AutoCAD 2017: PDF Data Import by Choosing an Underlay (Part 2)

At Ideate, we are reviewing Autodesk's latest software releases in an effort to detail the most useful new features for you. In this post, I am going to discuss using the PDF Import command to import geometry, text and images from a PDF underlay in AutoCAD 2017. 

To learn how to use the PDF Import command to bring in data by choosing a file, check out last week's post, AutoCAD 2017: PDF Data Import by Choosing a File (Part 1).

The beauty of using the PDF import command for an underlay is the ability to individually choose objects from a PDF to import. For example, you may want the linework from a PDF, but not the titleblock.

First things first; prior to starting the PDF import command, I recommend turning off PDF layers that have objects you do not want to import. This will make choosing the objects you do want to import much easier. After editing the PDF underlay’s layers, go ahead and start the PDF Import command. You can find this command on the insert tab of the ribbon, the application menu, or the PDF Underlay tab. You can also type PDFIMPORT in the command line.

After starting the command, you need to select the PDF underlay option. Next, the command line will ask you to "Specify first corner of area to import or [Polygonal/All/Settings]." You can either use a selection box to select the objects you want to import, or you can invoke the Polygonal or All options to select items. The settings option brings up the PDF Import Settings dialog box. For an explanation of these options, refer to Part 1 of this post.

Once you choose the objects you want to import, the command line will ask if you want to keep, detach, or unload the PDF Underlay. Choose which option makes the most sense for you. The data will now import into the drawing. A status bar at the bottom right of the AutoCAD interface will show you how far along the import is. Please note, it may take a few minutes to import all the data.

If you get a message that says "No objects were imported," the most likely cause is xref pathing. In order for the PDF import command to work, the PDF needs to be underplayed using full path. If it is set to relative path, you will get the following message and your data will not import.

This is a quick fix. Open the xref manager and re-path the underlay. Select the ellipse button for the underlay to re-path it.

Using the PDF Import command on a PDF underlay is a quick way to insert specific PDF data from a PDF. After starting the PDF import command and choosing the underlay, you can select the PDF data you want to import, then determine what happens to the underlay.

For a closer look at importing a PDF by choosing an underlay watch my video on our Ideate, Inc. YouTube channel.

Thank you for reading. For information on training and consulting for the various products Ideate services, visit our website.

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Kate Ming
AEC Application Specialist 
Kate is a California licensed civil engineer with a BS in Civil and Environmental Engineering from UC Berkeley. Prior to Ideate, she worked at a multinational company for four years doing general civil design on large infrastructure projects. She is versed in roadway, rail, utility design and site development. She also has experience with utility demand analysis and Low Impact Development plans. As a Civil 3D Autodesk Certified Professional Kate provides training and support for Civil 3D, AutoCAD, and InfraWorks.

AutoCAD 2017: PDF Data Import by Choosing a File (Part 1)

AutoCAD 2017 is here and with it comes the ability to import geometry and text directly from a PDF. No longer will you have to draw over PDF lines to create the PDF line work in a drawing. Now, you can import a PDF directly into a drawing and the data will automatically be generated. There are, however, two methods: you can import an entire PDF by choosing the PDF from a file, or by choosing PDF data from a PDF Underlay. 

For this post, I will focus on importing data by choosing a PDF from a file, and discuss the various settings options. Please do watch out for my next post which will address importing PDF data from an Underlay.

To get started You can type PDFIMPORT to start the commandor you can find the "import PDF" command on the insert tab of the ribbon, as seen below.

Additionally, you can find the PDF import command under "Import" on the application menu, as seen below.

Press "Enter" to open the browser dialog box. Browse to the PDF you want to import and select it. Once you've selected the PDF, the following Import PDF dialogue box will pop up.

The Import dialog box options are straight forward for the most part, however, a few options warrant additional explanation.

Choosing the page to import

If you have a multi-page document, you can select an individual page from the full document to import. A preview area shows the pages. To select the page that you want to import, left click on the preview. The page highlighted is the one that will be imported. If you want to only view the page to be imported, you can select the single page preview button. 

