DXF

DXF (Drawing Exchange Format) is the open file format for exchanging CAD drawings between programs, originally published by Autodesk. A DXF file carries the drawing's geometry - lines, arcs, polylines, text, layers - in a documented structure that virtually every CAD and GIS package can read and write.

In surveying workflows, DXF is the common denominator: geometry drawn or rebuilt in one tool exports as DXF and drops into Civil 3D, Carlson, or ArcGIS without translation loss on the linework itself. It travels alongside SHP (the GIS-native shapefile format) when the destination is a mapping system rather than a drafting one.

When record documents are converted to CAD - a plotted deed or a redrawn plat - DXF is typically the delivery format that puts the result into the drafting environment where the survey gets finished.

Related: Convert a plat to CAD or DXF