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NewDXF and GenCAD – for production, test field and EFA SmartSuite→ Format guide · PADS Layout ASCIIReceived an .asc file from PADS but don't have PADS installed? EFA CAMverse opens PADS Layout ASCII natively – no cloud upload – and shows layers, components, nets, copper pours and 3D. As one of the very few viewers that read it at all.
PADS Layout ASCII – the complete layout in readable text form.
PADS Layout ASCII (“.asc”) is the text-based exchange format of the PADS PCB layout tool (originally PADS PowerPCB, today Siemens EDA). It describes a complete PCB – stackup, decals, placed components, netlist, routed traces, vias, copper pours, holes and text – via a section-based ASCII schema (*PCB*, *PART*, *ROUTE*, *POUR* …).
The first line (“!PADS-POWERPCB-V…”) states version and unit. The format serves the low-loss exchange of a complete PADS layout between tools and its archival in readable form.
Download for free and install – a native Windows application (10/11, 64-bit), free to use as a viewer.
Open the layout file directly – PowerPCB V3 up to PADS VX are supported.
Toggle layers, highlight nets with a double-click, inspect components, measure distances – and switch to the 3D view with one click. Entirely without PADS.
Toggle every layer and control transparency – the stackup comes straight from the file.
The complete netlist of the layout – with bidirectional highlighting by double-click.
Routed traces, vias and copper pours (*POUR*) are rendered – the layout appears as in the original.
All placed components with reference, value, package and every attribute – for bill of materials, quotation and assembly print.
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Top and bottom as assembly print – straight from the component data of the layout; show or hide the components of the customer variant with a click.
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View the board in space – with components as 3D bodies, rotate and zoom freely.
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Precise distance and geometry measurement right in the layer view.
Output or print the view as PDF, PNG or JPG – for documentation and coordination.
A native Windows application – no cloud, no upload. Your layout data stays on your machine.
EFA CAMverse passes the PADS layout on directly – as DXF or as GenCAD, without going through another program.
Depaneling · design · documentation
Outline, milling channels, tabs and drill holes for your depaneling software, component outlines and fiducials for your CAD program, all layers as a drawing.
With PADS: straight from the layout – without a Gerber output and without PADS itself.
More about DXF export →
In-circuit test · flying probe · AOI · placement machine
The basis for programming your test and production equipment – optionally with only the components of the customer variant.
With PADS: components, pads, drill holes and nets come straight from the layout – no detour via manufacturing data.
More about GenCAD export →Together with EFA SmartSuite, EFA CAMverse turns the PADS layout into a fully set-up EFA project – the way to automated inspection of the board shrinks to a few steps.
With PADS: the components come straight from the layout – no coordinate file needed.
More about EFA SmartSuite →PADS layout.ascadd an image – start
2 kinds of .asc files!There are 2 different “PADS ASCII” files with the .asc extension: the full layout supported here (magic “!PADS-POWERPCB”) and the much simpler PADS-PCB netlist (header “*PADS-PCB*”). The latter is not a layout file and is deliberately not loaded – EFA CAMverse distinguishes both by content.
No official specificationThere is no publicly published standard for PADS Layout ASCII. Common PowerPCB/PADS files are rendered completely; exotic variants may hit limits. That is precisely why native .asc support is a rarity among viewers.
And when the next customer delivers something else: EFA CAMverse also opens 8 more PCB/CAM formats – in the same tool, with the same way of working.
EFA CAMverse is free to use as a viewer – unlock advanced features whenever you need them. Native on Windows, your data stays local.
EFA CAMverse 2026 · free viewer · Windows 10/11 · 64-bitDo you have any questions? We will be happy to advise you – by phone, online or in person.
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