Hi! PS is a powerful output format, but it is not made for editing. I would also convert my drawings to postscript when they leave my domain and if they are not to be edited but only reproduced. However, this does not replace the CAD format allowing my to group, attach attributes, have high-level geometry and all that. All what you want to keep in you symbol library. For the latter, there is no common standard in open source yet (while e.g. spending some time on step/iges 2d might solve this). Then the only missing part would be the translation from 2d cad to postscript (or svg, preferred) so that you can "style" your drawing in a specialized app. Take the tex chain - you have editors working on the tex (or even on top of that e.g. lyx), then you convert it to e.g. postscript if you want to freeze the appearance, but you always edit the source. So maybe all that is needed is a common supported 2d format on both the cad and the vector-graphics side. CAD needs to supply dimensioning, grouping, layers... and the vector-editor can apply styles according to attributed. That would make all the work on printing, scaling, linewidths, fonts, color become superfluous on the cad side, as it is already available in vector graphics packages. Cheers Lars. > It would be nice to have a file format that is a combination of > iges/dxf(accurate CAD data) and ps(good text/font capabilities). > On a slightly related subject: For our shop floor drawings at work, I > print the operation drawings off into *.pdf files. When the shop > supervisor needs to run a job and needs a copy of the drawing, she just > prints the *.pdf. It's nothing ground breaking, I know. But, at least > there's something there to look at if our proprietary software goes > belly up. > > Dan