The IGES file format was the result of the Initial Graphics Exchange Specification project started by a group of corporations that both used and sold Computer Aided Design (CAD) software. The goal of the project was to come up with a file format that allowed seamless exchange of information between CAD programs.

IGES files contain 3D and 2D vector graphics that construct the usual types of data stored in CAD files. This includes wire-frame models, surface models, object representations, various diagrams and more. IGES files consist of 5 main parts: the Start, Global, Directory, Parameter, and Termination sections.

How to open IGES Files

Since all the sections that form this format are encoded using the American Standard Code for Information Interchange (ASCII), IGES files can be opened with any text editor. However, only a small portion of IGES files actually contains textual data so opening them with a simple text editor may prove useless. CAD applications are needed in order to recreate images based on the multi-dimensional data stored in IGES files.

Currently, there is a wide variety of programs available that support the IGES file format. However, not all of them are able to export data as an IGES file. Additional converters may be needed for this.