Scan2CAD’s latest guide will show you exactly how you can convert PDF to CAD in a few simple steps. Plus, we’ll show you how you can get Scan2CAD for free!

What are PDFs?

PDF, or Portable Document Format, is easily one of the most popular file formats you’ll find. Why exactly? Since its first release in 1993, PDF has become the go-to format for exchanging documents. Unlike many other formats—like Microsoft Word’s .doc—the text or images displayed on a PDF tend to be displayed in an identical manner across all types of devices. In industries like media, this is ideal—you can rest assured knowing everyone you share your PDFs with will see the exact same thing you do. 

Another major benefit to the PDF format is that you don’t need specific software to view them—you can do it from the comfort of your chosen browser with absolutely no issue. Alternatively, you can use software like Adobe Reader, which tends to already be installed on most PCs. One of the most interesting aspects to the PDF format however, has to be its ability to support both raster and vector elements. As such, it can be difficult to categorize the file format as strictly “raster” or “vector”. 

While PDFs are great for displaying documents or general information, they’re incredibly difficult to edit. In fact, if you wanted to edit the information in a PDF, you’d generally have to convert to a different file format entirely. If you’re looking to use information in a PDF in CAD software like AutoCAD or SolidWorks, for example, you’d have to convert your PDF to a CAD-friendly file format. We’ll show you exactly how you can do this below—and the issues you might come across along the way!

Converting to CAD

When we talk about converting PDF to CAD, we don’t mean “CAD” as a file type. Instead, we’re using it to refer to file types that run in CAD applications like AutoCAD. So if you’re looking to convert to use your PDF in CAD software, you’re going to first have to convert your PDF to a CAD-friendly format. In this case, you’ll be looking to convert your PDF to DXF or DWG. 

DWG

DWG is the native file format for none other than AutoCAD, one of the most popular CAD programs around. A proprietary file format owned by Autodesk, DWG has had a long and interesting history since its first release in 1982. Being a proprietary file format, any developer that wishes to use the format in their software has to first get a license to do so. Fortunately, nowadays, there are plenty of ways to view DWG without AutoCAD.

As you’d imagine, being the native file format for one of the leading CAD software packages on the market, DWG is used extensively around the globe. The format comes with a wide variety of advantages. To start, it comes with a small file size, as it is a binary file format. In turn, the compact nature of DWG files makes them perfect for sharing and collaborating. Of course, its compatibility with AutoCAD means that almost all CAD professionals and hobbyists will have encountered it at some point—making it a great format to use.

Furthermore, DWGs are able to support both 2D and 3D geometry. For example, it would be simple enough to create a 2D drawing of a design which can then be modified to 3D using Autodesk software. In addition, DWG files come with the ability to support AutoCAD elements like dynamic blocks and line weights.

DXF

As popular as the DWG file format is, it does come with some drawbacks. Paramount amongst these is that, despite the broader support that exists for DWG now, the format primarily exists to serve as the native file format for AutoCAD. But imagine if you wanted to share your CAD files with a collaborator who doesn’t use AutoCAD. You can’t guarantee that their program will support DWG files—something which could be potentially problematic. This is where the DXF file format comes in. An open standard format, DXFs are the closest thing the CAD industry has to a universal file format. 

So if you’re a designer who likes to use different software to AutoCAD, the DXF file format is an ideal solution—you’ll struggle to find a CAD software package that doesn’t support it. If you’re sharing CAD files with someone else and you’re not sure whether they have AutoCAD, you’re best off sending a DXF. 

Unlike DWGs, DXFs are not binary files—they’re made up of letters and numbers, so you’re facing a larger file size. Additionally, they don’t support some of AutoCAD’s specific CAD elements like dynamic blocks. As a result, you might find yourself losing data when opening your DXFs in programs like AutoCAD. 

How do I convert?

There are two ways to convert PDF to CAD: through manual or automatic tracing. As the name suggests, manual tracing will depend entirely on your input. That is, you have to open your PDF in a program and draw over it with an additional layer. You’ll trace over all the lines, shapes and text that you wish to convert. This method has the benefit of human understanding—you know exactly what you’re converting, unlike conversion software. While it can be time-consuming, it’s a great option if you’ve got plenty of time to spare. You can manually trace using the following software: 

• Inkscape
• Illustrator
• SketchUp

Bear in mind, however, that you’ll come across a few issues when attempting to manually trace PDFs. To start, some software packages don’t support PDFs—so you won’t be able to import them. Additionally, with the wide variety of information that PDFs carry, you might struggle to trace everything you see. 

Automatic tracing, by comparison, makes use of conversion software which—yes, as you guessed—automatically traces your image and converts it to a vector file format like DXF or DWG. Software like Scan2CAD, for example, will detect the lines and edges in your PDF and redraw them as vector lines, shapes and other entities—if you’re converting a raster PDF at least. In some cases, it can take as little as a few clicks and a few seconds to convert.

Can I use an online converter?

If you typed “convert PDF to CAD” into your chosen browser, you’d undoubtedly come across multiple online converters claiming to convert quickly and efficiently. Unfortunately, as with most things, this isn’t always the case. 

While online converters are generally free, they come with a wide variety of disadvantages. Strictly speaking, online converters can’t offer the same high-quality output as converters that are dedicated raster-to-vector solutions. Additionally, they always come with limitations—a limited file size upload or a limited number of conversions. Worse still, using an online converter can mean leaving your system open to security risks. 

Instead, you should make use of software that you can trust to keep you safe and give you the best possible output—that’s where Scan2CAD comes in!

Using Scan2CAD to convert PDF to CAD

As a market-leading raster-to-vector conversion software, you can expect only the best from Scan2CAD. With it, you can convert to and from a wide variety of file formats—not the least of which includes PDF to CAD formats like DXF and DWG. 

Unlike online converters and many other conversion tools, Scan2CAD is able to support and convert both raster and vector PDFs—and even PDFs that contain both raster and vector elements. 

Convert a raster PDF to CAD

If you’re using Scan2CAD, it couldn’t be any easier to convert your raster PDF to a DXF or DWG. All you need to do is ensure you’re using a high-quality PDF to start with, and you’ll be able to start the vectorization process. Simply load your raster PDF into Scan2CAD. Once you’ve done so, you can look through the vectorization settings available to ensure your conversion is as precise as possible. 

The steps to conversion are then as follows: 

•  : converts lines, curves and shapes to vectors
•  : to convert any raster text to vector text
•  : converts both raster lines and text to vectors

Then, all you have to do is choose the file format to save your raster PDF to—either DXF or DWG. It’s just as simple as it sounds—as you can see below…

Converting a technical drawing to vector with Scan2CAD

Convert a vector PDF to CAD

It can be difficult to convert vector PDFs to CAD file formats. Fortunately, Scan2CAD is fully equipped with the necessary tools to make it possible! 

• File management: in a single PDF, you might have hundreds of small raster images which might be treated separately by other converters—leaving you to have to reassemble your entire PDF by the end. Scan2CAD, by comparison, enables you to save each page as a single file. 
• Draws CAD arcs and circles: a disadvantage of PDFs is that they typically don’t save CAD arcs or circles—they’re made up of short lines or curves instead. Scan2CAD combats this by replacing these entities with true arcs and circles that are easily editable. 
• Retains PDF line types: as we’ve said, PDFs contain a wide variety of information, including different line types. Instead of converting these different types to the same continuous one like other converters, Scan2CAD saves them accurately as they are. 
• Retains PDF line widths: PDFs tend to contain specific line width information associated with each PDF vector entity—Scan2CAD retains this whilst giving you the option to turn them off if you’re saving to DXF. 

