Image

What is a .dxf file?

A .dxf file is a Drawing Interchange File Format (ASCII) (version 1.0). This is an image format — a picture, drawing or graphic. Confusingly, this extension has been used by 32 different formats over the years — they're all listed below.

This extension has been used by more than one format

32 different formats have claimed .dxf over the years, so two files with the same extension aren't necessarily the same kind of thing.

How to open a .dxf file

GIMP (free) and IrfanView open a very wide range of image formats, including obsolete ones.
XnView MP is the best bet for unusual or legacy image types.
Your operating system's built-in viewer may work for mainstream formats.

The registry records this extension against Drawing Interchange File Format (ASCII), Drawing Interchange File Format (ASCII), Drawing Interchange File Format (ASCII) and others, so software from that family is the most likely match.

How to convert a .dxf file

Open it in GIMP or XnView and export as .png (lossless) or .jpg (smaller).

MIME type

When a .dxf file travels over the web, servers label it with this MIME type:

image/vnd.dxf

What's a MIME type?

The technical record

For archivists, developers and the merely curious: these are the PRONOM registry entries for .dxf.

Format name	Version	MIME type	PUID
Drawing Interchange File Format (ASCII)	1.0	image/vnd.dxf	fmt/64
Drawing Interchange File Format (ASCII)	1.2	image/vnd.dxf	fmt/65
Drawing Interchange File Format (ASCII)	1.3	image/vnd.dxf	fmt/66
Drawing Interchange File Format (ASCII)	1.4	image/vnd.dxf	fmt/67
Drawing Interchange File Format (ASCII)	2.0	image/vnd.dxf	fmt/68
Drawing Interchange File Format (ASCII)	2.1	image/vnd.dxf	fmt/69
Drawing Interchange File Format (ASCII)	2.2	image/vnd.dxf	fmt/70
Drawing Interchange File Format (ASCII)	2.5	image/vnd.dxf	fmt/71
Drawing Interchange File Format (ASCII)	2.6	image/vnd.dxf	fmt/72
Drawing Interchange File Format (ASCII)	R9	image/vnd.dxf	fmt/73
Drawing Interchange File Format (ASCII)	R10	image/vnd.dxf	fmt/74
Drawing Interchange File Format (ASCII)	R11/12	image/vnd.dxf	fmt/75
Drawing Interchange File Format (ASCII)	R13	image/vnd.dxf	fmt/76
Drawing Interchange File Format (ASCII)	R14	image/vnd.dxf	fmt/77
Drawing Interchange File Format (ASCII)	2000-2002	image/vnd.dxf	fmt/78
Drawing Interchange File Format (ASCII)	2004/2005/2006	image/vnd.dxf	fmt/79
Drawing Interchange File Format (Binary)	R10	image/vnd.dxf	fmt/80
Drawing Interchange File Format (Binary)	R11/12	image/vnd.dxf	fmt/81
Drawing Interchange File Format (Binary)	R13	image/vnd.dxf	fmt/82
Drawing Interchange File Format (Binary)	R14	image/vnd.dxf	fmt/83
Drawing Interchange File Format (Binary)	2000-2002	image/vnd.dxf	fmt/84
Drawing Interchange File Format (Binary)	2004-2006	image/vnd.dxf	fmt/85
Drawing Interchange File Format (ASCII)	Generic	image/vnd.dxf	fmt/63
Drawing Interchange File Format (ASCII)	2007/2008/2009	image/vnd.dxf	fmt/433
Drawing Interchange File Format (ASCII)	2010/2011/2012	image/vnd.dxf	fmt/435
Drawing Interchange File Format (ASCII)	2013/2014/2015/2016/2017	image/vnd.dxf	fmt/532
Drawing Interchange Format (ASCII)	2018/2019/2020	image/vnd.dxf	fmt/1389
Drawing Interchange Format (Binary)	2007-2009	image/vnd.dxf	fmt/1390
Drawing Interchange Format (Binary)	2010-2012	image/vnd.dxf	fmt/1391
Drawing Interchange Format (Binary)	2013-2017	image/vnd.dxf	fmt/1392
Drawing Interchange Format (Binary)	2018-2021	image/vnd.dxf	fmt/1393
Drawing Interchange Format (Binary)	Generic	image/vnd.dxf	fmt/1394

Got another one?