Layer Configuration

Layers decide which lines of your DXF go where — what your laser, waterjet, or press-brake software treats as a cut, an etch/score, a bend mark, or just reference. In CADshift, layers are part of an Output Profile: set them up once, save the profile, and every export comes out the same way.

Opening the Layers grid

1. Export as usual and click the green check to open the DXF Export Preview window.
2. Click the gear button next to the Profile drop-down (its tooltip is Edit DXF output profiles).
3. In the DXF Output Profiles editor, click Layers in the left list.

You can’t edit the three built-in profiles — click Clone first and edit the copy.

The Layers grid

It’s one row per kind of geometry, with five columns:

Column	What it does
Entity	The kind of geometry (read-only). One row each — see the list below.
Layer Name	The DXF layer this geometry is written to. Type whatever your software expects (e.g. CUT, HOLES, BEND_UP).
Visible	An eye toggle: open = put this geometry on its layer; closed = the layer is switched off in the DXF.
Color	The AutoCAD Colour Index (ACI, 1–255). Click the swatch to pick from the AutoCAD colour grid.
Line type	CONTINUOUS, DASHED, DASHED2, CENTER, or PHANTOM — shown as the actual dash pattern.

As you edit, the Sample DXF panel on the right redraws a little flat pattern in each layer’s colour and line type.

Every geometry type you can route

• Outer contour — the part outline
• Holes — round holes
• Slots — obround / slotted holes
• Cutouts — any other inner cut
• Bend lines (up) and Bend lines (down) — split by fold direction
• Bend annotations — fold-instruction text (Professional)
• Forming features — louvres, lances, embosses
• Etch / engrave — etched text and marks (Professional)
• Grain direction — the grain arrow and label
• Hardware inserts — PEM-style insert locations
• Hidden edges
• Bounding box — the material-size rectangle
• Sketches
• Notes — note text

Routing Holes, Slots and Cutouts to their own layers (rather than all on the outline) is a Basic feature; Bend annotations and Etch / engrave are Professional.

Matching your machine

Type layer names and pick colours to match your software’s conventions. A few real-world starting points:

Trumpf TruTops

Outer contour:  CUTTING       (Red)
Holes/Slots:    CUTTING       (Red)
Bend lines up:  MARKING_UP    (Blue)
Bend lines dn:  MARKING_DOWN  (Green)
Bounding box:   NESTING       (Magenta)

Bystronic BySoft

Outer contour:  CUT
Holes/Slots:    CUT
Bend lines up:  MARK_BEND_UP
Bend lines dn:  MARK_BEND_DOWN
Notes:          TEXT

LightBurn (hobby lasers)

Outer contour:  00 - Cut    (Black)
Bend lines:     01 - Score  (Blue)
Etch / engrave: 02 - Mark   (Red)

Line types

Pick a line type per layer so reference geometry reads differently from cuts:

Per-part overrides

Need one part to differ without changing your whole profile? In the DXF Export Preview grid, click that part’s Colors cell to open the same Layers grid just for that one part.

Tidy-up rules to know

• Spaces in a layer name are tidied to underscores on export (BOUNDING BOX → BOUNDING_BOX), with a small note telling you.
• A DXF can’t tell a tapped hole from a clearance hole, so every round hole lands on the Holes layer.
• A layer only appears in the file if it actually has geometry — an empty layer simply isn’t written.

Troubleshooting

A whole category is missing

Open the profile’s Layers grid and check that row’s eye is open . A closed eye switches the layer off.

Next steps

• Label every bend or etch part data — see DXF Output Profiles
• Shorten bend lines to stubs — see Trim Bend Lines
• Remove duplicate nested loops — see Laser Cutting Optimization