The PDF to CAD Handbook
Turn PDF drawings back into CAD
Step-by-step guides for getting a PDF into AutoCAD, FreeCAD, SketchUp, Fusion and your laser or CNC software, at the right scale and with clean geometry.
Why do PDF drawings cause so much trouble?
A PDF stores a printed sheet. Lines arrive at paper size, so an A1 plan drawn at 1:100 comes out 100 times too small until you set the scale.
Some PDFs hold pictures. A scanned plan has no lines inside at all, so a converter has to trace the ink, and the result needs redrawing.
Each program imports differently. AutoCAD reads PDF since 2017, while LibreCAD, FreeCAD, SketchUp and Fusion need a DXF first. The guides show the shortest way for each.
Guides
Pick the program or job you have in front of you.
How to Convert an Architectural PDF to CAD
A floor plan workflow from PDF to a clean, true-scale CAD drawing, with the scale traps that half-size prints and fit-to-page plots set.
Read the guide →Guide 2Why Is My Converted PDF Not to Scale?
Why a PDF converted to DXF or DWG comes out at paper size, and how to find and apply the right scale factor in a few clicks.
Read the guide →Guide 3PDF to AutoCAD: PDFIMPORT, PDFATTACH or a Converter?
How AutoCAD's two PDF commands differ from a standalone converter, the import settings that matter and how to get the scale right.
Read the guide →Guide 4How to Convert PDF to DWG Without AutoCAD
Three free ways to turn a PDF drawing into a DWG file when you have no AutoCAD licence, and what each one gets wrong.
Read the guide →Guide 5PDF to DXF for CNC: How to Get a File Your CAM Software Will Cut
How to turn a PDF drawing into a DXF that a CNC router, plasma or mill cuts at the right size, with closed paths and no surprises.
Read the guide →Guide 6PDF to DXF for Laser Cutting: Get a File That Cuts Right
What a laser needs from a DXF, why PDFs produce double cuts and open shapes, and how to fix both in LightBurn before you waste a sheet.
Read the guide →Guide 7How to Import a PDF Into FreeCAD and Get Usable Geometry
FreeCAD has no PDF import, so here is how to bring a PDF drawing in through DXF, SVG or a calibrated image, and turn it into a sketch.
Read the guide →Guide 8PDF to Fusion 360: Get a PDF Drawing Into a Sketch at the Right Size
Fusion 360 can't read PDF vectors, so here is how to bring a PDF in as a DXF sketch or a calibrated canvas, plus the same job in SolidWorks.
Read the guide →Guide 9How to Open a PDF in LibreCAD (and Get Lines You Can Edit)
LibreCAD reads DXF and has no PDF import, so here is the quickest way to turn a PDF into a scaled, editable LibreCAD drawing.
Read the guide →Guide 10PDF to SketchUp: Turn a PDF Plan Into Edges You Can Model On
How to get a PDF floor plan into SketchUp as real edges, at the right scale, with faces that close.
Read the guide →Guide 11How to Convert a Scanned Drawing to CAD
Scan settings, automatic tracing and accurate redrawing: the full workflow for turning a paper or scanned PDF drawing into usable CAD geometry.
Read the guide →Guide 12How to Tell if a PDF Is Vector or Scanned
Five quick tests that show whether a PDF drawing holds real lines or a picture of lines, and why that decides how well it converts to CAD.
Read the guide →Need the DXF right now?
The free converter on convertpdftocad.com turns a PDF drawing into a DXF in your browser, with layers by colour, editable text and a scale tool. Nothing is uploaded, which matters for drawings under an NDA.