Scaling, Inserting, Rotating

Scaling can be tricky as AutoCAD does not automatically scale the PDF geometry. In order to scale properly, you have to understand the size of the PDF and factor it into the import. There is a box in the Import PDF dialog box specifically for the scale. Additionally, you can choose to rotate the data upon importing.

If you do not choose the Specify Insertion Point on the screen options, the lower left corner of the PDF is inserted at (0,0) in the DWG. Since PDFs do not have world coordinate systems and scales as part of their information, you will need to insert the PDF by choosing the insertion point option, then move the data once the line work is imported. I recommend importing as a block to make moving and scaling easier. Once you have moved and scaled the block, you can explode it to access the individual geometry, text and images.

PDF Data to import

You must choose as least one of the three data import options in order to import: vector geometry, true type text, and/or raster images.

All lines, hatches, arcs, non-true type fonts and other geometric objects are considered vector geometry. Hatches are brought in as individual lines and not as an AutoCAD hatch pattern. The background shading is brought in as a solid hatch, when the solid fills option is selected. If the solid fills option is not selected, the shading within a hatch pattern will not be imported.

It’s worth noting that unless text is true type font, all text comes in as polylines and not text. This means you cannot edit the text using the AutoCAD text editor because it is considered geometry. Currently, there is no way to convert the polylines representing text to actual text.

"Raster images" refer to any images contained in the PDF. Images are imported and saved in a PDF image folder. You can find the PDF image folder in the options dialog box.

The PDF creation method determines how the data is imported. If the PDF was created from an AutoCAD file, the line work comes in as AutoCAD line work. However, if the PDF is an image or a free hand drawing, it comes in as an image and not as line work.

Layers

There are three factors that determine what layer objects will go in the drawing. Layer management is dependent on the layers that are in the PDF, which is dependent on how the PDF was created. If it was created from an AutoCAD file it has the layers from the drawing file. This is convenient because you can choose the Use PDF Layers option to create the same layers that were in the original AutoCAD drawing. This option will create the exact same layers, but add a PDF_ at the beginning of the layer name. A layer that was originally called chairs, will now be called "PDF_chairs."

If you choose to Create Object Layers during import AutoCAD will create new layers specific to PDF object types. The object types and their corresponding new AutoCAD layer names are in the table below.

Object Type	Objects included	New AutoCAD layer name
Geometry	Lines, arcs, polygons, polylines etc.	PDF_Geometry
Solid Fills	Fills created from hatch patters	PDF_Solid fills
Text	Text	PDF_Text
Raster	Raster	PDF_Images

Additionally, if you import multiple PDFs with this option selected, a number will be added to the layer to indicate which PDF the layer is from. For example, PDF1_Geometry, PDF2_Geometry, etc.

The last option for layer creation is Current Layer, which places all objects created on whatever layer is current.

Import options

When you import as a block, all objects (geometry, text and raster) are combined together as one object. When imported, the block will be on the current layer while the components within the block follow the layer management options you set in the layer section of the import box.

Join line and arc segments options join contiguous objects into a single polyline wherever possible.

Converting solid fills to hatches converts 2D solid objects to a hatch. Wipeout objects and wide polylines are included as fills. 2D solids that are inferred to be arrow heads will not be included. Solid fills are imported with a 50% transparency so that you can see objects below it.

Apply Lineweight properties will take the lineweights from the PDF.

Lastly, there is the infer linetypes from collinear dashes option. This will create dashed linetypes. Without checking that box, each dash will be imported as an individual line.

After you’ve hit "OK" and started the import process, it may take a few minutes to import the data, so be patient. A progress bar shows up at the bottom right of the screen to indicate how far along in the process the import is. 

In summary, the PDF Import command is an easy way to obtain geometry, true type text, and raster images from a PDF. Again, I definitely recommend importing a PDF as a block using the specify insertion point option and then rotating and moving the block to position where you need it. From there, you can explode the block to obtain access to the imported data. There are several layer management options for the imported data. There are also additional import options including joining arch and line segments, applying lineweights, inferring lines from collinear line segments and others.

To review this information in more depth, please watch my corresponding video AutoCAD 2017 PDF Data Import by Choosing a File (Part 1).

I encourage you to play around with this new exciting command and see what it can do for you.

