You can help expand this article with text translated from the corresponding article in German. (July 2016) Click [show] for important translation instructions. View a machine-translated version of the German article. Machine translation, like DeepL or Google Translate, is a useful starting point for translations, but translators must revise errors as necessary and confirm that the translation is accurate, rather than simply copy-pasting machine-translated text into the English Wikipedia. Consider adding a topic to this template: there are already 2,136 articles in the main category, and specifying|topic= will aid in categorization. Do not translate text that appears unreliable or low-quality. If possible, verify the text with references provided in the foreign-language article. You must provide copyright attribution in the edit summary accompanying your translation by providing an interlanguage link to the source of your translation. A model attribution edit summary is Content in this edit is translated from the existing German Wikipedia article at [[:de:Intermediate Data Format]]; see its history for attribution. You may also add the template {{Translated|de|Intermediate Data Format}} to the talk page. For more guidance, see Wikipedia:Translation.

Intermediate Data Format (IDF) files are used interoperate between electronic design automation (EDA) software and solid modeling mechanical computer-aided design (CAD) software.

The format was devised by David Kehmeier at the Mentor Graphics Corporation.^[1]

The EMN File contains the PCB outline, the position of the parts, positions of holes and milling, keep out regions and keep in regions.

The EMP file contains the outline and height of the parts.

Some CAD software allows the use of a map file to load more detailed part models.^[2]

STEP - also known as ISO 10303-21 - has both advantages and disadvantages over IDF.

If both MCAD and ECAD software support STEP, both programs can interchange more detailed models (at the cost of increased file size). Step models that are rendered correctly in the ECAD software can cause problems in the MCAD^{[citation needed]}.

IDF does allow the communication of keep out areas and part placements more directly. IDF is a very simple and robust format. If necessary, the files can be edited by hand in a text editor.

• IDF V3.0 Specification (PDF)
• IDF V4.0 Specification (PDF)

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