Of course, this is just the tip of the iceberg! Click on the link below to see what else Scan2CAD can do…

Convert PDFs with raster and vector elements to CAD

If you’ve got a PDF that contains both raster and vector elements, you don’t have to worry at all—Scan2CAD does it as easy as pie! 

All you’ve got to do is load your PDF file into Scan2CAD as you would with a raster or vector PDF. A dialog box will then appear—it will give you the option to load raster elements, vector elements or both in your PDF. You have to click both to convert all of the elements in your PDF to DXF or DWG. 

To isolate the vector elements in your PDF, simply click View Vector File. You can also distinguish between the different types of vector entities present (such as lines and arcs) by using the View Vector Colors tool. With these tools, you can then figure out which PDF Import Settings to use—re-import your PDF and all of your vector elements should appear correctly. To isolate the raster elements in your PDF, simply use the steps listed above for converting raster PDFs to CAD. All you’ve got to do at the end is save your completed image as a DXF or DWG. 

Scan2CAD: Free Download

Scan2CAD isn’t just great for converting PDFs to CAD, it’s also great for converting any raster file type to a vector file format. Better still, it doesn’t merely apply a generic vectorization process to all images—using specific vectorization settings, Scan2CAD can offer you a specialized solution that’s perfect for your specific files.

Of course, it’s not just all about the vectorization tools—it’s also about the clean up! Scan2CAD comes with a range of pre- and post-processing cleaning tools that makes getting a perfect vector output possible. And with its support of a wide range of file types and market-leading features like Smart OCR and batch processing, it couldn’t be easier to convert to and from your chosen file formats. 

Don’t just take our word for it. Try out our free, 14-day trial with absolutely no limitations or obligations. That’s right—you don’t have to worry about file size limits or a limited number of conversions! Click on the link below to get started!

Nonetheless, PDF files aren’t perfect. Their strength in wide compatibility often proves a weakness in other areas. In short, they’re great when you only need to view a document; less good when you need to edit it. This can prove a particular problem if you work with software such as AutoCAD.

Luckily, there are ways to convert even the most complex PDF to AutoCAD-compatible file formats. In this guide, we’ll run through the reasons why you might need to perform such a conversion, provide a rundown on what not to do, and show you the best ways to convert any PDF to AutoCAD.

PDF files

Since its initial release in 1993, PDF has become a ubiquitous file format across the globe. Its popularity lies in its ability to display documents in an identical manner on virtually any device. This gives it an edge over formats such as Microsoft Word’s .doc and .docx formats, which can have inconsistent appearances on different displays. Meanwhile, its ability to store text gives it a clear advantage over simple raster file types.

The ability of PDF files to display various forms of data makes them harder to categorize than many other formats. PDFs are able, for example, to display raster images, such as photos or scanned sketches. However, they can also contain vector graphics—though they typically only support simpler entities, such as circles and lines. As a result, PDF is neither strictly a vector nor a raster file type, but a sui generis format.

There are obvious benefits to the complexity of PDF files—but also some drawbacks. A key issue is that PDF files exist to display information. If you wish to edit the contents of a PDF file, you’ll need to convert the file to another format in order to edit it in another program. A common editing software in the CAD industry, for example, would be AutoCAD. However, this conversion process can throw up numerous issues. This means that specific steps must be taken when converting from PDF to AutoCAD-compatible formats.

AutoCAD

As mentioned above, AutoCAD is one of the most commonly used CAD programs on the market. It is the flagship software from Autodesk, and offers users powerful 2D and 3D CAD functionality. For this reason, it is popular across a variety of industries, though it is particularly prominent in the AEC sector. Thanks to its linked application, AutoCAD 360, its users can now work on mobile devices or edit from the cloud.

AutoCAD allows its users to create detailed and accurate technical drawings: a must-have for engineers, architects and product designers. It also allows the attachment of relevant data to these drawings, transforming them from simple images into vital tools for the successful completion of a project.

File formats

The complex information that AutoCAD deals with requires a file format capable of storing it. Raster file types, which simply store color information, are, therefore, unsuitable. Instead, vector file formats are necessary. These formats store each object (such as a line or circle) as a separate, editable entity, to which a user can attach additional data. AutoCAD supports many different file extensions, though two stand out in particular: DWG and DXF.

DWG

The history of the DWG format goes hand in hand with that of AutoCAD itself. DWG has acted as the native file format for AutoCAD ever since its first release in 1982, and stands as one of the most popular file formats in CAD. Due to its popularity, there are also now a number of ways to view DWG files without AutoCAD.

Given its status as AutoCAD’s native file format, it should come as no surprise to learn that DWG is a vector file format. In fact, Autodesk updates the DWG format periodically to reflect changes to AutoCAD itself. This means that DWG is the ideal format for loyal AutoCAD users—particularly those who make use of AutoCAD-specific entities in their drawings. Additionally, DWG also supports both 2D and 3D graphics, making it a flexible choice for designers.

DXF

Though DWG is AutoCAD’s native format, Autodesk is well aware that it isn’t always a designer’s ideal choice. That’s why it created the DXF file format. Unlike DWG, which is intended primarily for use in AutoCAD, DXF is an open standard. This means that virtually any CAD software on the market can open a DXF file. As such, it’s ideal for users who often collaborate with designers who use alternatives to AutoCAD.

DXF is, in many ways, similar to DWG. Both are vector file formats, capable of displaying objects and data present in AutoCAD drawings. However, there are some key differences. DWG is intended to reflect the full range of AutoCAD entities and features. DXF, meanwhile, is meant to act as a lingua franca for many different types of CAD software. As such, it does not support many of the AutoCAD-specific entities that DWG does. It also lacks support for 3D graphics—though, unlike DWG, it is a suitable format for CNC machines.

Converting from PDF to AutoCAD-compatible formats

The PDF format, with its purpose as a medium for displaying information, differs completely from formats such as DWG and DXF, which are for creating and editing designs. However, oftentimes, designers will find themselves needing to edit designs stored as PDF files in AutoCAD.

The solution, therefore, is to convert their PDF to AutoCAD-compatible formats. Unfortunately, this is often easier said than done. Given the combination of raster data, vector entities and text that can make up a PDF, conversion can be tricky. That’s why we’ve put together this guide showing you the best way to convert your PDF to AutoCAD—with information covering raster, vector, and mixed files.

How not to convert from PDF to AutoCAD

Before we jump into the ways to convert from PDF to AutoCAD, let’s start off with a quick note on how not to do it.

For starters, it’s worth noting that, as useful as Google can be, it can often throw up some less-than-perfect results when it comes to PDF to AutoCAD conversion. Many of the first results you’re likely to find in a standard Google search will be online converters. These tools are generally free—but, as the old adage goes, you get what you pay for.

The quality of any conversion produced using an online tool is likely to be low—too low, in fact, to be useful in AutoCAD. Worse still, online conversion tools can leave you open to intellectual property and security risks. If you’re still tempted, make sure to check out our guide covering the pitfalls of online converters.

Meanwhile, some users may wish to try out manual tracing before committing to an automatic conversion tool. A key issue with this is that, whilst many manual tracing tools readily accept various raster file types, they often don’t support PDFs. If, somehow, you do find a tool that allows for manual tracing of PDFs, you’ll come up against another issue: manual tracing is hard. The process is time-consuming and demanding.

It’s certainly true that, if you have the time on your hands, you can achieve good results. However, PDFs can often contain a wealth of complex information. This means that achieving a great quality vector image through manual tracing usually isn’t worth the trouble. Visit our comparison of manual and automatic tracing for more information.

