topic Re: PDFIMPORT does not import text properly in AutoCAD Forum

PDFIMPORT does not import text properly

Anonymous — Thu, 17 Jan 2019 13:21:35 GMT

When using PDFIMPORT to create shop drawings, sometimes I will get text that looks like the attached picture. It is a combination of PDF Geometry & Solid Fills which makes up the 'text'. I have tried changing settings in Import>Recognition Settings of the Import tab, but nothing I have tired has made a difference. Please advise! It would be a huge waste of time to have to retype everything...

Re: PDFIMPORT does not import text properly

rkmcswain — Thu, 17 Jan 2019 13:36:26 GMT

What version of AutoCAD? Is the text in the original drawing, SHX or TTF ? When AutoCAD prints to PDF, the PDF driver can do a various things with text. It can create vectors and fills or it can create true TTF text in the PDF. When you are reversing this process (PDF>DWG) if the "text" in the PDF is vectors and fills, that is what you are going to get in the DWG.

Re: PDFIMPORT does not import text properly

Anonymous — Thu, 17 Jan 2019 13:40:57 GMT

Autocad 2019

Not sure what the text in the original drawing is, the drawing came from another office

Is there a work around??

Re: PDFIMPORT does not import text properly

pendean — Thu, 17 Jan 2019 13:46:21 GMT

Does the other office know you are reverse engineering their PDF? Ask for the CAD file source.

Post your PDF source file here if you are unable to zoom into the TEXT there and see if it is a single skinny line (SHX) or a thicker line (TTF) or a fuzzy mess (created with shapes).

Re: PDFIMPORT does not import text properly

Anonymous — Thu, 17 Jan 2019 14:10:06 GMT

Please see attached. I work for a sheet metal subcontractor and make duct work shop drawings. I am trying to get an early start on the project. Haven't officially been released so there's no telling how much time I might lose waiting on CAD files...

The lines appear thick with a few small dashed lines to me.

Re: PDFIMPORT does not import text properly

rkmcswain — Thu, 17 Jan 2019 14:23:09 GMT

Looks to me like all of the text was either SHX when it was printed to PDF, or it was rasterized at the time of printing. If you'll notice, none of the "text" in the PDF survived the conversion back to DWG, this is because it's not real "text" in the PDF.

Re: PDFIMPORT does not import text properly

pendean — Thu, 17 Jan 2019 15:42:02 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:

I work for a sheet metal subcontractor and make duct work shop drawings. I am trying to get an early start on the project. Haven't officially been released

Time to talk with your GC, who can reach out to Architect/MEP team, for a "come to Jesus" talk about scheduling 🙂

In your PDF viewer, try to search for any word you see: I suspect it will not find anything, because the text was not salvaged deliberately by your Architect (they used FOXIT PDF driver to protect their content from reverse engineering like you are trying to do).

Go have that talk.

Re: PDFIMPORT does not import text properly

Anonymous — Thu, 17 Jan 2019 20:16:59 GMT

Not sure if this will work for you, or if you have access to the software to duplicate the process...

I used OCR tool in Adobe Acrobat to convert the "text geometry" to actual text, then used Aide pdf to dxf converter to create AutoCAD entities (direct import into ACAD still brought in polyline-pseudo-text). Each word comes in as a separate Mtext object, so requires exploding into Dtext, then using Express Tool txt2mtxt to re-combine into paragraphs. A lot of hoops, but if there is enough text needed, worth the time. (been there, done that, and I am a slow typist....)

Hope it helps, or at least gets you started.

Re: PDFIMPORT does not import text properly

Anonymous — Wed, 24 Jul 2019 07:33:03 GMT

When this happens I insert the pdf as an xref. Works for me.