{"id":2272,"date":"2016-03-22T16:34:41","date_gmt":"2016-03-22T23:34:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.autodesk.com/blogs\/autocad\/?p=2272"},"modified":"2020-04-07T14:52:11","modified_gmt":"2020-04-07T21:52:11","slug":"autocad-2017-pdf-import","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.autodesk.com/blogs\/autocad\/autocad-2017-pdf-import\/","title":{"rendered":"What\u2019s New in AutoCAD 2017? PDF Import"},"content":{"rendered":"

Welcome to the first entry in my “What’s New in\u00a0AutoCAD 2017?” blog series. (For a quick overview of all\u00a0the top new features\u00a0in AutoCAD 2017, see “AutoCAD 2017: It’s … Alive!<\/a>“)<\/p>\n

With AutoCAD 2017 you can convert PDF to AutoCAD geometry, TrueType™ text, and raster images\u2014either from a specified page in a PDF file or from all or part of an attached PDF underlay. If you\u2019ve already attached a PDF file to your drawing, you can select it and choose the new Import as Objects tool from the PDF Underlay ribbon tab. You can then import everything or pick a polygonal or rectangular selection around the geometry you want to import.<\/p>\n

To see PDF Import in action, check out\u00a0the\u00a0PDF Import overview video<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Pretty cool, huh?<\/p>\n

Below we\u00a0take a quick look at how AutoCAD\u00a0got here. If you’d rather\u00a0get right to the meat of the feature, skip to the next section, “AutoCAD 2017 PDF Import: A Walkthrough.”<\/p>\n

PDF and AutoCAD: A Shared History<\/h2>\n

PDF files are a common way of publishing and sharing design data for review and markup.<\/p>\n

AutoCAD 2007 was the first AutoCAD release with PDF support; it included a PDF plot driver that enabled you to easily print your AutoCAD drawings to PDF file format, no additional software required. AutoCAD 2010 gave you the ability to attach PDF files as underlays to drawings. Since then Autodesk has continued improving the quality and performance of the software\u2019s PDF output and underlays.<\/p>\n

We previewed the AutoCAD 2017 PDF Import functionality at Autodesk University 2015 and then polled the audience to gauge their interest. The response was overwhelmingly positive: About three-quarters of attendees strongly agreed (and overall nearly 95 percent agreed) with the statement \u201cI will use the PDF Import feature.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Poll<\/a>

Poll results for using PDF Import<\/p><\/div>\n

So here we are at another milestone\u2026 the much requested ability to import geometry from a PDF file.<\/p>\n

AutoCAD 2017 PDF Import: A Walkthrough<\/h2>\n
\"Import<\/a>

Import selected objects from a PDF file<\/p><\/div>\n

Use the\u00a0Settings option to control how the geometry is imported.<\/p>\n

\"PDF<\/a>

PDF Import Settings dialog box<\/p><\/div>\n

For example, you can specify:<\/p>\n