Importing PDFs directly into AutoCAD

For many years, it was impossible to directly import PDF data into AutoCAD. This all changed with AutoCAD 2017: the first release to include PDF file imports as a feature. In 2017, Autodesk built further upon this capability when they released AutoCAD 2018. Every year since, the functionality has been made available in the subsequent releases of the software, including AutoCAD 2023, the most recent version.

Now, it’s possible to import some PDF data into AutoCAD using the PDFIMPORT command. Supported data types include some vector geometry and text, including SHX text as of AutoCAD 2023. If you use this command, AutoCAD will import the data directly from the PDF, enabling you to edit this data and later save it as a DWG or DXF file.

However, it’s worth noting that this command has its limitations. To begin with, the PDFIMPORT command does exactly what it says on the tin—it imports data from a PDF. Whilst this might sound ideal, it can often cause problems. That’s because PDFs only support simple vector entities; AutoCAD, meanwhile, supports much more complex entities, and these might be necessary for your project. If you’re simply importing rather than converting, you could be missing out.

Still, AutoCAD does allow you to transform your vector PDF data into editable geometry. This is not, unfortunately, the case for the raster data in your PDF. The PDFIMPORT command will simply attach any raster data to your AutoCAD drawing as an xref, instead of converting it. If you have drawing data saved in the form of a sketch, this is, therefore, unsuitable for your needs.

Using Scan2CAD

Scan2CAD is the ultimate vectorization software, enabling users to convert to and from a number of different raster and vector formats. This includes the ability to vectorize PDF files in just a few clicks.

Scan2CAD’s automatic PDF-to-vector conversion makes it an ideal choice for any AutoCAD users looking to edit their PDFs. That’s because, unlike some other tools, it’s capable of converting both raster and vector PDFs. It can even handle PDF files which contain both raster and vector elements. Read on to learn exactly how to convert each type of PDF to AutoCAD.

Converting a raster PDF to AutoCAD

From a software point of view, raster-to-vector conversion is incredibly complex. That’s because raster images and vector graphics are totally different. A raster image is made up of colored pixels, whilst a vector image is made up of mathematically defined objects.

The only way to get from raster to vector is through automatic tracing. This involves Scan2CAD working out the appropriate vector entity types for different parts of a raster image. It’s trickier than it sounds!

Luckily, for a Scan2CAD user, the conversion process is simple. To begin with, try to ensure you use a good quality PDF—if necessary (or possible), rescan images to improve their quality. Once you’re happy that your raster PDF is good enough for conversion, load it into Scan2CAD.

Before starting the conversion process, select the best vectorization settings for your image. After that, there are three ways to vectorize your image:

•  : which converts lines, curves and shapes to vectors.
•  : to convert raster text to vector text.
•  : which converts the entire image (both lines and text) to vectors.

Finally, all you have to do is save your image as an AutoCAD-compatible format: DXF or DWG. And that’s it!

For more information, check out our ultimate guides to converting PDF to DXF and PDF to DWG.

Converting a vector PDF to AutoCAD

If your PDF file consists entirely of vector graphics, you may assume that the conversion process is simpler than that of a raster PDF. In some ways, this is true: Scan2CAD won’t need to perform the complex automatic tracing operations involved in vectorizing a raster image, for example.

However, converting from PDF to AutoCAD-compatible formats such as DWG and DXF throws up its own set of issues. This is because PDFs support only a limited range of vector entities. Additionally, some information is lost when saving a drawing in PDF format, resulting in elements being saved incorrectly. When converting your PDF to DWG or DXF, you’ll therefore have to convert these to the correct entities.

Luckily, Scan2CAD makes the process easy. Simply start by loading your vector PDF in Scan2CAD. Use the View Vector Colors tool to turn off the “true” colors of your vector PDF, and instead color vectors by type. You’ll then be able to explore your image, and see whether your entities have been imported correctly. If not, you can change Scan2CAD’s PDF Import Settings to suit the needs of your image. Settings include:

• Make Arcs, Beziers, Circles, Dash Lines, and Arrow Lines
• Load PDF Text
• Load Solid White Rectangles

Once you’ve chosen appropriate settings, you can re-import your vector PDF. The vector elements in your PDF should now appear correctly. If you’re still experiencing any issues, check out our guide to common DWG conversion problems to iron them out. Once everything is sorted, you can save your image as a DWG or DXF.

Converting a PDF with both raster and vector elements

Last, we’ll come to the most complex conversion of them all: converting a PDF containing both raster and vector graphics. Scan2CAD, however, makes this conversion a cinch.

Simply start by loading your PDF into Scan2CAD. You’ll see a dialog window pop up immediately if your file contains both raster and vector elements, with check boxes prompting you to load the raster elements in the PDF, the vector elements, or both. Ensure to check both boxes to convert all elements from PDF to AutoCAD.

From this point, the conversion process basically involves a combination of the two above elements. Using the View Vector Image and View Vector Colors tools, you can isolate the vector elements of the PDF, allowing you to judge the PDF Import Settings you need to use. You can then re-import your PDF, and all vector elements in your file should appear correctly.

Then, use the View Raster Image tool to show only the raster elements of your PDF. Follow the steps in the raster PDF to AutoCAD section above to vectorize these raster elements. Now, all elements in your PDF file should have been successfully converted to vector. All that’s left to do is save your image as a DXF or DWG file—and you’re done!

We hope this guide has covered everything you need to know on converting from PDF to AutoCAD. If you’re still curious, though, feel free to leave any more questions in the comments!

This guide covers everything you need to know about scanning a design into the computer, and converting the resulting raster file into a CAD-friendly vector format.

When would paper to CAD conversion be used?

There are several instances where paper to CAD conversion becomes necessary.

One common scenario involves old technical drawings or architectural plans. Your studio may have won a contract to develop part of a site further. The trouble is, all of the previous plans were drawn on physical paper, rather than on a program like AutoCAD. In such an instance, you could begin by manually drawing the designs in your preferred software, and going from there. However, this would require a huge commitment of time and energy, which would be better spent editing the initial design to the client’s new specifications. A more efficient method would be to use the technological advances that are present in Scan2CAD, which allow you to automatically convert a scanned paper drawing to a CAD format.

The same principle applies to hand-drawn sketches, or any other design that has been produced on paper.

Why do you need conversion software?

Only vector graphics are suitable for designing in CAD. Source: University of Connecticut

When you scan your drawing—either onto your computer, or directly into Scan2CAD—you will be able to save it as a raster file. Raster file formats are commonly used display on the web, but are not suitable for use within the context of CAD design. Their lack of structure means that you cannot edit individual entities without affecting the image as a whole. Furthermore, if you increase the image size, this can cause the drawing to lose quality and appear fuzzy or pixelated.

In order to use your scanned paper drawings for CAD design purposes, you will need to convert blueprints to CAD compatible vector format, such as DXF (Drawing Exchange Format) or DWG (Drawing). Unlike raster images, vector files are capable of holding masses of data about each individual element. This data is readable by CAD software, and is invaluable when collaborating on an important project.

Vectors also benefit from resolution independence: however far you zoom into the file, you will never see a loss of quality. Furthermore, whereas raster graphics are made up of pixels, vector graphics are made up of objects, such as lines, arcs, Bezier curves or polygons. You can edit each of these entities individually without affecting the rest of the image, granting the designer much more freedom.

There are 2 methods to convert blueprints to digital: manual tracing and automatic tracing. The term ‘tracing’ refers to the process of drawing over raster images with vectors. While humans can understand design more effectively than technology, we’re more prone to inaccuracy. Tracing by hand with a graphics stylus or mouse is also very time consuming. Automatic tracing, on the other hand, is performed by raster-to-vector software like Scan2CAD. You may have to touch-up raster images prior to conversion, but the process is very quick: it takes mere seconds.

