PDF files are a common way of publishing and sharing design data for review and markup. In AutoCAD 2017, you can import geometry, TrueType text, and raster images from a PDF file to edit as native DWG geometry.
If you already have a PDF file attached to your drawing, you can select it and choose the new Import as Objects tool from the PDF Underlay ribbon tab. You can import everything or pick a polygonal or rectangular selection around the geometry you want to import. A Settings option enables you to control how the geometry is imported.
You can choose to keep the original PDF underlay, detach it, or unload it.
You can also import PDF geometry directly from a PDF file that is not attached. Use the new PDFIMPORT tool or even the regular Import tool which now includes PDF as one of the supported file types.
If the PDF file has multiple pages, you can visually select which one you want to import or you can enter the page number.
You can specify the insertion point, scale, and rotation in addition to the options to control how the geometry is imported. You can, for example, ensure that true type text in the PDF file comes in as text in AutoCAD. And if the PDF file includes raster images, they can be extracted as PNG files and automatically attached to your drawing. Since those images are referenced from the AutoCAD drawing, you’ll want to check Options to ensure the new PDF Import Image Location is appropriately set for your workflow.
The PDF file format doesn’t recognize shx text. When drawings with shx fonts are plotted to PDF, the PDF stores that data as geometry (not text), so the shx text is imported as geometry. Text with TrueType fonts are imported as text objects.
Watch Video below for more information.