Editing DXF mechanical files and deleting objects (working, software, program)

[buenos]

I am trying to delete objects from a DXF file that is a 2D mechanical drawing.
I tried A9CAD and LibreCAD. Same effect in both.
Then import it into a simulation software, and see the deleted objects are still tehre.
Also when I delete 80% of the objects, the file size should go down, but it doesnt.
Why does the DXF file retain deleted and old versions of objects? How can I flush those out?

[TurcoLoco]

I don't use such software but the fact that file size didn't change indicates that the app didn't actually delete the objects AND update/save the file in question.

Were you able to delete, save and then re-open the files in the same app to confirm the changes?

Which app were those files originally created in?

Perhaps, those answers might help someone really knowledgeable with those apps to guide you better..

[gguerra]

Don't know enough about the inner workings of DXF (Autocad) files to answer your questions. Obviously Autocad itself would do the job correctly but that is not free.

Plenty of other free editors and even an online tool to edit DXFs came up on this google search. Wouldn't hurt to try any of them.

A DXF file is text, you could actually open it in Notepad.

Make a backup copy of your file first

[buenos]

I think even autocad leaves deleted objects in the dxf file.
In a free simulator program "FEMM" we can recover deleted objects.