With Scan2CAD, you can opt to convert a scanned drawing to a wide range of different vector formats—most commonly DXF or DWG. We’ll look at the differences between the two, and how to vectorize your drawing a little later.  

Scanning your drawing

Can you scan any drawing?

Conversion software is only able to work with what it’s given. When assessing whether your drawing is suitable for scanning, you need to be aware of both size and clarity.

Some drawings are simply too small to be scanned, however much you try to offset this with resolution. Others are too faint, or too dirty, to be cleaned up well enough to produce a credible scan. You also need to be aware of obscured lines. If too many lines are overlapped by text, no software would be able to make sense of the information. Therefore if your aim is to convert blueprints to digital, ensure you have a suitable quality drawing and scan.

What type of scanner can you use?

You can scan directly to Scan2CAD: all you need is a compatible scanner. These include any Twain- or WIA-compliant scanner, or, if you have the pro version, a Colortrac SmartLF scanner, or an HP Designjet T2300 eMFP.

Simply start by loading your design directly from your scanner into Scan2CAD. If a dialogue box appears, choose appropriate settings, and then instruct the software to Scan.

It makes little difference which of these scanners is used, although the latter model does offer you a preview within the software; use this to check whether your scan is fit for conversion. If not—if your drawing is skewed, for instance—rescan until the image is optimal.

If you don’t have access to any of the scanners mentioned, you can still convert your drawing to CAD: it will just add a couple of extra steps. Simply scan your drawing onto your computer as normal, load it in Scan2CAD, and vectorize.

When scanning your drawing, it’s important to save it as a lossless format. TIFF is an ideal format; other lossless formats include BMP and PNG. You should avoid lossy formats, such as JPEG, which sacrifice image quality for smaller file sizes.

Scanner Settings

Color

Most scanners give you the option to scan in color, grayscale, or monochrome. In most cases, the best option to convert hand-drawn plans to digital is to scan your drawing in monochrome. This separates your image into just two colors—black and white—which means that Scan2CAD can easily separate out the design in the foreground from the white background.

If scanning an image as a monochrome image, it’s worth checking your scanner’s threshold settings. These determine which parts of your image are scanned as black and white respectively. If they’re set too high, text may “bleed”, and speckles may appear in the background. Set them too low, and your image may lack detail. It’s possible, however, to simply scan your image in grayscale, then separate the colors out into black and white using Scan2CAD’s thresholding tool.

Resolution

High resolution doesn’t automatically produce a better scan; the important thing is to find the resolution that is most appropriate. But you should also be aware that while you can decrease image resolution after it has been scanned, you cannot increase it. As a general rule, you should be looking at a resolution between 200 and 400 DPI; smaller images, such as logos, may require higher resolution. If your scan appears pixelated, this is a key sign that you need to increase the resolution. Likewise with characters within areas of text, and the spacing of entities—you want clear white space to be visible between them.

This latter issue may need a combination of resolution and threshold adjustments, and you should experiment with both until the image is optimal.

Pre-conversion clean-up

Using the Deskew tool on very skewed images usually results in a significant loss of quality

Before you convert hand-drawn plans to digital, ensure that you have not missed any basic errors. Check that the whole drawing has been scanned and that it is as straight as possible. While Scan2CAD does provide a deskew tool, using it may result in a loss of quality. See our comprehensive guide for optimal raster-to-vector conversion results for more areas you should watch out for.

If you do need to clean up any of the image, there are a number of tools available to you. Other than deskew, you can also fill in missing gaps in lines. Use the Remove Holes function for small holes, or Flood Fill for larger gaps. Opting to Smooth lines will get rid of stray ‘hairs’ from your lines, and if there is a small amount of dirt in the background, you can ‘Remove Speckles’ to eliminate marks.

It’s best at this point to work through the full quality checklist, zooming in to ensure you haven’t missed anything that will become an issue during vectorization.

Converting to vector

DXF or DWG?

To convert from a simple image to a file that contains important design data and that can be easily edited in CAD software, you’ll need to convert your drawing from raster to vector. With Scan2CAD, you can choose between numerous vector formats, notably including DXF or DWG. Both formats allow you to edit individual entities and reuse them, should you so wish. This can save time in the future when creating CAD files with similar elements to those in this file. What’s more, neither DXF or DWG files are resolution dependent: however far you zoom in or out; whatever size you view the image, the drawing’s quality will be retained.

But while DXF files are supported almost universally by CAD programs, making them ideal for collaboration, the DWG format is native to AutoCAD. If you don’t own this software, don’t panic—you may still be able to view and edit a DWG without AutoCAD.

You may prefer this format if you are keen to edit the drawing using native AutoCAD entities, or if you are only going to be sharing the file with those who use the same software. If you are unsure which to go for, take a closer look at the qualities of each of these vector file types. And remember, it’s not the end of the world if you get it ‘wrong’: you can always convert your DWG to a DXF, or vice versa, at a later date.

How to vectorize your drawing

Whether you’re looking to convert your scan from a TIFF or a PDF, and to a DXF or DWG, the process is the same:

1. Open the scanned image into Scan2CAD
2. Clean the image (if required) using Scan2CAD’s image cleaning tools
3. Convert the image using Scan2CAD’s Vectorization and OCR 
4. Export the converted vector image to DXF or DWG for your CAD software.

It really is as quick and simple as that! And, if you’ve got a mountain of hard copies that you need to scan, there’s no need to convert each one individually. Use the Batch Processing tool to automate the process, while retaining control on pre-conversion optimization.

A floor plan drawing converted to DXF in Scan2CAD

What about Paper to CAD Conversion Services?

If converted your paper designs to CAD yourself seems like too much work, you could look into paper to CAD conversion services. These service providers will require you to send them your paper copies and they will subsequently scan and convert your drawings to your required format.

Paper to CAD conversion as a service is not without its issues. In fact, we created an article for those who wish to make an informed decision on whether or not to outsource conversions: CAD Conversion: Do It Yourself Or Outsource? Most notably, outsourcing conversion is not a zero-work option. You will need to consult with the conversion service providing detailed specifications of the conversions you require and you should carefully check the accuracy of all delivered files. Finally, outsourcing is not an option for the majority of companies who have a policy of protecting their client’s drawings.

Useful resources

If you need more support on converting your scan to vector, then you may find the following pages helpful:

• Converting from TIFF to DXF — Your ultimate guide
• Ultimate Guide: TIFF to DWG Conversion
• Ultimate Guide: PDF to DXF Conversion
• Ultimate Guide: PDF to DWG Conversion
• FAQs: DXF Conversion

If you want to have a go at converting a paper drawing to CAD without the commitment of paying, you can enjoy a no-strings-attached, 14-day trial of Scan2CAD without spending a penny. You’ll soon realize why it is the ultimate market-leading vectorization software.

1. It’s necessary for collaboration

If you’re used to dealing with CAD programs like AutoCAD or SolidWorks, you might not immediately see the need for converting PDF files into a compatible format. However, clients are likely to have limited expertise in this area, and may well send files as PDFs. Often their reasoning is sound: PDF is a widely supported file type, so they can be sure anyone receiving the file will have the capacity to access it. They might have no concept of the fact that you can’t just open it and get on with edits and additions. Alternatively, they may be well aware of potential issues, but unable to do anything about them, not having access to CAD software themselves.

