Gerber2PDF

Gerber2PDF is a command-line tool to convert Gerber files to PDF for proofing and hobbyist printing purposes.

Installation:

Download and run Gerber2pdf.exe (Windows) or Gerber2pdf (Linux 64-bit). This will display the copyright and usage information.

Usage:

A batch-file or script is recommended, but a simple "Open with..." link will also work, resulting in a single Gerber converted to a PDF with the same file-name as the Gerber.

Source:

The source is available from the git repository and GitHub.

To build on Linux, run make.

To build on Windows, install MinGW and run mingw32-make from within a POSIX-like environment, such as Git Bash.

Changes:

2019-01-13

• Version-bump to 1.5
• Removed the limitation where -strokes2fills applies to all instances of the Gerber file

2018-11-20

• Version-bump to 1.4
• Added the -page_size command-line option

2017-12-20

• Fixed bug relating to explicit positive numbers

2017-08-13

• Implemented a new "-strokes2fills" command-line option.
• Fixed bug relating to the Open Contour warning.

2016-10-09

• Fixed bug relating to Gerbers that specify units by means of the deprecated codes G70 or G71, instead of the mandatory %MO??*% parameter.

2016-09-25

• Added an option to change the background colour

2016-09-24

• Fixed bug relating to arc bounding box calculation

2016-09-21

• Fixed bug relating to the first coordinate of an imaging level

2016-07-20

• Fixed bug relating to closed contour warnings

2015-11-12

• Fixed bug relating to arc bounding box calculation

2015-02-21

• Added silent exit feature

2015-01-20

• Fixed bug where paths were handled wrong when terminated with a flash instead of a move.

2014-12-04

• Multiple instances of negative image Gerbers now render correctly.

2014-08-28

• Fixed bug regarding the calculation of arc centres.
• Fixed bug where paths were sometimes drawn as regions.

2014-06-22

• Added a "-nocombine" option.

2014-06-21

• Added transparency to the layers. Transparency is specified by adding an optional alpha value to the colour.
• Optimised for smaller PDF output by reusing previous Gerber conversions.
• Added warnings for deprecated features (optionally disabled by the "-nowarnings" option).
• Added an icon to Gerber2pdf.exe.
• Fixed step-and-repeat bug

2014-06-20

• Fixed bug regarding aperture macros and primitives with "exposure off".
• Added an option to change the layer colour.
• Added an option to combine layers onto a single page.
• Added an option to mirror the output.