Editing Gerber format (section)

==Extended Gerber==
RS-274X, extended Gerber or X-Gerber, was originally released in September 1998.<ref name="OffWebsite"/>

It is a human readable [[ASCII]] format.<ref name="SinclairDunton2007">{{cite book |author-last1=Sinclair |author-first1=Ian Robertson |author-last2=Dunton |author-first2=John |title=Practical electronics handbook |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZYCdYHpH8T8C&pg=PA542 |access-date=2011-04-02 |date=2007-01-11 |publisher=[[Elsevier]] |isbn=978-0-7506-8071-4 |page=543}}</ref> It consists of a stream of commands generating an ordered stream of graphics objects. The graphics objects can be positive or negative. Superimposed in the correct order they create the final image.

A Gerber file contains the complete description of a PCB layer image without requiring any external files. It has all the imaging operators needed for a PCB image. Any aperture shape can be defined. Planes and pads can be specified without the need to [[#Painting|paint or vector-fill]] as in Standard Gerber. (However some implementations still use painting, problematic for the users of those files.)<ref name="Painting Considered Harmful">{{cite web |url=https://www.ucamco.com/files/downloads/file_en/58/gerber-file-format-painting-considered-harmful_en.pdf |title=RS-274X Painting Considered Harmful.pdf |publisher=[[Ucamco]] |date=June 2011 |access-date=2012-03-05}}</ref>

{{anchor|X2}}Released in February 2014, Gerber X2 adds additional metadata to the image.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.ucamco.com/en/news/gerber-x2-the-new-paradigm-in-cad-to-cam-communication |title=Gerber X2: the new paradigm in CAD-to-CAM communication - Ucamco - News}}</ref> Attributes allow adding [[metadata]] to a Gerber file. Attributes are akin to labels providing information associated with image files, or features within them. Examples of metadata conveyed by attributes are:
* The function of the file. Is the file the top solder mask, or the bottom copper layer, etc.?
* The part represented by the file. Does it represent a single PCB, an array, a coupon?
* The function of a pad. Is the flash an SMD pad, or a via pad, or a fiducial, etc.
For more information about attributes see X2 FAQ or intro video in the external links.<ref name="OffWebsite"/><ref name="Gerber X2 movie">{{cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z3favHrSwq4  |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211222/Z3favHrSwq4 |archive-date=2021-12-22 |url-status=live|title=Gerber version 2 intro movie |date=6 November 2014 |publisher=[[Ucamco]] |access-date=2014-11-20}}{{cbignore}}</ref><ref name="attributes">{{cite web |author-first=Karel |author-last=Tavernier |title=A proposal to extend the Gerber format with attributes |url=http://www.ucamco.com/en/guest/downloads |work=[[Ucamco]] |access-date=2013-07-12}}</ref><ref name="X2 new paradigm">{{cite web |title=Gerber X2: New Paradigm in CAD-to-CAM Communication |url=http://www.pcb007.com/pages/zone.cgi?a=101111 |work=[[Ucamco]] |publisher=PCB007 |access-date=2014-06-13 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141213021345/http://www.pcb007.com/pages/zone.cgi?a=101111 |archive-date=2014-12-13 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name="X2 FAQ">{{cite web |title=Gerber version 2 FAQ |url=http://www.ucamco.com/files/downloads/file/125/the_gerber_file_format_version_2_faq.pdf |work=[[ucamco]] |access-date=2014-12-21}}</ref>

{{anchor|X3}}In 2020, Gerber X3 was introduced.

Fabrication documentation such as finish, overall thickness and materials is specified in a separate Gerber Job File.<ref name="OffWebsite"/><ref name="Fab doc final 007">{{cite web |title=Ucamco Releases Specification for Fabrication Documentation in Gerber |url=http://www.iconnect007.com/index.php/article/110319/ucamco-releases-specification-for-fabrication-documentation-in-gerber |publisher=PCB007 |access-date=2018-05-02}}</ref>

An example of a Gerber file:
{{sxhl|2=gcode|1=
G04 Short version a file taken from the Example Job 1, created by Filip Vermeire, Ucamco*
%TF.FileFunction,Copper,Bot,L4*%
%TF.FilePolarity,Positive*%
%TF.Part,Single*%
%FSLAX36Y36*%
%MOMM*%
%TA.AperFunction,Conductor*%
%ADD10C,0.15000*%
%TA.AperFunction,ViaPad*%
%ADD11C,0.75000*%
%TA.AperFunction,ComponentPad*%
%ADD12C,1.60000*%
%ADD13C,1.70000*%
G01*
G75*
%LPD*%
D10*
X76649990Y36899980D02*
X83949950D01*
X84399990Y37349990D01*
X93699990D01*
D11*
X76649990Y36899985D03*
X83599990Y18749980D03*
X98829985Y36504980D03*
D12*
X460298855Y784148855D03*
D13*
X107299765Y20629885D03*
X109839765D03*
X112379765D03*
M02*
}}
The format specification is published at the official website.<ref name="OffWebsite"/><ref name="TheSpec"/>