You might also start out with a PDF if the drawing has originated from a hard copy. Perhaps it is an old architectural plan of a building, or maybe there’s a hand-drawn sketch you wish to work on. Whatever the reason, you need it on your screen. And when scanning it into the computer, you will be able to save the file as a PDF, but not as a format that is more CAD-friendly.

The difficulties that arise when attempting to edit PDF files makes it often imperative to convert it into a format such as DXF. DXF files are useful because not only are they compatible across CAD software, they can take you from design to manufacturing very easily. As vector files, they contain information that is able to be read by CNC machines, ensuring accurate production of your initial design.

2. Not every part of a PDF file will necessarily need converting from raster to vector

PDFs can contain elements of both raster and vector graphics; the latter referring to parts of the file that are compatible with CAD work. These entities are made up of lines, as opposed to the pixels that form a raster image. Such elements will not undergo further vectorization, but can be imported into your new file all the same.

It is possible to determine which entities of your PDF are raster, and which vector, but to save time and confusion, the software is able to identify them for you. You may decide to load just one of these types, but equally you can load all entities within the file.

You will also be given the option of converting any of the raster graphics into vector. Restrict the vectorization to raster text, lines or shapes—or, to enable them to be used more effectively for CAD or CNC, choose to convert them all. And forget time consuming manual tracing; instead of mouse or graphic pad, Scan2CAD will trace these entities entirely automatically.

Once vectorized, the editing suite allows you to alter any part of the image easily for your desired outcome.

3. It’s very quick and very easy

When converting a PDF into a DXF format, there’s a lot that needs to happen—but, thankfully, not by you.

Simply load your file, and decide which parts of it you wish to convert: you may wish to use only certain pages of your original PDF file, for instance. You’ll also be able to choose different vectorization, Optical Character Recognition (OCR), and export settings. To make things even simpler, the software will pick up on individual aspects of your file(s) and display options that are specifically relevant to them.

Then you’re ready to save into DXF format. The whole conversion take just a few clicks of your mouse, and is completed within about half a minute! Suddenly those PDFs you’re sent from clients don’t seem so much of a bother, do they?

For more detailed instructions of the process, see our step-by-step guide to converting your PDF file to a DXF.

4. There are ways you can improve the outcome of your PDF to DXF conversion

During the PDF to DXF process, there are several things that could go wrong. However, with a few pointers, you can reduce susceptibility to all of the most common DXF conversion problems.

Right from the get-go, you will face decisions that will affect the quality of the output. First off, you need to make sure that your input image—the PDF—is scanned into the software in as optimal a manner as possible. Scanning in black and white, where color is not a requirement to your image, proves a big help to the software. It can convert monochrome shapes much more accurately than those that are colored, or even grayscale, which can still include nearly 300 different shades in between black and white.

Ensuring your scan is correctly aligned is another easy way to improve your chances of a successful scan. Although you can use the deskewing tool a little later, such technology can reduce quality—and why bother, when you can manually eliminate the need up-front? No need to worry about it being positioned the wrong way round, though; you can rotate your PDF easily on Scan2CAD.

While there is a whole checklist of things you can do to improve the scanning process, you’ll likely need to work on the image on-screen too. This includes checking that that the lines are thick enough to be recognized (although not thick enough to run the risk of producing multiple lines) and adjusting the color settings of your image.

After the conversion itself, there is a little more to do: the process does not end with a click of the button. Post-vectorization editing is a crucial step that can make all the difference to the quality of your DXF file output.

5. Scan2CAD will recognize text and numbers, although you can give it a helping hand

Optical Character Recognition is a useful piece of kit that can trace over letters and numbers and convert them into editable text. The technology comes in particularly handy when vectorizing old plans, which often contain handwritten labels and notes.

Applying certain settings can be beneficial to the process. You can, for example, choose to split characters that may have bled into each other in their native, raster state. There’s also complete flexibility in how OCR is used: the settings you opt for needn’t apply across your whole document if you don’t deem them suitable.

You can also lend the OCR technology a bit of a helping hand. With handwritten or unclear fonts, it is possible that lettering could be vectorized into a series of lines or arcs, rather than text. Not ideal. So, why not type over the words, and erase the writing beneath it? And remember, if it’s not legible to you, the computer doesn’t stand a chance!

6. You can convert as many PDFs as you like in one go!

What happens when you’ve got multiple PDF files that you need to use within CAD? It rather depends on which converter you opt for. Poor converters, as well as limiting the quality you’ll achieve, will only let you upload one graphic at a time. This is impractical for many users, who require a more extensive use of the service.

Scan2CAD, on the other hand, lets you use the automatic batch conversion option to save time and increase productivity.

Handy for multiple PDF to DXF conversions, there’s no need to upload your PDFs one at a time. It’s a no-corners-cut shortcut: get the same benefits that you enjoy with individual files, including the option to specify your required upload and vectorization settings.

7. You can do it all for free

There are many file converters available online—and you can even find some of these offering the service for free. However, you need to beware of various issues common to many of them. Poor quality is likely to abound: you may find that the output file is watermarked, or a very large in size. Any letters or numbers contained in the PDF may be vectorized as separate entities, leaving words jumbled and totally unreadable. There is also an increased risk that your digital security will be compromised; the risk of malware is not one to be taken lightly, and this is why we warn against the use of cracks.

And if safety and quality weren’t enough, there are various other pitfalls to conversion freeware. They do not tend to offer comprehensive editing suites, which are necessary to optimize your PDF to DXF conversions, nor advanced tools such as OCR.

However, with Scan2CAD, you get all of this (and more) and can even take advantage of a free 14 day trial. During this period, you will have access to the full, professional version of the software. That way, you can test out all of the features we’ve discussed, without committing with your wallet.

And if, and the end of that time, you do decide that paying for the ultimate vectorization software is indeed worth it, you can enjoy the benefits of this market-leading program for as long as you need them.

If you’re new to the Scan2CAD blog, and would like more advice to aid you in all your CAD needs, check out our tips section, featuring more handy hints and tricks on everything from student resources to building the ultimate CAD PC (and with much more in between).

These PDF files contain valuable information required for your CAD work. However, in order to extract the information and make edits to the drawing, you’ll need to convert PDF to DXF or DWG. In this article, we’ll walk you through everything you need to know about Scan2CAD, the market leading file conversion software that you can download for free. With its 20-year track record and clients such as Shell, BBC and Intel, it’s the file conversion brand that you can trust.

1. Highly Accurate PDF-to-DXF conversion

Scan2CAD can extract both raster and vector information contained within your PDF file, including vector entities like polylines, polygons and text; as well as embedded raster images and metadata. It also includes an OCR text recognition engine to extract text from images. Scan2CAD also lets you…

• Save vector entities on one single DXF layer or on multiple layers (each layer defined by either color or type)
• Automatically retain any user-defined line types (such as dashes and dots) when converting vector PDF files. It also preserves line width information, which is especially handy when converting electrical diagrams
• Save vector files in the correct size and scale
• Save vectors as True Color (i.e. the exact original color)

The most powerful feature in Scan2CAD has to be our raster to vector conversion engine. The software comes pre-loaded with automatic settings for a wide range of drawings, including architectural, electrical, and mechanical drawings, amongst many others. This enables the software to create the most accurate vector entities possible, giving you optimal results.

Scan2CAD’s raster-to-vector conversion engine comes in handy when dealing with circles and arcs

The PDF file format only supports a limited number of vector entities – and these don’t include arcs or circles. As a result, any circular shapes are converted into short lines or Bezier curves. This output is incredibly difficult to edit. If your drawing includes arcs and circles, be sure to choose software like Scan2CAD that can replace the short lines or Bezier curves with true arcs and circles that are easy to edit.