For more information on AutoCAD, as well as training and consulting for the various products Ideate services, visit our website.

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Kate Ming
AEC Application Specialist 
Kate is a California licensed civil engineer with a BS in Civil and Environmental Engineering from UC Berkeley. Prior to Ideate, she worked at a multinational company for four years doing general civil design on large infrastructure projects. She is versed in roadway, rail, utility design and site development. She also has experience with utility demand analysis and Low Impact Development plans. As a Civil 3D Autodesk Certified Professional Kate provides training and support for Civil 3D, AutoCAD, and InfraWorks.

Create a Civil 3D Plan Profile Drawing From Within a InfraWorks Model

Picture this - you are in InfraWorks and have the 3D model of your proposed project created. A project stakeholder understands the 3D model but wants to see a plan profile sheet of the proposal to merge with other project data available in CAD. This task becomes humongous, particularly, if project is large because you need to import the model into Civil 3D and then create sheets manually or by using the plan production tool in Civil 3D.

You can avoid the above by using InfraWorks which has that command built in for you. Access the command from the Roadway Extension per the figure below.

This will display the Create Civil 3D Drawings wizard as below...

You would then need to pick the design road, the surface, and some Civil 3D option such as the scale, station start and end value, etc. The system will then create a drawing DWG file and a sheet set DST file with the plan profile sheets for you.

And that’s all – with a few picks and clicks you get a plan profile sheet from an InfraWorks road model.

Visit our blog page often to keep abreast with the posts such as this one and other insights on Civil 3D and InfraWorks from my colleagues.

 

Thank you for reading. For more information on AutoCAD and other Autodesk products, and information on training and consulting for the various products Ideate services, visit our website at www.ideateinc.com.

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Guarav Bagga

Senior Application Specialist Infrastructure 

Gaurav is a Senior Application Specialist for Infrastructure Solutions at Ideate based out of San Francisco. He has over 18 years of experience in construction and related software industry. With this extensive design technology background he helps engineering and surveying companies, federal and state government agencies, and ENR 500 firms critically analyze and improve their construction drawing production process. He implements Civil infrastructure design technology led by InfraWorks and Civil 3D and has helped Ideate grow Civil Infrastructure Services. Being an industry recognized speaker he has presented cutting edge design technology at several industry conferences such as Autodesk University. @BeGeez

What’s New in Civil 3D 2016: The Easiest Way to Import a Bridge Model from InfraWorks into Civil 3D

There has never been a greater need to exchange 3D model info between InfraWorks and Civil 3D. And there has never been an easier way to do that before. Before Civil 3D 2016 that is!

Yes with Civil 3D 2016 you can now import terrain, design roads, intersections, bridges, et al from InfraWorks.

All you have to do is invoke the command Insert > Infraworks 360 > Open InfraWorks model

 

 

And voila, Civil 3D alignment, existing terrain as a Civil 3D surface and bridges as solids show up in the model.
 

 

The profile with the bridges displays once I project both the bridges to the profile view. The profile view below is displayed in the model with Conceptual visual style.

 

 

How I ran this command successfully:

1. Set the command InfraWorks 360 Object defaults to only import design roads (alignments). I saved it as an external XML file.

2. Then Import the alignment only at first – obviously for performance.

3. Then run the command again and this time import only the existing ground. Make sure to pick a Selection Area near your project to import relevant area of the existing terrain.

  

...View video below...

 

Civil 3D 2016: Import InfraWorks model in Civil 3D 2016

For more information on training and consulting for the various products Ideate services, visit our website at www.ideateinc.com

 

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Gaurav Bagga

Ideate ACI-Senior Application Specialist Infrastructure

Gaurav is a Senior Application Specialist for Infrastructure Solutions at Ideate based out of San Francisco. He has over 18 years of experience in construction and related software
industry. With this extensive design technology background he helps engineering and surveying companies, federal and state government agencies, and ENR 500 firms critically analyze and improve their construction drawing production process. He implements Civil infrastructure design technology led by InfraWorks and Civil 3D and has helped Ideate grow Civil Infrastructure Services. Being an industry recognized speaker he has presented cutting edge design technology at several industry conferences such as Autodesk University. @BeGeez

Get it. Know it. Use it.