Opening a PDF file in AutoCAD

[mikebrunco]

I need to open some drawings that were saved in Acrobat in AutoCAD. I don't want to re-draw them if I don't have to. Does anyone out there know of a way to open pdf's in CAD?

[Anonymous]

PDF to DWG: First, you should ask the PDF file creator: maybe they don't want you to have a DWG of it, or they do have one but it is not posted. It's always nice to ask permission first. PDF -> Adobe Illustrator -> DWG/DXF -> AutoCAD PDF -> GhostScript + GSView + PStoEdit -> DXF -> AutoCAD PDF -> Adobe Acrobat (free or full version) -> Copy/Paste -> AutoCAD Open Adobe Illustrator version 10 (if you have it, if not, might want to consider buying it), open the PDF, then Export to DXF format. In AutoCAD, open the DXF file and save to DWG. Get the freebie tools GhostScript + GSView + PStoEdit from the Internet (any search engine will help you find them all), install them all in the order noted above, download the quirky help files that go with them, then open the PDF file in GSVIEW, then you use the Edit>Convert to vector format... and pick the DXF option. In AutoCAD, open the DXF file and save to DWG. The result is not 'pretty' though. Adobe Acrobat Reader, open the PDF file, use the Graphics Select Tool (in current version, click on arrow next to Select Text), select the graphic(s) you want to bring in, right-click and select Copy, then in AutoCAD right click and select Paste: now you have an OLE image of the graphic to use in AutoCAD. If you use the Text Select Tool in Acrobat, use PASTESPEC in AutoCAD to bring it in as an MTEXT block: current text style settings apply. This assumes the text in your PDF is text, and was not saved as graphics. NOTE: nothing will not covert a scan which has been converted into pdf format however, so if the drawings you wish to convert were scanned and then put into pdf format, you will have no luck. -- Dean Saadallah Add-on products for LT http://www.pendean.com/lt --