These circles were imported from a PDF using another conversion program. Instead of appearing as two vector circles, they have been reproduced as a series of small vector lines, making them very hard to edit in CAD.	These circles were imported from a PDF using Scan2CAD. Scan2CAD detected them and reproduced them as easy-to-edit vector circles. Just select the Make Vector Circles option when importing your file into Scan2CAD.

2. CAD & CNC-ready files

After vector conversion, you can export your file as DXF or DWG (and a number of other vector file types). These are the two most widely-used CAD file types in the industry. Not only that, but Scan2CAD is able to read and write files from many different versions of DXF and DWG files. It supports DXF files pre-R14 and DXF R14/LT97 and later, and it supports DWG files for all versions between R12 and R2007-2010. As for input, Scan2CAD accepts both single page and multi-page PDF input. What’s more, when importing your PDF, you can choose to import raster images only, vector images only, or both – and whether it’s a scanned document or a drawing file that’s saved as PDF, Scan2CAD can convert your file to DXF. You can even rotate the PDF page when loading it! After you’ve vectorized your files, they’re ready for use in CNC machining.

Still deciding which CNC machine to start with? Check out our guide to the best CNC kits for beginners!
download scan2cad for free here

3. Full set of vector and raster editing tools

Scan2CAD is an end-to-end file conversion solution. Using just one program, you can scan, edit, and convert your image. You can clean up raster images and prep them for optimal raster-to-vector conversion. After conversion, there’s an entire suite of vector editing tools, meaning you can cut, copy, move, and paste elements within your image, draw new vectors, add text, and more. This can be useful for optimizing poor raster images before conversion, e.g. converting GIF to DXF. 

Scan2CAD comes with a complete suite of raster and vector editing tools

4. Convenient

Using Scan2CAD’s intelligent conversion software can you save hours of precious time. Once you experience the convenience of using raster-to-vector conversion software, you’ll never go back to tracing over raster images manually on your CAD software.

Scan2CAD also supports batch processing so you can automate conversions of thousands of files in a few clicks! All you have to do is select the files or folders you want to convert and choose the right settings. Learn more about batch conversion and automation here.

Scan2CAD is leaps and bounds ahead of competitors when it comes to dealing with raster images. Other conversion software will simply extract the raster images from your PDF, potentially leaving you with a huge number of different raster images for each page of your PDF. It’s not very efficient, and it makes it really hard to edit. Scan2CAD, meanwhile, saves all the raster images on one page as a single image, letting you get on with editing it as normal.

5. Safe and secure

There are plenty of online conversion tools promising great results, absolutely free! It sounds too good to be true – and unfortunately, that’s because it almost always is. Uploading your files to an online tool might not only leave you with a poor quality image – it can compromise the security of your file, leave your company’s intellectual property vulnerable, and comes with the risk of malware being downloaded to your PC. Check out our article on the problems of online file converters to find out more – and find out why it’s better to stick with Scan2CAD.

Try every feature for free

Try the full version of Scan2CAD with our free 14-day trial. This trial version allows you to try every single feature in the professional version of Scan2CAD, all for free. Unlike some other free PDF to DXF and PDF to DWG converters, there are no watermarks printed onto your output files. Click on the image below to download your unlimited trial now.

However, saving your vector graphics and text in PDF format locks them and makes them uneditable. To make further edits to these vectors, you’ll have to convert the PDF to a DXF file – but sometimes you might encounter some problems along the way. So, we’ve put together a list of 5 top hacks that you can use to make the conversion process quicker and easier – and get the best possible results.

Hack #1. Improve your Scanning Technique

Vectorization allows you to convert a scanned image into editable vectors. However, if you don’t scan your image correctly to begin with, you could end up running into problems further down the line. Here’s a handy checklist to help you make sure you’re following the right steps while scanning your image – and help you avoid many common problems encountered during vectorization.

• Choose the correct color setting on your scanner – If you’re scanning a black and white image or drawing, never select the color option. It’s easy to do this by accident as most scanners’ default setting is to scan images in color. Scanning with the monochrome setting will produce a cleaner image containing only two colors – black and white. It’s also important to remember the difference between grayscale and monochrome – grayscale images contain 256 shades of gray, meaning they’re also unsuitable for vectorization.
• Adjust the threshold of your image – If you’re scanning a black and white image or drawing, never select the color option. It’s easy to do this by accident as most scanners’ default setting is to scan images in color. Scanning with the monochrome setting will produce a cleaner image containing only two colors – black and white. It’s also important to remember the differerence between grayscale and monochrome – grayscale images contain 256 shades of gray, meaning they’re also unsuitable for vectorization.

Check out the difference threshold levels makes to your image! You can include as much or as little detail as you want.

• Save your images using TIFF or BMP file format – JPEG and GIF may be common formats, but they’re also lossy file types, meaning they compromise image quality for lower file sizes. Not only that, but they’re also unsuitable for black and white drawings. Saving in a lossless format means better image quality.
• Align the image well – No one wants to spend hours fixing skewed lines. Worse still, using deskewing tools on your image often severely degrades its quality. Avoid these problems by getting image alignment right first time.

Using the Deskewing tool on very skewed images usually results in a significant loss of quality, so best to avoid that!

Hack #2. Scroll Around the Image Using Keyboard Shortcuts

Here’s my favourite hack. When vectorizing an image, you’ll usually have to zoom into it very closely – either before conversion, to clean the image up, or after conversion, to make sure every element is converted as desired. Here are some keyboard shortcuts that make it easy!

• Press F to fill the entire workspace with your image. After zooming in, the screen would be covered in gray area and that’s such a waste of screen space!
• Press Ctrl + Right arrow (→) to move one screen to the right.
• Once you’ve moved all the way across the image horizontally, press Ctrl + Down arrow (↓) to move one screen
• Then, press Ctrl + Left arrow (←) to move one screen to the left.
• Continue with this process until you’ve moved across your entire drawing.

There you have it! A neat and easy way to make sure you’ve checked every part of your drawing, without missing a spot.

Hack #3. Type Over Poor-Quality Text

Ever received a drawing with unusual fonts or handwritten notes? While OCR text recognition can sometimes detect the letters and successfully convert them to vector text, other times it will just convert them into lines and arcs. It can be faster to simply type over it before using the Erase Area tool to get rid of any hard-to-vectorize text.

OCR technology cannot detect handwritten text well, so it might be quicker to type over!

Hack #4. Save it in the Correct Scale

When saving a file in DXF format, Scan2CAD will ask you whether you want to set scaling options. It’s useful for your CAD program to get this information, so if you know the scale of the original PDF file, make sure you input it. Use Scan2CAD’s Vector Scale Settings to select the appropriate units and enter the scaling information.

Hack #5. Convert Multiple PDF Files at the Same Time

One feature that can shave hours off your workload is Scan2CAD’s batch conversion tool. This lets you select multiple files at once, or even whole folders of files, to convert in one go. (A client of ours once had 850 images converted in a single click and in less than four hours!) To learn about this feature in more detail, check out Scan2CAD’s user manual on batch conversion.

If you’re an AutoCAD user, you may want to convert to DWG instead. Learn more in our ultimate guide to PDF-to-DWG conversion.

In order to edit the elements of the PDF file, you’d need to convert the PDF file to a CAD format. What better file type to convert to than DXF, the most compatible CAD file type? In the slideshow below, we’ve compiled everything you need to know about converting files from PDF to DXF in one handy place…

Raster PDF vs. Vector PDF

Vector images compared to raster images

Let’s first go over the two main types of PDF files you’ll commonly be dealing with – raster PDFs and vector PDFs.

