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Convert CAD Files to PDF

To convert a CAD file to a PDF, send a request to the /api/build endpoint, including both the CAD file as input and the instructions JSON.

The default output from the /api/build endpoint is a PDF file. You can also specify other file types. Learn more about the output options in our API reference.

For more information, refer to the API reference to learn about the /api/build endpoint and all the actions you can perform on PDFs with Document Engine.

For an overview of multipart requests, refer to the brief tour of multipart requests blog post.

Converting a CAD File from Disk

Send a multipart request to the /api/build endpoint and attach a CAD file:

curl -X POST http://localhost:5000/api/build \
  -H "Authorization: Token token=<API token>" \
  -F document=@/path/to/example.dxf \
  -F instructions='{
  "parts": [
    {
      "file": "document"
    }
  ]
}' \
  -o result.pdf
POST /api/build HTTP/1.1
Content-Type: multipart/form-data; boundary=customboundary
Authorization: Token token=<API token>

--customboundary
Content-Disposition: form-data; name="document"; filename="example.dxf"
Content-Type: image/vnd.dxf	

<DXF data>
--customboundary
Content-Disposition: form-data; name="instructions"
Content-Type: application/json

{
  "parts": [
    {
      "file": "document"
    }
  ]
}
--customboundary--

Converting a CAD File from URL

Send a multipart request to the /api/build endpoint, attaching a URL pointing to the CAD file:

curl -X POST http://localhost:5000/api/build \
  -H "Authorization: Token token=<API token>" \
  -F instructions='{
  "parts": [
    {
      "file": {
        "url": "https://pspdfkit.com/downloads/examples/document.webp"
      }
    }
  ]
}' \
  -o result.pdf
POST /api/build HTTP/1.1
Content-Type: multipart/form-data; boundary=customboundary
Authorization: Token token=<API token>

--customboundary
Content-Disposition: form-data; name="instructions"
Content-Type: application/json

{
  "parts": [
    {
      "file": {
        "url": "https://pspdfkit.com/downloads/examples/document.webp"
      }
    }
  ]
}
--customboundary--

Supported Formats

Refer to our file type support guide for a list of all supported file formats, along with any license requirements they might have.