Is there native support for dashed or dotted paths/lines in Maker.js?

[retrop5]

Hi,
Is there a native way in Maker.js to draw dashed or dotted lines/paths (or going to be)?

I currently achieve this by splitting a line into multiple short segments, but I’m wondering if there’s built-in support to apply dashed/dotted styling to a single path instead.

If you look at the image, you'll see the line segments I am talking about.
Currently, they are all individual line segements and I wanted to have them as a single line segment than individual smaller ones.

Any pointers would be appreciated and thanks in advance

[danmarshall]

Can you use CSS in your use case? If so you can use https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/CSS/Reference/Properties/border-style

[kiranm211]

Hello, I am Kiran, a colleague of @retrop5
Thanks @danmarshall, this helps me achieve the results I want in an SVG.
But I want to export the dotted lines in DXF format and import them into CAD software. This is where we are facing a problem

[retrop5]

@danmarshall
Thanks for the suggestion.

Using CSS / SVG styling (like dashed borders) works for visual output, but our main requirement is exporting the result as DXF for use in CAD software.

As far as we understand, DXF export does not retain SVG/CSS styling, so dashed lines would need to exist as actual geometry or DXF-level line types rather than visual styles.

[danmarshall]

The codebase currently only outputs continuous lines in DXF. see https://github.com/microsoft/maker.js/blob/master/packages/maker.js/src/core/dxf.ts#L179

Perhaps this should be an option to DXF LayerOptions: https://maker.js.org/docs/api/interfaces/makerjs.exporter.idxflayeroptions.html
Related issue: #453

But until then, you can try to modify the DXF yourself. I haven't done it, but here's a conversation with ChatGPT:

User

Here's square in dxf:

0
SECTION
2
HEADER
9
$INSUNITS
70
4
0
ENDSEC
0
SECTION
2
TABLES
0
TABLE
2
LTYPE
0
LTYPE
72
65
70
64
2
CONTINUOUS
3
______
73
0
40
0
0
ENDTAB
0
TABLE
2
LAYER
0
ENDTAB
0
ENDSEC
0
SECTION
2
ENTITIES
0
LINE
8
0
10
0
20
0
11
100
21
0
0
LINE
8
0
10
100
20
0
11
100
21
100
0
LINE
8
0
10
100
20
100
11
0
21
100
0
LINE
8
0
10
0
20
100
11
0
21
0
0
ENDSEC
0
EOF

Is there a way to make the line dashed?

---

Assistant

Yes. In DXF, whether a line appears dashed is controlled entirely by its linetype. Your file currently defines only the CONTINUOUS linetype, so every LINE entity renders solid.

To make lines dashed, you must do two things:

1. Define a dashed linetype in the LTYPE table
2. Assign that linetype to the LINE entities (group code 6)

1. Add a dashed linetype definition

0
LTYPE
72
65
70
64
2
DASHED
3
Dashed __ __ __
73
2
40
12.0
49
8.0
49
-4.0

2. Assign the dashed linetype to a line

0
LINE
8
0
6
DASHED
10
0
20
0
11
100
21
0

Optional: set linetype scale

9
$LTSCALE
40
1.0

[kiranm211]

Thank you for helping us understand that exporting dashed lines in DXF is indeed possible. Your explanation clarified the approach and limitations very clearly.

We’ll take these learnings forward and implement a way on our side to patch the exports so that dashed lines are handled via dedicated dashed layers.

Really appreciate your support and insights.

[danmarshall]

Not sure which is easier: editing DXF or forking the repo and try to tweak the lineStyleTable https://github.com/microsoft/maker.js/blob/master/packages/maker.js/src/core/dxf.ts#L177 - Good luck! And let us know :)

[kiranm211]

Thanks for the suggestion and the pointer to the lineStyleTable — that’s very helpful.

We’ll go ahead and clone the repo, try to implement the solution on our side, and aim to create a PR once we have something working.

If possible, we’d really appreciate your guidance along the way, especially to make sure we’re aligning with the project’s intended design and DXF handling conventions.

[kiranm211]

Hi @danmarshall,

Here is a small brief on what i was able to achive locally so far.
I made changes to https://github.com/microsoft/maker.js/blob/master/packages/maker.js/src/core/dxf.ts as poined to allow LINE entities to be exported with different linetypes instead of always defaulting to CONTINUOUS.

Supported Line Types

The following DXF linetypes are supported:

• CONTINUOUS (default)
• DASHED
• DOTTED

If no linetype is explicitly provided, the exporter will fall back to CONTINUOUS, preserving backward compatibility.

DXF LTYPE Definitions

The linetypes are defined in the DXF LTYPE table as follows:

lineTypes: {
  CONTINUOUS: {
    name: "CONTINUOUS",
    description: "______",
    patternLength: 0,
    elements: []
  },

  DASHED: {
    name: "DASHED",
    description: "_ _ _ ",
    elements: [5, -2.5],
    patternLength: 7.5
  },

  DOTTED: {
    name: "DOTTED",
    description: ". . . ",
    elements: [0.5, -1.0],
    patternLength: 1.5
  }
}

• Positive values in elements represent drawn segments
• Negative values represent gaps
• patternLength is the total length of the pattern cycle

LINE Entity Assignment

The selected linetype is applied to LINE entities using DXF group code 6.

0
SECTION
2
HEADER
9
$INSUNITS
70
4
0
ENDSEC
0
SECTION
2
TABLES
0
TABLE
2
LTYPE
0
LTYPE
72
65
70
0
2
CONTINUOUS
3
______
73
0
40
0
0
LTYPE
72
65
70
0
2
DASHED
3
_ _ _ 
73
2
40
7.5
49
5
49
-2.5
0
LTYPE
72
65
70
0
2
DOTTED
3
. . . 
73
2
40
1.5
49
0.5
49
-1
0
ENDTAB
0
TABLE
2
LAYER
0
LAYER
2
0
70
0
62
7
6
CONTINUOUS
0
LAYER
2
1
70
0
62
1
6
DOTTED
0
LAYER
2
DASH
70
0
62
1
6
DASHED
0
ENDTAB
0
ENDSEC
0
SECTION
2
ENTITIES
0
LINE
8
DASH
6
DASHED
10
0
20
0
11
100
21
0
0
LINE
8
0
6
CONTINUOUS
10
0
20
10
11
100
21
10
0
CIRCLE
8
1
6
DOTTED
10
0
20
20
40
50
0
ENDSEC
0
EOF

This ensures that CAD applications correctly render dashed or dotted lines based on the assigned linetype.

Backward Compatibility

• Existing exports remain unchanged
• Lines without a specified linetype continue to export as CONTINUOUS
• No breaking API changes were introduced

Could you please let me know if there’s anything else I should handle or adjust for DXF compatibility or Maker.js conventions?
If this looks good, could you also guide me on the correct steps to push the changes and get the code reviewed (forking, branch naming, PR expectations, etc.)?

Thanks again for your guidance!

[danmarshall]

Wow this is great! Yes please send a PR. You'll need a fork. No worries about branch naming. Once you have a PR we can discuss stuff.

[kiranm211]

I have created the PR #639.
Please review and let me know if any changes are needed.

[retrop5]

The solution to this has been implemented in PR dedcdd1
Since this answers our initial question, I will take the liberty to close this discussion.
Thank you @danmarshall for all the help! 🥂