Spain's Cadastre: which files to download and which ones won't open

The Cadastre gives you plans your computer can't open

You go to the Cadastre (Spain's land registry) website, pass the captcha, see the mapping and download button. And that's where the trouble starts. The user behind this query runs into files in ASC and DXF formats that their computer can't read, and reasonably wonders whether the wasted time is worth what they find inside. The short answer: there are ways to view them, but what you get is not what most people expect.

Which formats the Cadastre offers and how to open them

The Cadastre's mapping offers several packages: general-floor FXCC, FXCC by floor, KML and the FXCC PDF. When you click, the system serves files in ASC and DXF. DXF is a vector drawing format, and there are two ways to open it. The first is CAD software installed on your computer. The second is an online viewer that requires no heavy downloads, which matters when your connection is slow.

The ASC, on the other hand, is stubborn. It's the format that most common viewers can't handle and the one that leaves you feeling you've downloaded a dead file. The lightest alternative is to go straight for the FXCC PDF, which opens without extra software and provides one page per floor of the building.

What those plans actually contain

Here comes the disappointment. The FXCC PDF includes the polygon of each floor and the square metres by use. It may also include a photo of the building's façade, one of the few things you can view with a single click. The square metres and the property number already appear on the record, no download needed.

What it doesn't include is the interior layout. No room divisions, no indication of load-bearing walls, no information about party walls. The Cadastre doesn't go into that level of detail: the by-use plans delimit residential, commercial, common areas, parking or storage, not life inside each dwelling. For that there's another route, the CU1 plans, which must be requested and whose delivery is not guaranteed.

Is the process worth it, or is the PDF enough?

It depends on what you're looking for. For routine paperwork, the PDF with the data and the property number does the job. For anyone hoping to find a detailed plan of the interior, the full download is a wasted alucinación. The practical summary: if your goal is the cadastral reference and the floor area, there's no need to touch the mapping. If you want the drawing of the plot, the DXF with an online viewer will do. The ASC, unless you have the right software, is just noise.

There's one detail that throws you off: in one of the files, the square metres are written on the plan itself, with no room divisions. It's more visual than the list, but it adds no new information. The bureaucracy offers drawings; the useful information is still in the text.