CircuitWorks stores ECAD data internally in CircuitWorks Data File (*.cwx) format regardless of the source format (IDF or PADS).
For example, when you open an IDF 3.0 file, CircuitWorks stores the file in memory in CWX format. If you make changes and then save the data, CircuitWorks converts the data to the format you select. Using CWX format lets CircuitWorks operate efficiently on ECAD data from different sources.
You can also use CWX as an interchange format between CircuitWorks users. CWX has no data loss; even filtered data is included. For example, you open
an IDF 3.0 file, filter out all components shorter than a certain height,
then save as CWX. If another user opens the file, the filtered components are shown as filtered. If you had saved as IDF 3.0, the filtered components would be missing.
You can select CircuitWorks Data File (.cwx) as the file type when you open or save ECAD data.