Convert hatch back to text

[cmcpherson]

I received a .dwg file and all the text has somehow been converted to hatching. It makes it very hard to read the text unless zoomed in. How can I convert it back to text??

[oswaldodcb]

Hi @cmcpherson

It is possible that this DWG file comes from a PDF, so you have the exploited text and hatch, so it would be better to send the PDF and thus you can vectorize the PDF directly from AutoCAD,

Do you have the PDF of that file?

Oswaldo Caballero

Instructor ATC

[rkmcswain]

Looks like maybe the drawing was printed to PDF, and someone re-imported this PDF back to DWG.

Ask the drawing author for the original DWG file.

If you have AutoCAD 2017.1 or later, then try using the PDFSHXTEXT command to convert the geometry back to actual text. More info on that: https://youtu.be/GEN_qA7I8mg

[cmcpherson]

I can try to track down the pdf. The drawing was created in 1993 so I'm not sure that we still have a pdf copy. My guess is that someone didn't know quite what they were doing when they converted it to a .dwg and this is what I'm left with. I'll keep digging but if nothing turns up is my only option to re-write all the text?

[oswaldodcb]

Hi!

In case you do not have the original PDF, you can try printing that DWG in PDF and then insert it to vectorize it with the command PDFSHXTEXT put by @rkmcswain,

Maybe AutoCAD will recognize part of the text however, you can try,

Regards,

Oswaldo Caballero

Instructor ATC

[imadHabash · Accepted solution]

Hi,

i'm afraid that you're treat with line elements NOT a text.for that i advice you to get the original file or re-text your text elements.

[cmcpherson]

I luckily found an old revision of the drawing in CADD so I revised the good CADD file to match the current revision. At least on this one all I had to do was copy and paste for the most part, then edit copied text.

Thanks for everyone's advice!