AutoCAD PDFIMPORT not working: what to do
By Ali Ismailov, founder of Horezmi ·
You run PDFIMPORT, pick the file and AutoCAD answers that no objects were imported. Or the command finishes, and all you have is a picture you cannot edit. In almost every case nothing is wrong with AutoCAD. PDFIMPORT turns vector lines in a PDF into AutoCAD objects, and your PDF does not have any.
Why PDFIMPORT finds nothing
A PDF can hold vector data, raster images, or both. A PDF exported from CAD holds real lines. A scan or a photo saved as PDF holds one picture per page.
PDFIMPORT converts only the vector part. Autodesk's help says the no objects message appears when the file is raster based and the command is set to import vector objects only. There is simply nothing for it to convert.
Check your PDF in ten seconds
Open the PDF and zoom far into a corner of the drawing. If the lines stay sharp and you can select the text, it is a vector PDF. If the lines break into pixels and the text cannot be selected, it is a scan.
A file can also be mixed: a vector title block on top of a scanned plan. That is why PDFIMPORT sometimes brings in the frame and loses the drawing.
If the import misses part of the drawing
Run PDFIMPORT again and look at the PDF data to import section of the dialog. Autodesk says to turn on Raster images when objects are missing. The scanned part then comes in as an image.
It will not become lines. Users on the Autodesk forums also report that raster parts arrive as separate PNG files attached to the drawing, sometimes a great many of them, so keep them next to the DWG or expect broken references.
If you only need the plan as a backdrop
Use PDFATTACH instead. It places the PDF as an underlay, the way an external reference works, and you can draw over it. Autodesk recommends this for raster PDFs. Scale it to a dimension you trust first; we explain that in our guide to scaling a PDF in AutoCAD.
If you need real, editable lines from a scan
PDFIMPORT cannot do this, whatever the settings. You have three ways, and they differ a lot in effort.
- Trace it by hand over the underlay. Slow, but you control every line.
- Use raster-to-vector software such as AutoCAD Raster Design or Scan2CAD. It follows the pixels, so it suits clean line work, and stains and faded lines come along with it.
- Redraw it with AI. Horezmi, which we make, reads the walls, openings and dimensions from a scan or photo and builds a new DWG. It is a draft, so check the dimensions before you use it.
Questions
Why does AutoCAD say no objects were imported from my PDF?
The PDF is almost always a scan or a photo, so it holds a picture and no vector lines. PDFIMPORT set to vector objects has nothing to convert.
Can PDFIMPORT turn a scan into lines?
No. With Raster images turned on it brings the scan in as an image. Turning a picture into lines takes raster-to-vector software, redrawing by hand, or AI redrawing.