
| Extension | DWG |
| Full Name | Drawing |
| Type | CAD |
| Mime Type | application/octet-stream |
| Format | Binary |
A DWG file (also known as a Drawing file) is one of the older Computer Aided Design (CAD) formats and is primarily associated with Autodesk's AutoCAD application. The format started out as a format for storing 2D CAD drawings but has evolved to store other CAD-related data, including full 3D CAD models.
The format stores the core CAD data, such as points, lines, elevations, and other 2D and, in more recent versions, 3D modeling data, along with other important metadata related to the drawing. The DWG format is proprietary and is intended for use with the AutoCAD application only.
Although designed for the AutoCAD application, there are other 3D CAD and modeling applications that can open DWG files. As the format is proprietary and has been updated many times over the years, opening a DWG file with any application other than AutoCAD will be met with varying degrees of success.
