The IGES (Initial Graphics Exchange Specification) file format, identified by the .igs extension, is a vendor-neutral file format designed for transferring 2D and 3D geometric data between different CAD (Computer-Aided Design) systems. It was one of the earliest standards developed for this purpose, aiming to overcome the interoperability issues that arose from proprietary CAD file formats. IGES files store information about geometric entities such as points, lines, arcs, splines, surfaces, and solids. They can also contain annotation data like dimensions and text. While IGES has been largely superseded by more modern formats like STEP (.stp), it remains in use, particularly for legacy data and in situations where a widely supported, albeit older, standard is preferred. The format is an ASCII-based format, making it relatively easy to inspect and edit manually, although this also contributes to larger file sizes compared to binary formats. IGES files are often used in industries such as automotive, aerospace, and manufacturing for exchanging design data between different departments or companies using different CAD software packages. The standard is defined by ANSI standard ANSI Y14.26M.