Learn/App & Interface/Files & data
File Formats
At a glance
- One .jc3 project file holds everything — parts, sheets, toolpaths, and settings
- Machine profiles travel as .jcm files; post processors as editable .jcpst; parametric shapes as .jshape
- DXF and SVG import everywhere artwork is accepted; DXF export from sketches and CAM
- Posted programs are plain G-code text files you can open anywhere
A JetCad3 project is a single .jc3 file — an SQLite database holding your parts, sketches,
feature history, nested sheets, toolpaths, and workspace settings in one place. One file to back
up, one file to email, one file to drop on another machine. Large data inside is compressed
automatically, and older project files open transparently and upgrade themselves the next time you
save.
Machine, post, and shape files
Everything that configures a machine travels in its own portable file. A .jcm machine
profile is one file per machine: axes and travel, kinematics, work offsets, cut charts, cutting
profiles, rules, and G-code subroutines. Post processors are .jcpst files — plain JavaScript
you can open in any editor, with a comment header naming the post; they run sandboxed, with no
file or network access, so a downloaded post can't do anything but format G-code. Parametric
shapes for the Shape Generator ship as editable .jshape scripts, and custom themes export as
.jc3_theme files (see Themes).
Import
DXF and SVG import anywhere artwork is accepted — File → Import or just drag the file onto the
viewport. The DXF reader handles lines, arcs, circles, polylines, splines, and ellipses, follows
layers and block inserts, and keeps arcs as true arcs rather than flattening them to segments, so
your CAM leads and kerf comp land on real geometry. SheetCam .job files import into the cutting
workspaces too, so an existing job library isn't stranded.
Export
Posted programs are plain-text G-code — .ngc by default, or whatever extension your post or
machine profile specifies — readable by any controller or text editor. Sheets and sketches export
back to DXF or SVG with coordinates scaled to your preferred units, and the Drafting workspace
exports solid models as STEP, STL, or 3MF for machining, printing, or sharing with other CAD.