[Equest-users] PDF to CAD converter suggestion

[Matthew Baron]

Hi,
The link below is for a free service that will convert vector pdfs (not raster scans) to .dwg files. I have used this several times and very pleased. You upload the pdf to the site and they email you back the .dwg file. I believe it is the same as the Able2Extract 8, but online you can do as many files as you need but I think its limited on file size.
http://www.convertpdftoautocad.com/

Thanks,
Matthew J. Baron
[wendel EM]

Wendel, 140 John James Audubon Pkwy, Suite 201, Buffalo, NY 14228
p 716.688.0766   f 716.625.6825   e mbaron at wendelcompanies. com   w wendelcompanies. com

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From: equest-users-bounces at lists.onebuilding.org [mailto:equest-users-bounces at lists.onebuilding.org] On Behalf Of Brian Fountain
Sent: Friday, August 02, 2013 10:44 AM
To: equest-users at lists.onebuilding.org
Subject: [Equest-users] PDF to CAD converter suggestion

With summer vacations in full swing, I went looking for the CAD drawings for my latest project just after my client's point of contact went away.  So, I was looking for PDF to CAD converters as I did have a .PDF set of the drawings.

I ended up trying 3 "trial" converters and had success with 1:

I started with the trial version of PDF2DXF2012.  On my machine, the installation did not seem to work and the trial seems to only give you a viewer rather than the actual .dxf file so I was not able to fully test this converter and didn't have time to keep playing.

Next was VectPDF - this tool seems to be a plug in with AutoCAD allowing you to make the conversion from within AutoCAD.  Sounds neat but I am not an AutoCAD user so that did not help my situation.

The third converter I was successful with was Able2Extract 8.  The trial is limited to 7 days and only 3 sheets per conversion but it installed and outputs either a .dxf or .dwg (with other options as well - Excel, Word & Powerpoint).  I selected the .dxf and was able to open the resulting file into eQUEST  to trace my model custom footprint and zoning.  There are probably other good tools out there but I was pleased to find one that worked with limited fuss and let me get on with my model.  The link for Able2Extract is investintech.com<http://www.investintech.com/> (Note - I am not affiliated with the company, just found the tool useful for what we do!)  The cost of the software is $100 or $35 for a  30-day subscription.

Cheers,
Brian
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