Raster files are images formed by colored pixels clustered together. Vector files, on the other hand, are made from “paths” – geometric elements with information dictating various characteristics such as curvature, line weight, color, and length.

We can imagine two versions of a Venn diagram image – a raster version and a vector version. The raster version will be made of pixels clustered together to create a portrayal of two interesting circles with the colors of the clustered pixels dictating the color or the diagram parts. The vector version will be made of data dictating the diameters of the circles, the colors of the circles, and the color of their intersecting area. 

For most purposes related to CAD work, it is easier and more accurate to work with vector files. Raster files, depending on their resolution or quality, will sometimes be blurry and inaccurate. Vector files have set values and will readily be editable when converted into a format that your preferred CAD software can work with. So if you’re trying to convert PDF to DXF, always opt to get vector versions of the source file when you can.

Working with a raster PDF

Step 1: Open up the raster PDF.

Click “File” on the top-left corner of the Scan2CAD interface and then select “Open”. Navigate to the PDF file you need to convert on the dialog box that opens up. Click on “Open” after you’ve selected the file.

In the dialog box that follows, you can double-check if the PDF has vector or raster elements. Do note that you’ll have to work on one page of the PDF at a time.

Step 2: Clean up the image.

Click on the “Clean image” tool at the toolbar on the top of the interface. It’s the one shaped like three stars.

In the dialog box that opens up, there are various tools you can use to tidy up the image before conversion. The most important one is the Threshold tool which turns the vector PDF into a black and white image suitable for conversion.

Click on “OK” once you’re done with the edits.

There are various tools you can play around with at the left side of the screen if you want to erase, add, or edit raster elements before you convert them.

Step 3: Convert the image.

Once you’re happy with the cleanup and edits you’ve done, it’s time to move on to the actual conversion step.

Click on the Convert tool next to the Clean image tool and a dialog box will pop up.

There are a bunch of tools you can play around with here, but for most technical drawings, all you have to focus on are the Vectorization method, Options, Vectorization presets, and OCR tab.

Set the Vectorization method to Technical if you’re working with a technical document, set the options to Vectorize and OCR if you want the conversion process to try and convert the raster text in the document to editable TrueType, and tweak the OCR settings according to the text characters in the PDF.

Click on “Run” to perform the conversion and see a preview on the left part of the dialog box. If you’re happy with that preview, click on “OK” to finalize it.

Step 4: Save the image.

From here, you can choose to do some minor vector edits with the tools on the left side of the image, but for any major edits, you’ll want to use your preferred dedicated CAD software.

Just save the converted vector by once again clicking on “File”, then Save as > Vector. In the dialog box that pops up, navigate to where you want to save the file, type in its name, and choose the file format you want to save it as. For most modern CAD software, you’ll want to convert PDF to DXF since DXF is a common file format most programs can handle. Click on “Save” once all of that is done.

Working with a vector PDF

Step 1: Open up the raster PDF.

This part is exactly the same as with a raster PDF. Click on “File” on the top-left corner of the Scan2CAD interface and then select “Open”. Navigate to the PDF file you need to convert on the dialog box that opens up. Click on “Open” after you’ve selected the file.

In the dialog box that follows, you can double-check if the PDF has vector or raster elements. Do note that you’ll have to work on one page of the PDF at a time.

Vector PDF’s have an extra dialog that pops up to let you optimize the vector elements in the PDF before opening it up on Scan2CAD. It’s usually best to leave it at its default settings, but feel free to play around with the Vector Optimization settings at your discretion. You can also access the tool again later on under the Convert sub-menu on the top part of the screen.

Step 2: Save the image.

Since the image is already vector, there’s no need to clean the image nor to convert it. Like with raster PDFs, you can choose to do some minor vector edits with the tools on the left side of the image. But again, for any major edits, you’ll want to use your preferred dedicated CAD software.

Just save the vector by clicking on “File”, then Save as > Vector. In the dialog box that pops up, navigate to where you want to save the file, type in its name, and choose the file format you want to save it as. If the goal was to open it up on your preferred CAD software by converting the PDF to DXF, choose the DXF format. DWG formats also work almost just as well. Click on “Save” once all of that is done.

So that’s the whole process. If it’s a fairly simple image, this won’t take users more than a minute to execute. There are a lot more things you can do with Scan2CAD and you can take a look at all our available video tutorials.

The Ultimate Guide: PDF to DXF Conversion is a comprehensive source for all conversion questions on the Internet. The guide is a practical handbook for users looking to convert PDF files themselves, with step-by-step instructions on how to go about it. For power-users, we’ll go behind the scenes and explain how PDF conversion works, and throw in some top tips too!

Table of Contents

• When and why would someone want to convert PDF files to DXF?
• Case study: Wood routing company converts PDF designs to beautiful wood signs
• How to convert a PDF file to DXF
• Why choose dedicated conversion software over online tools?
• FAQ on PDF to DXF conversion
• What is a PDF file?
• What is a DXF file?
• How does PDF-to-DXF conversion work?
• Using Scan2CAD to convert PDF to DXF

When and why would someone want to convert PDF files to DXF?

Here’s the short answer: we convert PDF files to DXF when we want to edit the contents of the PDF file in CAD software. There are two main benefits of using conversion software to convert files from PDF to DXF:

To save time
Clients and colleagues often share files in PDF format, especially those without a technical background or CAD expertise. Without a conversion program, you’d have to manually redraw the vector file. This could take hours, or even days – time that can be better spent on more vital work functions! Vector conversion software can do the same work within seconds.

Once the PDF is converted into DXF, you can load the drawing into a CAD application. The world is now your oyster and there are all sorts of CAD tools in your arsenal. You can cut, copy and paste certain elements of an existing drawing. You can edit specific elements of the drawing, such as reshape Bezier curves, stretch vectors or convert lines to arcs and so on. It is easy to iterate and reiterate drawings once they’re in DXF format.

To collaborate with other folks
There are amazing benefits to reap by converting files to DXF. This is because the DXF file format is the industry standard for CAD file sharing. In other words, DXF files can be read and edited by any CAD and CNC application in the market; regardless of industry or expertise. You can share your drawing with literally anyone.

All sorts of people and organizations find it useful to convert files from PDF to DXF. We’ve had corporations, independent consultants, government agencies and CAD professionals use our Scan2CAD software.
The opportunities for collaboration are endless too. An architectural designer can receive a PDF floorplan from his client. Once it’s converted to DXF, he can share it with the electrical engineer for wiring plans, structural contractor for structural renovations, landscape designer and so on.

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Case study: Wood routing company converts PDF designs to beautiful wood signs

Before and after: The PDF drawing of a sign brought to life by The Signs Workshop

As you can imagine, PDF files are the lingua franca in the industry. The Signs Workshop is a small business in UK which specializes in making high-quality and environmentally-friendly routed wooden signs. They make grand entrance signs for country parks, sign boards and information boards for shop owners; mileposts and way markers for forest reserves; as well as bespoke wooden products.

The Signs Workshop’s clients mostly share drawings in PDF format. Other times, they’d share rough pictures or logos on business cards, then ask “Can you make a sign of this?” On the other hand, The Signs Workshop employs Licom router software to produce its wooden signs. They required a quick and easy system to convert sketches and PDF files into vector files. Enter file conversion software packages like Scan2CAD.
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How to convert a PDF file to DXF

The actual conversion process itself really quite simple. The steps to converting a PDF file to DXF format varies from software to software, but here’s how it usually goes:

1. Load the PDF file.
2. Select the conversion settings. Most conversion software come with pre-programmed settings. For example, in Scan2CAD, there is an “Architectural” that is designed to trace straight lines and right angles, whereas the “Contour Map” setting traces curves well.
3. Click “Convert”. Wait for a few seconds and voila! You have a DXF file that is compatible with any CAD software in the market.After conversion, you can choose whether to display only vector information or to overlay the original raster image as well.
4. Save the output DXF file.

