PDF

I see a lot of posts in the discussion groups where someone creates a PDF from a drawing and the PDF file size ends up being several times larger than the drawing itself.

OLE objects or images in the drawing. Both can cause the resulting PDF to be large. Remember that images are referenced into drawings and they are not included in the file size of the DWG file.

If you have not already heard by now, Autodesk has released "Bonus Pack 2" for AutoCAD 2009. This update includes two PDF enhancements. The first gives you the ability to attach PDF files as underlays. The second includes enhancements to PDF output.

The download is only available for AutoCAD 2009, AutoCAD Revit Architecture Suite 2009, and AutoCAD Revit Structure Suite 2009. Of course it is also only available to subscription customers. Read more »

Have you ever needed to Xref (or reference) a PDF file? One way would be to save the PDF as a TIFF and reference the image. Read more »

You are probably reading this because you have a PDF file that you want to convert to editable geometry in a DXF or DWG file.

First off, if someone gave you a PDF instead of a DWG, it was probably for a reason. Ask the DWG author for the DWG file. This is the easiest method, and you don't have to worry about data loss during the conversion.

If you cannot obtain the source DWG file, try these steps.  Read more »

If you need the ability to launch a PDF file from a menu macro, lisp file, or VBA routine, check out the code shown below. This will launch the PDF using the default registered application, just as if you had entered the file name in the Windows Start-Run dialog

This avoids any browser related issues which can arise if you use the AutoCAD "BROWSER" command.

It makes no assumptions regarding the application (or it's version) used to open a PDF document, or the presence of a properly configured PGP file. Read more »