Turn your PDF into a DWG
Start with a PDF exported from CAD. Choose the sheets you need, check the conversion, and download a DWG for each sheet.
Upload your drawing
Choose your file in the converter. If it has several sheets, select the ones you need. Each sheet gets its own DWG. Progress appears on the same page.
Open the upload tool →Review the result
Check the linework, labels, and layers you need. Read any warnings beside the result.
PDF-Plot can read scale bars and dimensions even when their lettering was plotted as outlines. It checks them against the PDF’s vector linework. If the sheet does not establish a scale, the result keeps PDF units rather than assuming one.
If your drawing has bearings and distances, you may also see a closure check. PASS means that course check passed. REVIEW means it needs a closer look. These labels do not rate the whole drawing.
Add a map location if you need one
PDF-Plot tries to locate the drawing automatically. Open Geo-Locate to check the location or set it yourself.
Working inside AutoCAD or Civil 3D 2025–2027 on Windows? Update LegalPlotBridge and use its PDF-Plot ribbon button or run PDFPLOT. Both use the same Bridge window. Remove the earlier separate PDF-Plot companion bundle if you installed it. Geo-Locate opens directly. It reads the PLSSID saved by LegalPlotBridge and fills the location selectors from the FIPS catalog. Highlight a corner annotation, click its monument center, and apply placement. Saving geolocation in the CAD workflow generates a projected native DWG in the assigned CRS. Choose Download projected DWG to save it. Send linework queues supported modelspace lines, polylines, arcs and circles through the Bridge's /draw handler. It retains layer names and circular bulges, and lists unsupported objects instead of approximating them. The active drawing must use the same CRS and units. Queued does not mean inserted: check the drawing and CAD messages. The source scene and DWG retain attributes that this polyline handler cannot transfer. It does not open a separate drawing as a substitute. With the updated Bridge, Import native DWG objects instead transfers the projected DWG and clones its native modelspace objects and referenced definitions into the active drawing, retaining blocks, hatches, splines, text and styling without flattening. Sheet layouts are excluded, and coordinates are not projected again. Conflicting definition names are isolated rather than overwriting existing objects. CAD confirms success after committing the import; if the response is lost, check CAD before manually sending again. Older installed builds may reject this action. Desktop operation has not yet been verified in an AutoCAD session.
Optional layout and location reading has a time limit. A deferred reading does not stop DWG conversion or mean the drawing has no usable location information.
For manual placement, match a point on the drawing to its known coordinates. One point is enough when scale and north are set. If the automatic location is missing or wrong, use these controls to correct it.
If automatic scale reading stops early, the results show Resume scale reading when the cooldown ends. It reuses saved reads without rebuilding the drawing. New reads require a positive credit balance. If scale cannot be determined, it remains unknown. This is separate from entering a confirmed scale yourself.
You can choose a coordinate system (CRS) before setting scale or north. Choosing a CRS does not move the linework, and neither does centering the map.
Download your drawing
The DWG restores editable objects and the layers, line styles and font references available in the PDF. Line colors and dash patterns are kept on individual objects. Repeated short marks are checked for matching angles, lengths, alignment and spacing so eligible dashed lines can be rebuilt with their measured pattern. Matching angles and lengths alone do not join separate hatch lines. Duplicate dash fragments are removed when their source strokes have already been rebuilt. Hatch reconstruction is being extended. Some original CAD settings are not saved in a PDF, and a referenced font may still need to be installed on your computer.
- Local DWG keeps the drawing's local coordinates. No map location is needed.
- Projected DWG puts the linework into your selected coordinate system. Confirm the map placement first. This is a separate file; your local DWG stays unchanged.
The result also lists any previews, reports, or map files you can download.
PLSS lookups
PLSS and GCDB lookups
Geo-Locate fills in the state, county, township, and range when it can read them from the PDF. Check those fields before looking up a section or corner.
PLSS and GCDB lookups can return point records or calculated positions. The result tells you which was used. Finding a section centers the map; placing the drawing still needs a matching point on the sheet.
Civil 3D files
Upload a Civil 3D package
Run the companion exporter in Civil 3D, then upload its package on its own. The package carries the original drawing and the reports or exports the exporter could produce. Converting a PDF does not recreate Civil 3D's proprietary objects.
Compare a PDF with a DWG
Include the original DWG to inspect its geometry and hatch patterns. The downloads include hatch boundaries, pattern angles, spacing and dash lengths, plus a report of repeated line lengths. Repeated short lines are not automatically deleted or treated as hatches.
For a DWG uploaded with its plotted PDF, PDF-Plot can rebuild a hatch when its closed boundary and full line pattern match. Supported curved boundaries keep their native arcs and bulges, including island and text exclusions. Curved regions need a matching straight edge to establish placement. A stroke split into connected pieces can qualify only when every piece is accounted for without gaps or conflicting linework. Uncertain matches and text conflicts keep their original linework. The conversion manifest lists what was rebuilt and what could not be confirmed.
Curves
PDF-Plot checks circular curve shapes before restoring native arcs and circles. Continuous Bézier curves retain their control points in editable native splines; adaptive sampling is used for matching and previews. Source layers, colors and dash patterns stay attached. Curve recovery does not establish survey accuracy or prove the original CAD object type.
Nested PDF drawing groups are checked for inherited layers and repeated symbols. Filled regions retain separate islands and holes. Text explicitly marked invisible is not added as visible drawing text. A second DWG reader adds layout and entity diagnostics after the native write; reader limitations are reported without blocking a valid download.
The report also compares printed curve-table values with recovered arcs and finds enclosing regions around parcel labels, retaining holes. Eligible filled boundaries keep native arc or spline edges. With multiple known controls, Geo-Locate shows additional fit residuals without changing your saved placement or measured scale. These supplemental results do not add download requirements or certify survey accuracy.
Compare an existing DWG
Upload the DWG with its PDF sheets to compare their contents. The report covers the objects, layouts, viewports, and external references it can read. It also lists anything it could not check.
API access
REST API
Developers can use the API to upload files, run conversions, check progress, and download results. It also provides sheet selection, region reading, geolocation, scale/north detection, and PLSS lookups.
Lot, line, curve, and coordinate-table extraction is currently API-only through POST /api/jobs/{job_id}/lot-table; there is no dedicated browser control.
| Endpoint | Purpose |
|---|---|
| GET /healthz | Health check |
| POST /api/jobs | Upload files — returns job_id and tier |
| POST /api/jobs/{id}/run | Convert the uploaded files |
| GET /api/jobs/{id}/status | Read processing, complete, or error state |
| GET /api/jobs/{id}/artifact/{name} | Download a file listed in the results |
For API access questions, contact support.
Credits and help
Credits and downloads
- Sign in to access your jobs and downloads. Packs start at 25 credits for $25, with 200 credits for $100. See pricing.
- Conversion credits are charged when you first download the converted drawing. The amount depends on what the job processed. Downloading it again, or switching between local and projected DWG, does not add another conversion charge.
- A Google Earth KMZ has a separate one-credit charge per job. Some AI tools also have usage limits separate from download credits.
- Participating Valley Land Data apps share a credit balance when you use the same email. Projects and files remain separate between apps.
- Need help? Use the contact form or email admin@title-plot.com.