kizaerf Posted August 12, 2014 Share Posted August 12, 2014 will there ever be a day where inserting a pdf underlay into autocad doesn't slow it down or am I doing something wrong? I would rather not degrade the quality and make it a jpg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ReMark Posted August 12, 2014 Share Posted August 12, 2014 Could it have anything to do with the file size of the PDF? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kizaerf Posted August 12, 2014 Author Share Posted August 12, 2014 Nope, it's tiny. 50 kb Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
f700es Posted August 12, 2014 Share Posted August 12, 2014 You can always clip out what you don't need to see and it can help return some "quickness" to the drawing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobDraw Posted August 12, 2014 Share Posted August 12, 2014 PDFs inserted into AutoCAD cause performance issues. I would think that a proper conversion to another format would not cause any degradation. Maybe try .png? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
f700es Posted August 12, 2014 Share Posted August 12, 2014 True Rob but if it is a vector PDF you will have the ability to use object snapping. I would always try to use a vector file as opposed to a raster file. Now if the PDF is a scanned PDF then it is not a vector then it is not an issue to use a png format. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobDraw Posted August 12, 2014 Share Posted August 12, 2014 I have a mid level workstation and cannot work effectively with the performance hit. Is it still an issue with high end machines? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
f700es Posted August 12, 2014 Share Posted August 12, 2014 I have a mid level workstation and cannot work effectively with the performance hit. Is it still an issue with high end machines? I can try maybe later today. I am still in the process of moving all my files over to new machine and installing CAD software. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kizaerf Posted August 12, 2014 Author Share Posted August 12, 2014 I like the PDF attach feature because as you said, the object snapping thing, generally cleaner lines than it's png or jpg counterpart, it's white on black, and it doesn't disappear when you 'pan' as do other image types. There are many clear advantages to the PDF as opposed to other file types. The overall point is that being such a valuable key feature of CAD to be able to do this, there shouldn't even be a degradation of performance. And to answer your question, RobDraw, I have a high level workstation and it's an issue and I cannot work effectively with the performance hit either, sadly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
f700es Posted August 12, 2014 Share Posted August 12, 2014 Well I just tried on my new box with Acad 2015 and a PDF inserted and it is not noticeable at all. All but fluid in the screen redraws. This is one area where multi-threaded cpus come into play. I am using a hyper-threaded quad core i7 so I have 8 core to use. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kizaerf Posted August 13, 2014 Author Share Posted August 13, 2014 hmm. I have a 14gb 64-bit OS and an AMD Athlon II X2 B26 Processor 3.20GHz whatever any of that means.... and windows 7. Maybe you could help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
f700es Posted August 13, 2014 Share Posted August 13, 2014 Well to be honest kizaerf you don't have a high end workstation or you don't by today's standards. An Athlon II X2 is an older low end cpu with only 2 cores. Unfortunately this is where more cores make a difference in AutoCAD (2d redraws). Using PDFs in Autocad on my old Xeon based system slows it down to a snail's pace. I have the 4 core version of the Athlon II in my home box. It's not a bad unit just not high end. I would just use the clip command to isolate the areas that you need. Sean Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kizaerf Posted August 13, 2014 Author Share Posted August 13, 2014 haha sweet - well it's my work computer and I just assumed it was 'high end' cause the one before was just awful! again, not even familiar! lol Good to know though. thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
f700es Posted August 13, 2014 Share Posted August 13, 2014 Yeah not much help but I'd still rather use a PDF as opposed to a raster (png, jpg, etc) file. Just put the PDF on a layer that you can freeze and thaw as needed. This way when frozen it won't be redrawn by the system. Good luck Sean Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tplight Posted July 17, 2015 Share Posted July 17, 2015 This is the best method that I could come up with.... DO NOT pdfattach the PDF file into the actual dwg you are working in. Set up a new dwg which contains only the pdf attached in the correct location. THEN xref that dwg (with the PDF) into your dwg that requires the PDF underlay and you can trace the linework - There is no lag and it runs very smoothly. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GGuzzler Posted July 7, 2020 Share Posted July 7, 2020 @tplight I know this thread has been mothballed for years but just wanted to say I found this tip super useful, thank you so much! I've been wanting to find a solution to the PDF problem for ages! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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