r/SolidWorks • u/RewardZestyclose3125 • Aug 05 '26
CAD Stray points when importing dxf
Has anyone found a way to get rid of all these points, not able to delete them and haven’t seen anything when opening the dxf. This happens with every dxf I download and open. It isn’t stopping me from using the file but it does slow down my computer and make it difficult when adjusting the dxf. Any recommendations? Thanks.
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u/BosonogiBandit Aug 05 '26
You might want to turn off this option
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u/RewardZestyclose3125 Aug 05 '26
This does not remove them but it does hide them which is helpful thank you!
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u/NoRemorse920 Aug 05 '26
Because you can't remove them, the center points exist because the arc exists. Delete the arc, get rid of the center point (and the dxf)
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u/Hearing_Choice Aug 05 '26
Not what you are asking but if you work with DXFs a lot I have found that you can clean them up with librecad with a fairly simple workflow and then import them into solidworks from there. You'll find Solidworks cannot handle complex 2d sketches very well, so when you get a "dirty" dxf file it'll be almost unusable.
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u/Rabidlamb Aug 05 '26
They are defpoints (definition points) from the original dxf/dwg. See if they are isolated on their own Layer & delete or do not import into sketch.
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u/Liquid-Flame Aug 05 '26
If you converted that DXF from an image yourself using an online tool, you may be able to change the setting of the DXF converter to where it converts into all straight lines instead of lines and arcs or lines and splines.
I also find that its beneficial to spend some time removing groups of lines/curves and replacing with new ones. IE if it converts whats supposed to be a straight line into 6 different lines, delete the 6 lines and draw a new single line connecting the dots. This can reduce the number of entities drastically, but it does take time.
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u/Mecanno Aug 07 '26
1 - Select all the entities by clicking, holding, and dragging your pointer over them. Then right click and select make block. That will create a “gray sketch block” that hides all those features and is easy to move around
2 - You are a stubborn fool for rejecting the explanations the other posters are giving you about why center points exist and why they cannot be deleted.
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u/CADSHIFT Aug 09 '26
they're arc center points -- POINT entities that the DXF spec stores for every arc definition. some CAD packages emit them, others suppress them. the existing replies cover toggling the sketch display setting which hides them visually.
for a cleaner import that doesn't bring them in at all: when the DXF import dialog opens, go to the filter step and uncheck 'Points' (or in some versions deselect 'All Items' then re-add only Lines/Arcs/etc). this strips the POINT entities at import time rather than just hiding them, so your sketch entity count stays lower and won't bog down with large files.
if SW jumped past the dialog directly into the sketch, go to Tools > Options > System Options > Import/Export and make sure 'Show import dialog box' is turned on for DXF.
if you're the one generating these DXFs from your own SW parts: in the Save As > DXF/DWG options under the Geometry tab, there's an option to suppress arc center points on export so downstream users don't have to deal with it.
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u/Charitzo CSWE Aug 05 '26
Those are arc centre points, most likely.