This section explains how IDA-STEP handles different kinds of
digital documents stored in files.
The main documents IDA-STEP deals with are STEP and XIM files. STEP
files typically have the file name extension .stp or .step and
sometimes .p21. STEP files are in ASCII format (you can view/edit
them in any text editor) and are standardized in ISO 10303-21. XIM
files wrap the contents of STEP files in a binary form with
extensions for tessellated data and IDA-STEP specific information.
Other types of documents IDA-STEP deals with are primarily used for
the import and export of product data for other systems. An
exception to this are preference files where IDA-STEP stores
user settings.