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General Information

The RimEngine is a powerful component that supports nearly all operations a developer might want to perform with a document or graphic file. However, this general-purpose approach makes the RimEngine interface complex and challenging to use.

To address this, the RxSDK was developed to provide developer-friendly interfaces—referred to as objects—that simplify commonly used operations. Compared to the RimEngine, RxSDK components offer a much simpler interface. With just a few lines of code, you can create a basic viewer using RxSDK components.

RxSDK Objects

The RxSDK consists of the following objects:

NoObject NameDescriptionDocumentation
1RxEngineThe first object used in your code. Locates all available file format filters and manages FlexLM licenses (unless overridden by a Rasterex license code).This document
2RxDocHandles document loading and provides methods to manipulate layout, pages, blocks, and layers.This document
3RxLoadSettingsOverrides filter settings during loading.This document
4RxSaveSettingsOverrides filter settings during saving.This document
5RxTextProvides functions for extracting and searching text in a document.This document
6RxDisplayDisplays document contents on your screen.RxDisplay.pdf
7RxDisplay3DOffers specific functions for displaying 3D files, such as rotation using matrices and walkthroughs.RxDisplay.pdf
8RxPrintProvides printer-specific functions, including printing, listing printers, and paper sizes.RxPrint.pdf
9RxPrint3DProvides functions for printing 3D files.RxPrint.pdf
10RxConvertConverts supported document formats to various formats, including PDF, TIFF, DWG, PNG, PLT, JPEG, etc.RxConvert.pdf
11RxAcadConverterConverts between AutoCAD versions.RxConvert.pdf
12RxPDFFunctions for merging/splitting PDFs, adding markup (burned-in or as annotations), and converting to PDF/A without data loss.RxPDF.pdf
13RxRedlineProvides complete markup support for your application.RxMarkup.pdf
14RxSymbolsLoads symbols from Rasterex libraries and generates various barcode standard images.RxSymbols.pdf

What You Will Find in This Document

This document provides information about the RxSDK Core components, which include:

ModuleObjects / Interfaces
RxDocCOMRxEngine and RxDoc
RxConfigCOMRxLoadSettings and RxSaveSettings
RxTextCOMRxText

Coordinate Systems

The RxSDK operates with three coordinate systems:

  1. Original Coordinate System: The system used by the application that created the document (e.g., AutoCAD DWG coordinates).
  2. World Coordinate System: The internal system used by RxSDK components.
  3. Screen Coordinate System: The system used by Windows (Device coordinates).

Transformations

  • When a document is loaded, it is transformed and scaled from the original coordinate system to the world coordinate system.
  • When a document is displayed, it is transformed and scaled from the world coordinate system to the screen coordinate system.

Notes

  • Documents may use either a top-down or bottom-up world coordinate system, depending on the source format:
    • Bottom-up: Common in CAD formats (e.g., DWG, DGN, PLT).
    • Top-down: Common in other formats (e.g., TIFF, PDF, Word).
  • Use the ScreenToWorld function to transform from screen to world coordinates, and WorldToScreen to transform from world to screen coordinates. Both are provided by the RxDoc object.

Supported File Formats

The following tables detail the available filters and the formats they support.

Vector File Formats (CAD)

Filter NameExtensionDescriptionVersion Support
RxFilter_ACADDWG, DXFAutoCAD drawing format2.5 – 2024
RxFilter_Anvil1000DRWAnvil 1000 drawing format1, 2, and 3
RxFilter_CadKeyPRTCadkey drawing format-
RxFilter_CalcompCCPCalcomp plotter format-
RxFilter_CGMCGMComputer graphics metafileBinary only
RxFilter_DGNDGNMicrostation drawing format3, 4, 5, and 7
RxFilter_DWF3DWFDrawing web formatUp to version 4
RxFilter_DWFDWFDrawing web formatUp to version 5.5
RxFilter_DWF6DWFDesign web formatVersion 6 and up
RxFilter_FelixCADFLXFelixCAD drawing format2, 3, and 4
RxFilter_GerberGBRGerber plotter formatRS274, RS-274X
RxFilter_HPGLPLTHP graphic languageHPGL, HPGL/2, HP-RTL
RxFilter_MicrostationV8DGNMicrostation drawing formatAll including 8.x
RxFilter_ME10MIME 10/30 drawing format-
RxFilter_RNDRNDAutodesk render format-
RxFilter_SLDSLDAutodesk slide format-
RxFilter_VC5VC5RxSpotlight vector format5.x
RxFilter_VECVECData Design Systems format-

