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Sessions

Sessions let you save and restore your entire conversion configuration — format selections, format-specific options, tool settings, and file paths — so you can resume work later or reuse a setup across multiple conversions.

Session File Format

Session files use the .lsn extension (LinkCAD Session) and are plain-text INI files with a [LinkCAD] section:

[LinkCAD]
LcLoadDefaults=true
LcImportFormat=GDSII
LcExportFormat=DXF
DxfOutScaling=1000
DxfOutFormatVersion=2000
GdsInIgnoreText=false
ToolApply=SanitizePolygons

This is the same format used by command files. A session file can be loaded from the GUI or used as a command file on the CLI via --config.

Saving a Session

  1. Go to File → Save Session (Ctrl+S)
  2. Choose a location and filename

LinkCAD suggests a filename based on the current import/export formats and a timestamp, e.g. GDSII - DXF 2026-05-06_14-30-00.lsn.

The session file stores all options that were accessed during the current session, including:

  • Import and export format selections
  • All format-specific options (scaling, units, flags, etc.)
  • Tool apply settings
  • Directory paths

Loading a Session

  1. Go to File → Load Session (Ctrl+O)
  2. Select a .lsn file

LinkCAD applies all options from the file. The conversion wizard then uses these restored settings.

Recent Sessions

The File → Recent Sessions submenu lists recently opened session files for quick access.

Command-Line Usage

Load a session file using the --config flag:

linkcad.exe --config my_settings.lsn --console --quit

This applies all options from the session, then performs the conversion and exits. You can override individual values:

linkcad.exe --config my_settings.lsn `
    --import different_file.gds --export output.dxf --quit

CLI arguments take precedence over values in the session file.

Sharing Settings

To replicate conversion settings on another machine:

  1. Configure all options on the source machine
  2. Save a session file (Ctrl+S)
  3. Copy the .lsn file to the target machine
  4. Load the session on the target (Ctrl+O)

Since .lsn files are plain text, you can also edit them directly or store them in version control.

What Sessions Do Not Store

  • The drawing data itself (cells, layers, shapes)
  • Viewer state (zoom level, display mode)
  • Window positions or UI layout