Files and compatibility
The .drift file
A Drift sketch is a .drift file: plain UTF-8 JSON, one entity per line, in a stable
order. So:
- It diffs cleanly in git, and a merge conflict is readable.
- Numbers are written so that saving and opening gives back exactly the same values.
- Dimension expressions are kept as you typed them (
width / 2), alongside their values. - Solved positions are stored, so a file opens without re-solving.
Everything the drawing needs travels inside the file: layers, views, sheets, blocks, fills, imported hatch patterns, underlays, title-block logos, and the fonts the drawing uses (where the font’s licence allows embedding, and under 12 MB). A font that can’t be kept is used from the computer it’s on, and Drift says so.
Snapshots aren’t saved in the file.
Versions
The file records a format version. This build writes version 27, in which views belong to the drawing and sheets place them. A file from before that opens with each of its sheets’ views made a view of its own.
- Older files always open in newer builds. They’re upgraded as they load.
- Newer files don’t open in older builds. The older build says the file’s version is newer than it supports. During the beta the format changes often, so everyone sharing files should use the same build.
Check your build in Help → About Drift.
Session and autosave
Drift keeps your session (the open sketch, whether or not it’s saved) and restores it on the next start: every few seconds, and when you quit. In the browser it’s kept in the browser’s storage for the site.
This is a safety net. Save your work to a file as well.
When you close Drift, start a new sketch or open another with unsaved changes, Drift asks: Save, Don’t save or Cancel. Don’t save when quitting also clears the stored session, so the next start is fresh.
Opening files
- File → Open… (Ctrl+O): a
.driftfile. - File → Open recent: the last ten.
- Pass a
.driftfile on the command line, or drop it on the window, to open it. Dropping a DXF imports it into the open sketch; dropping a PDF adds it as an underlay. - On Windows, the installer can make
.driftfiles open in Drift. On macOS, use File → Open… or drop the file on the window for now.
Imports and exports
| Format | Notes | |
|---|---|---|
| Import | DXF (ASCII) | As geometry: File → Import…. See Underlays and DXF import. Binary DXF and DWG aren’t read. |
| Import | SVG, PDF, Illustrator (.ai) | As geometry or an underlay, at a drawing scale (found from its dimensions where it can be) or calibrated: File → Import…. See Part 3. Vector PDFs only. |
| Import | PDF, DXF, SVG, .ai | As an underlay to trace: File → Import underlay…. |
| Import | .pat | Hatch patterns: Parameters → Hatch patterns → Import .pat…. |
| Import | .ttf, .otf | Fonts: Add a font file… in any font menu. |
| Import | SVG | A title-block logo: Sheets → Logo → Choose SVG…. |
| Export | Every sheet, true scale. | |
| Export | SVG | The current sheet, true scale: a named group per layer (Inkscape layers; Illustrator groups, which Release to Layers turns into layers) and joined paths. |
| Export | DXF (R12) | The model at full size, with layers, line types and blocks. |
Exports never replace the .drift file: Ctrl+S always saves the sketch. See
Sheets and output.
The clipboard
Ctrl+C copies the selection as a small Drift document on the system clipboard (curves with their relations and dimensions, fills, block copies with their blocks, text), so you can paste between Drift windows. Layers and blocks are matched by name. Plain text pasted into Drift becomes sketch text.