DXF

Description
AutoCAD DXF (Drawing Interchange Format, or Drawing Exchange Format) is a data file format developed by Autodesk to enable interoperability between the AutoCAD application and other programs. It was originally introduced in 1982 as part of AutoCAD 1.0.

Due to the popularity of AutoCAD as a drawing application, the DXF file has become widely supported by many other drawing applications, especially to represent 2D shapes like in architectural plans and solid body projections. ASCII versions of DXF can be read with a text editor, in similar way to SVG files.

Two common versions of the DXF specification are almost always supported:
 * The R12 version is an older and simpler version, but is well supported by most programs.
 * The R14 version is newer, and includes more advanced features such a splines.

The DWG file format is a related format. While DWG is the native, binary file format of AutoCAD, DXF is only a representation of the that same data. In many cases, it's easy to import and export DXF files, but it's hard to deal with DWG files due to their more complex and proprietary nature.

How to use
FreeCAD can read and export DXF graphics using the Draft DXF function from the Draft Workbench. The TechDraw Workbench can also export drawing pages to DXF using the TechDraw SaveDXF function.

FreeCAD is primarily a 3D modelling application, and thus doesn't have many 2D drawing tools, which are mostly included in the Draft and Sketcher Workbenches. To exclusively draw technical drawings in 2D, and produce DXF files, there are alternative programs like LibreCAD and QCad.