Hybrid File Formats

Hybrid formats combine a CAD file (usually AutoCAD DWG) with one or more raster files (e.g., TIF, JPG, CALS).

Filter NameExtensionDescriptionVersion Support
RxFilter_CADOverlayRESCAD Overlay hybrid-
RxFilter_RasterCADREFGTX RasterCAD hybrid-
RxFilter_TAFTAFTessel CADRaster-

Raster File Formats

Filter NameExtensionDescriptionVersion Support
RxFilter_BMPBMPWindows bitmap formatWindows BMP and OS/2 DIB
RxFilter_CALSCALCALS raster formatType 1 Group 4
RxFilter_CITCITIntergraph Group 4 Raster-
RxFilter_DSIDSICimage DSI RasterGroup 4
RxFilter_EDMICSTG4EDMICS raster formatTiled Group 4
RxFilter_ESPIG4Image Systems Group 4-
RxFilter_GIFGIFCompuserve GIFGIF 87a / 89a
RxFilter_GTXG3, G4, RNLGTX raster formats-
RxFilter_JBIGJBGJBIG Raster Format-
RxFilter_JPEGJPGJFIF compliant JPEG-
RxFilter_JPEG2000JP2, J2KJPEG 2000-
RxFilter_PCXPCXPC Paintbrush-
RxFilter_PNGPNGPortable network graphics-
RxFilter_PSDPSDAdobe Photoshop-
RxFilter_RASRASSun raster format-
RxFilter_RGBRGBIntergraph RGB Type 27-
RxFilter_RLCRLCRun length formatRLC, RCL-2
RxFilter_RLERLEIntergraph RLE Raster-
RxFilter_SFFSFFStructured Fax Format-
RxFilter_TG4TG4Intergraph tiled raster format-
RxFilter_TGATGATARGA image format-
RxFilter_TIFFTIFTagged image file format-
RxFilter_XWDXWDX-Windows dump format-

Document File Formats

Filter NameExtensionDescriptionVersion Support
RxFilter_Binary*Hex dump of unsupported files-
RxFilter_MetafileWMF, EMFWindows metafile formatEnhanced and standard
RxFilter_TextTXTText fileASCII
RxFilter_PDFPDFAdobe portable document formatAll
RxFilter_PPTPPTPowerPoint format97, 2000, XP, 2003
RxFilter_Word2000DOCWord file format97, 2000, XP, 2003
RxFilter_Word95DOCWord file format95, 6.0

Spreadsheet File Formats

Filter NameExtensionDescriptionVersion Support
RxFilter_ExcelXLSExcel file format95, 97, 2000, XP, 2003

3D Model File Formats

Filter NameExtensionDescriptionVersion Support
RxFilter_InventorIPT, IDW, IAMInventor part, drawing, and assemblyUp to and including 2024
RxFilter_SW2015PRT, ASM, DRWSolidWorks part, drawing, and assemblyUp to and including 2019 (2016+ as 64-bit only)
RxFilter_SolidEdgePAR, DFTSolidEdge part and drawingsUp to and including 17
RxFilter_STLSTLStereolithography file format-

Write-Only File Filters

Some filters are write-only, meaning they can only write to the specified format and cannot load it. These are used to convert other supported formats to the specified format.

Filter NameExtensionDescriptionVersion Support
RxFilter_SVGSVGScalable Vector Graphics1.1
RxFilter_PDFWPDFAcrobat PDF1.x, PDF/A-2b