File formats

.znm — the project file

  • Plain JSON, readable by eye. Inside is the whole document state: the workspace, all 12 pens with all their parameters, rotary job settings, guides, and layers with objects.
  • The file is versioned; migrations and repairs run on load (for example, a document without layers gets a “Default” layer, and live symmetry regenerates its mirrors).
  • The file schema is not published as an API — manual editing is at your own risk.

.znmlib — the object library

Object templates in the same format. The library root is %AppData%\Astrelli\Zenom\Library\ with a folder tree up to three levels deep; a library from older versions is moved into AppData automatically.

Legacy AstCad files — read-only

The open dialog accepts .astc/.astlib, but saving always writes the new format: a legacy file goes through “Save As” with the new extension — the original file is never overwritten in place.

Autosave and recovery

  • Autosave runs every 60 seconds, with a separate recovery file per tab, in %AppData%\Astrelli\Zenom\autosave\.
  • An autosave failure is not silent: the reason (disk full, file held) is shown in the status bar.
  • On startup the program finds recovery files and offers to restore them, delete them, or decide later.

Migration from AstCad 2

On first launch Zenom migrates user data from %AppData%\Astrelli\AstCad2\ once — settings, presets, the library, and recovery files; existing files are not overwritten.

Export: SVG and DXF

Vector objects on visible layers export via File → Export…:

  • SVG — “laser marking style” outlines: stroke only, no fills; the file describes marking trajectories, not a picture.
  • DXF — version R2013; curves are flattened into polylines with 0.01 mm tolerance.
  • Hidden layers and bitmap objects do not export — rasters are skipped with a warning and counted as “skipped”.

Limitations

  • Hatching is not exported to SVG/DXF as lines — it is a marking parameter, not document geometry.
  • For live symmetry, the weld at the axis does not reach the export — the contours export unwelded (a deliberate limitation).
  • There is no PDF, PLT/HPGL, or G-code export, and no document PNG export.