PDFin for AutoCAD
PDFin works with AutoCAD versions 2002 - 2023. It's an ideal way open and edit PDF in Autodesk programs that don't have built-in support or when more reliable results are required. Access it from the Ribbon Toolbar or run it via the command line to convert PDF to DWG in AutoCAD. PDFin extracts all objects, text, layers, and attributes for modification.
License the PDFin API
Our technology powers plugins for AutoCAD and BricsCAD. Other CAD developers like GstarCAD, ProgeCAD and Graebert use our CAD SDK to add PDF import and edit to their CAD systems. License the PDF Conversion SDK to add PDF Import and Edit to your application by converting PDf to DWG and DXF.
IMPORTANT! THE PDFIN PLUG-IN REQUIRES AN AUTODESK APPLICATION TO RUN
Open and Edit PDF files in AutoCAD
Enjoy complete PDF editing control in AutoCAD. The PDFin plugin converts PDF to DWG and opens the drawings in any Autodesk application that supports plug-ins or Lisp routines. It’s much more than a PDF viewer or underlay. It extracts a fully editable drawing from any computer-generated PDF file. PDFin is not designed for use with scanned drawings or hand drawings except as underlays. Learn more about The Difference Between Vector and Raster PDF Files
The PDFin plugin opens a PDF drawing in one step. It's accessed via a toolbar icon or command line. Change all objects and attributes. Text is editable as MTEXT. If the text was “plotted” as pen strokes (SHX text), the text will appear as graphics and is not editable.
The PDFin AutoCAD plugin opens a single page from a PDF file. If you need advanced options, look at pdf2cad. It handles multi-page conversions, support for layers, custom rotation, and other advanced options.
Since 2013, we've been proud to be one of the first certified plug-ins for the Autodesk App Store. Try PDFin today.
PDFin for Autodesk
PDFin is available in two formats. one is a certified plug-in designed to integrated with the Autodesk plugin API. It works for AutoCAD 2012 and later. The other is a Lisp routine for AutoCAD 2002 though 2011. Both programs will open a PDF drawing on screen as an editable DWG file and provide the same PDFIMPORT feature that's included in Autoad 2017 and newer.
Need More Control? Try pdf2cad
pdf2cad is the flagship of our CAD series and all of the plug-ins and add-ins are derived from it. It offers every feature and advanced option you could need plus batch and multi-page features. Learn More...
Frequently asked questions about PDFin
In earlier versions than AutoCAD 2017, it is impossible to convert a PDF file to a DWG file directly. PDF files could only be used as underlays to help with manual redrawing. pdf2cad filled the gap and was used to generate DWG files to open and edit in AutoCAD.
Starting with AutoCAD 2017, Autodesk added a standard PDFIMPORT feature to open PDF drawings directly in AutoCAD. According to Autodesk, "the accuracy of the resultant AutoCAD content is largely dependent upon the quality of the original PDF so that results may vary."
Visual Integrity's PDFin plug-in is available for all versions of AutoCAD from 2002 - 2020. It has been battle-tested since 1995 and is accurate and reliable. If your version of AutoCAD doesn't support PDFIMPORT, please take a look at PDFin or pdf2cad.
There are two types of PDF files - vector and raster. Any PDF file saved by a software program, printer to file, or exported as PDF will be in the vector format. Data is present about all of the objects and text. Scanned drawings are raster PDF files and have no data to extract. they are just flat, bitmap images. Our software is designed to extract all the content from vector PDF files. To learn more:
The Difference Between Vector and Raster PDF Files
When a PDF is generated with SHX or shape fonts, it is saved as a series of pen strokes that combine to look like the character it represents. There's no detail retained about the character, its point size, or font name. All we can do is convert it to a graphic that is a perfect replica but is not editable. AutoCAD also supports TrueType fonts which carry over all their information to the PDF file. When these are converted, the text will be editable as MTEXT in the resulting CAD file.