Using PDFs to Start Your Designs
March 15, 2024
Presented by: Jesse Conner
Setting up your AutoCAD drawings and sheets correctly is crucial for success throughout the life of your project. Sometimes, all you'll have as a basis for that process is a PDF. Using that PDF to create the foundation of your CAD work might seem easy, but it can lead to a lot of headaches if done incorrectly. We'll show you how to bring a PDF into your drawing, scale it properly, and turn it into your base files. We'll explore using PDFs as imports and underlays, demonstrate our recommended sheet setup processes, and even show you how to split a large-scale PDF into multiple sheets.
Webinar Contents:
Note: The following catalog of content covered in this webinar is time stamped to allow you to follow along or skip to sections of the video that are relevant to your questions. You can also search for content on this page using the FIND command in your browser (CTRL + F in Windows, Command + F in Mac OS.)
- Intro/TOC
- Bringing a PDF Into CAD
- Scaling the PDF and PDF Linework
- Loading Layers, Tracing, Moving Linework
- Creating a Site Base
- Creating a Title Block
- Xrefing the Site Base Into Design Files
- Xrefing the Design File Into Your Sheet File
- Splitting the Site Base Into Multiple Sheets
0:00 – 4:27: Intro/TOC
4:28 – 13:43: Bringing a PDF Into CAD
Opening a new drawing based on a Land F/X Templatwe (4:35)
Confirming the drawing units (5:59)
Creating a layer for the PDF (6:32)
Bringing in the PDF (7:08)
PDF Import vs. PDF Underlay (7:22)
Why we recommend choosing a relative path when bringing in a PDF (9:27)
PDF Underlay demonstration (9:01)
PDF Import demonstration (10:27)
13:44 – 19:23: Scaling the PDF and PDF Linework
Using our Scale by Reference tool to scale a PDF (14:28)
Demonstration of how the PDF Import command scales PDFs automatically (and verifying that scale) (17:03)
19:24 – 27:42: Loading Layers, Tracing, Moving Linework
Loading layer settings into the drawing file using our Load Layers tool (19:45)
Bringing in a title block from our Discipline Graphics library (20:51)
Using our XLayer tool to read layer information in blocks and Xrefs (22:05)
Moving linework (24:17)
Turning a title block into its own DWG file (24:35)
Using our fxREF commamd to bring in a title block as an Xref to test it (26:38)
27:43 – 34:05: Creating a Site Base
Bringing in the site base layers (27:43)
Tracing objects in the PDF underlay (and why we recommend it) (31:15)
34:06 – 35:57: Creating a Title Block
Bringing in a title block and using our F/X Scale by Reference tol to scale it (34:06)
35:58 – 39:28: Xrefing the Site Base Into Design Files
Creating a new blank drawing file to serve as the planting plan and bringing in the site base file using our fxREF tool (35:58)
39:29 – 41:24: Xrefing the Design File Into Your Sheet File
Creating sheet files (39:29)
Xrefing the design files into the sheet file (40:25)
41:25 – end: Splitting the Site Base Into Multiple Sheets
Using the Land F/X dynamic sheet layout preview block to begin creating sheets (43:09)
Placing text in the sheet (44:52)
Centering the sheet inside the viewport (47:57)
Adding a match line (49:48)
Masking a PDF underlay or printing it in lighter colors (57:06)
Why we recommend one drawing per sheet (59:17)
Contact
- Land F/X
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