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Why choose dedicated conversion software over online tools?

There are many different PDF-to-DXF converters available on the market, but whilst all of them perform the same basic task, they are not all created equal.

A quick Google search will reveal plenty of online PDF to DXF converters, which offer free conversion with no downloads. Whilst they may seem tempting, they actually come with a number of disadvantages. Online converters are not able to provide the same quality of conversion, and can leave you with a shoddy vector image that you can’t view or edit in CAD software. Using an online PDF to DXF converter can also expose your files to security and privacy risks.

Alternatively, you could use a full CAD software package, or a PDF editor—but although these applications are safer than online converters, they may be somewhat limited in terms of the features they have on offer. For example, some software cannot convert the raster portions of a PDF file, while others may not retain the true dimensions of the drawing in the PDF.

Dedicated conversion programs, such as Scan2CAD, meanwhile, can handle all of this with aplomb. Scan2CAD comes fully equipped with state-of-the-art conversion features, such as OCR, pre- and post-processing tools, and batch processing. Better yet, there are no limits to file sizes or how many files you are able to convert, and all of your data remains totally secure on your system.

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FAQ on PDF to DXF conversion

Can I convert any PDF file to DXF format?
Yes, you can! We’ve been in the file conversion software business for a long time; more than 15 years to be exact! We’ve seen clients convert all sorts of files – floor plans, network diagrams, organization charts, logos and more.

There is such a large variety of PDF files, with different uses of PDF files. This is because a PDF file can be created on a variety of sources, including word processors, document scanners, print drivers, CAD software and many other programs.

Can I convert PDF files that consist of multiple pages?
Yes, of course. You can even select specific pages in the PDF document that you’d like to convert; or specify the layout in your output DXF file.

Can I convert multiple PDF files at a time?
Yes, most paid software packages offer this feature. All you have to do is select which folder to convert and choose the conversion settings for all the files. For example, Scan2CAD allows you to choose whether you’d like to include raster image in the DXF file or vectorize the raster image.

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Now that we’ve understood the practical/hands-on aspects of file conversion; let’s go behind the scenes. We’ll start with a basic description of the two file types and how the conversion software handles them both.

What is a PDF file?

PDF, or Portable Document Format, is a file format used to present and exchange documents regardless of operating system or hardware used. It doesn’t matter what application you used to create the file, or what device you’re viewing the file on – iMac, Windows laptop, Linux PC, tablet or mobile phone – the PDF document will look exactly the same.

Since the PDF file format is so compatible, it has become the standard file format for document exchange. They are one of a small number of file types that can hold both raster and vector elements and so are very common across the different design industries.

Besides, the PDF files are made for sharing. They are small in size, which is ideal for emailing and sharing over the Internet. A PDF file preserves every element of the document – a document saved in PDF format would look exactly the same on any software, hardware or operating system.
Anyone can view PDF files easily and for free. All computers and mobile devices come with a PDF reader pre-installed on them; many applications also support PDF files.

The PDF document is also suitable for reviewing. Comments can be marked on them without affecting the original file. You can control how your drawing is shared too – PDF files can be password-protected to prevent copying and editing; and electronically signed.
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What is a DXF file?

DXF, or Data eXchange Format, is a graphic image format that is used with CAD (Computer Aided Design programs). As its name suggests, DXF files are used for exchanging drawings between different CAD programs. It has become the de facto industry standard for exchanging CAD files, mainly due to its open-source nature.

Check out our entire series on the DXF file format, which will explain everything you need to know about the format. We’ve covered the commonly asked questions, technical specifications and more.

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How does PDF-to-DXF conversion work?

Before we answer this question, we first have to understand what type of data can be found in a PDF file. Each PDF file captures a complete description of a document, including text, fonts, images and vector graphics. However, the PDF file format can only encode very simple graphic objects (entities). It can only store 2D text, lines, beziers and polygons. It does not store CAD arc or circle entities. It also does not store any information that is specific to the software, hardware or operating system.

PDF files can capture both raster and vector information. For example, if you scanned your hand-drawn sketch and saved it as a PDF, you’d get a raster PDF. Vector PDF files are normally created by saving PDF from a CAD program. PDF documents preserve all source file information. As a result, it’s easy to convert the PDF file back to its original format.

So, let’s get back to the question on how conversion software transforms a PDF file into DXF. The conversion software actually treats both raster and vector elements differently.

• PDF files containing vector information is easier to handle. All the software has to do is extract the vector entities, layers, objects and text. Then, they’ll display and output vector file as DXF. The resulting DXF file, like the original CAD file, will contain the exact same objects and layers that define the drawing.
• Raster images in a PDF file are converted using raster-to-vector conversion technology. The concept used here is called image tracing or vectorization. The software basically traces the raster image and reproduces the drawing using CAD drawing elements. You can trace just outlines, or retain solids and hatches information too.

Of course, there are “hybrid” PDF files that contain both raster and vector images. You’ll want to check the software’s feature list to understand what types of elements are supported.

How image tracing works: The software intelligently identifies shapes and lines and creates CAD objects

All scanned documents are saved as raster images. The scanned document is a picture of the document. Any text information is lost. Hence, the file conversion software has to regenerate the text in the document using smart OCR technology (Optical Character Recognition). It’s the same concept as tracing shapes and lines, except that the OCR algorithm detects letters and numbers.

Different software treat text differently. Great ones saves whole phrases of text in a single layer – this makes the text easily editable. However, subpar conversion software may split the string of text into discrete characters and jumble the positioning of the text.

On the right is CAD text that’s converted using Scan2CAD. On the left is text converted using another software, that isn’t reassembled into the logical sentences very accurately.

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Using Scan2CAD to convert PDF to DXF

Scan2CAD offers a whole set of tools that will optimize your conversion output.

1. Drawing of CAD arcs and circles
PDF files do not save CAD arcs or circles. As a result, any circular shapes are converted into many short lines or Bezier curves. This output is incredibly difficult to edit. If your drawing is composed of a lot of arcs and circles, be sure to choose software like Scan2CAD that can replace the short lines or Bezier curves with true arcs and circles that are easy to edit.

On the left is a typical circle converted into a series of short lines; on the right is a circle converted into a circle object using Scan2CAD

2. Maintain user-defined line types and widths
A PDF file may contain various line types, such as dashes and dots of varying lengths and order. There are also PDF files that are made up of lines of multiple widths, especially electrical and electronic diagrams. If you want to distinguish between the different line types in your output DXF file, look for software that automatically retains user-defined line types.

3. Save vectors in layers according to their colour or type
Vector entities can be saved on one single DXF layer or on multiple layers (each layer defined by either color or type)

4. Efficient file management
A single PDF page can be made up of multiple raster images. Some software saves each raster image in a separate file, whereas Scan2CAD saves all images in a single DXF file.

5. Batch processing
You can convert multiple PDF files in a single click.

With Scan2CAD, you can easily convert from PDF to DWG or DXF in just one click—but Scan2CAD is more than just a file conversion software. There is also a raster and vector editing suite. Users can also edit your vector files within the same program. There is an entire suite of vector drawing tools, including point, line, ortho line, polyline, circle, arc, Bezier curve, rectangle, irregular polygon and text.