ezjww

ezjww reads Jw_cad drawings and converts them to DXF. Its Rust core is available through Python and TypeScript/WebAssembly.

• Read JWW files and a limited binary JWC profile.
• Inspect source records, headers, layers, and parsing diagnostics.
• Query converted geometry, calculate bounds, and audit drawings.
• Export ASCII DXF (AC1015 or AC1024) and render PNG/PDF previews.
• Convert individual files or directories from the command line.

Installation

Python 3.9 or later:

pip install ezjww

For previews, install the optional Matplotlib dependency:

pip install "ezjww[plot]"

For Node.js, see the TypeScript package:

npm install ezjww

To build the Python package from source, install a Rust toolchain, then run:

git clone https://github.com/monozukuri-ai/ezjww.git
cd ezjww
pip install .

Python quick start

readfile detects JWW or JWC from the file contents. Replace drawing.jww with your input path; the same API accepts supported .jwc files.

import ezjww

drawing = ezjww.readfile("drawing.jww")
print(drawing.source_format, drawing.header)
print(drawing.stats())
print(drawing.bbox())

lines = drawing.modelspace().query("LINE")
health = drawing.audit()
for diagnostic in health["diagnostics"]:
    print(diagnostic["code"], diagnostic["details"])

drawing.saveas("drawing.dxf", target_version="AC1024")

Use read_cad_document when you need the original records. Its return value identifies the format and contains the corresponding source document:

import ezjww

cad = ezjww.read_cad_document("drawing.jwc")
source = cad["document"]
print(cad["format"], source["entity_counts"])

# JWC DXF geometry defaults to paper millimeters. Select model millimeters
# to apply each entity's layer-group scale.
model = ezjww.readfile("drawing.jwc", jwc_coordinates="model_millimeters")
model.saveas("drawing-model.dxf")
print(model.report()["jwc_conversion_report"]["notices"])

The JWW-specific read_document and read_header keep their original meanings. Use read_jwc_document and read_jwc_header for JWC-specific reads. See the API reference for format detection, coordinate options, errors, and conversion metadata.

Queries and previews

import ezjww

drawing = ezjww.readfile("drawing.jww")
entities = drawing.modelspace().query('LINE POINT[layer=="#lv4", color==5]')
flat = drawing.to_dxf(explode_inserts=True, max_block_nesting=32)

drawing.plot(save_path="drawing.png")  # requires ezjww[plot]
drawing.plot(save_path="drawing.pdf")

DXF TEXT records include a width factor (group 41). For JWW, it is estimated from the stored endpoint span and half/full-width character cells. Actual glyph advances depend on the selected font; this is not an exact fit for every font substitution. JWC retains its existing width/height ratio.

Line type settings

A JWW file records how each of its line types is drawn. read_header and read_document report them as header["line_types"] (None for files older than version 3.00):

import ezjww

line_types = ezjww.read_header("drawing.jww")["line_types"]
for item in line_types["standard"]:          # line types 2-9
    print(item["number"], item["runs"], item["segments_mm"])
for item in line_types["sxf"] or []:         # line types 30-62 (version 4.20+)
    print(item["number"], item["name"], item["segments_mm"])

• standard (2-9: dashed 1-3, chain 1-2, double-dot chain 1-2, construction line) and double_length (16-19) carry the bit pattern, its unit_dots, the screen pitch and the printer_pitch. runs is the pattern as dash and gap lengths in bits, starting with the longest dash, and segments_mm the lengths it prints at: one bit is printer_pitch / 32 mm.
• random (11-15) carries the amplitude and pitch of the hand-drawn line types.
• sxf (30-62) carries the SXF-compatible line types with their name and the segments_mm stored in the file. Numbers 47-62 are user-defined.

Entities refer to a line type by pen_style.

DXF line types

The DXF conversion names each Jw_cad line type and defines the ones a drawing uses in the LTYPE table, with the dash pattern the file records (the Jw_cad defaults for files older than version 3.00):

Pattern lengths are millimetres on paper, like the coordinates of a JWW drawing, so the DXF needs no linetype scale. A line type whose pattern the user turned solid has an empty pattern. Jw_cad does not print construction lines (line type 9); they are converted like any other line, on the linetype JWW_CONSTRUCTION, so that a reader can leave them out.

import ezjww

document = ezjww.read_dxf_document("drawing.jww")
for line_type in document["line_types"]:
    print(line_type["name"], line_type["description"], line_type["pattern"])

pattern uses the DXF convention: positive is a dash, negative a gap. JWC drawings keep the fixed linetypes of that format.

Use text_em_scale when a target renderer draws a larger em box per unit of DXF text height. It must be positive and finite; the default is 1.0. This divides the exported text height (group 40). A value such as 1.364 is an example that must be measured for the renderer and font, not a universal correction.

scaled = drawing.to_dxf(text_em_scale=1.364)
ezjww.write_dxf("drawing.jww", "drawing.dxf", text_em_scale=1.364)
drawing.plot(text_em_scale=1.364, save_path="drawing.png")

Previews apply the width factor to glyphs before rotation and recover the source em height from text_em_scale. They use the locally available font, so they may differ from an external DXF viewer. Audit, bounding-box and statistics queries retain their existing defaults.

Block expansion supports nested JWW INSERTs; max_block_nesting must be at least

1. Statistics and bounding boxes include hidden entities. TEXT bounds use the insertion point, so they are not bounds of the rendered glyphs.

Command line

The Python package installs the ezjww command. Each single-file command below accepts JWW and supported JWC input.

ezjww info drawing.jww --json
ezjww audit drawing.jwc --json
ezjww bbox drawing.jwc --jwc-coordinates model_millimeters --json
ezjww stats drawing.jww --json
ezjww report drawing.jwc --json
ezjww to-dxf drawing.jwc -o drawing.dxf --report json
ezjww to-dxf drawing.jww -o drawing.dxf --text-em-scale 1.364
ezjww to-dxf-dir drawings -o dxf --recursive
ezjww plot drawing.jwc -o drawing.png

Use ezjww --help or ezjww <command> --help for options. Audit/report commands support --fail-on-issues for automation. Rendering requires ezjww[plot].

Directory conversion finds .jww and .jwc case-insensitively and preserves subdirectories. If inputs would share an output name (for example, a.jww and a.jwc), it exits with code 2 before writing any converted files.

Compatibility

JWW parsing supports CP932 and Unicode strings, block definitions, and structured diagnostics. Some damaged JWW entity lists can be read partially; inspect diagnostics before relying on the result.

JWC support covers the fixed2421_basic_v1 and fixed2389_basic_v1 document profiles (two header layouts sharing one record layout). It includes lines, circles, circular and elliptical arcs, rotated ellipses, CP932 text, points, and auxiliary points. Settings and attribute bits outside ezjww's reference corpus are retained and reported as JWC_* diagnostics; structurally inconsistent or malformed JWC files raise an error instead of returning a partial document. Compatibility with every JWC generation is not established.

JWC output uses millimeters, with the sheet center as the origin and +Y pointing up. Palette, dash lengths, and fonts use documented conversion defaults; exact source fonts and character spacing are not reproduced. The source format version is unknown and returned as None in Python or null in TypeScript.

Documentation

• Documentation index
• Python and TypeScript APIs for JWW/JWC
• JWC support, coordinates, and conversion limits
• Audit codes and error handling
• JWW signature
• Browser example

License

MIT