What happens when I import a PDF? Do I get a picture or real geometry?

Real geometry. Fills, strokes, clip groups, text and placed images all import as editable objects, not a flattened raster. A pre-import report lets you accept or decline detected hatch clusters and choose which layers to bring in, before anything commits.

It covers the ground a practice actually needs from Illustrator for architectural work: real vector editing, a pathfinder, type, gradients and export to PDF, SVG, DXF or PNG. It is scoped to that job rather than general graphic design, and it opens most .ai files too, since they are PDF underneath. Live-shape corner radii and colour-managed CMYK print output are not built.

Can I measure a drawing I import?

Yes. Pick a standard architectural scale or calibrate by clicking two points and typing the real distance between them. Once a scale is set, the Measure tool reads a real distance between two points, or the area and perimeter of any closed shape under the pointer.

PDF and SVG as real vector with embedded fonts, DXF as linework with real editable CAD text at the drawing's true scale, and PNG as a flattened image. Every export covers the whole document; there is no per-artboard picker.

Software

Vector.

Drop a PDF or a DXF in. Get real, editable linework out.

Most vector tools treat an imported PDF as a picture. Vector treats it as data: fills, strokes, text and layers come back as real objects, hatches collapse to fills where it is safe to do so, and broken polylines rejoin into single paths. From there it is a genuine vector editor, pen tool and pathfinder included, purpose-scoped to what a practice actually draws: site plans, key plans, cover sheet diagrams, annotated context, the linework that a floor plan tool was never built for.

Import that keeps the data.

A PDF that comes back as objects

A pre-import report shows what was found before anything commits: object counts, detected hatch clusters to accept or decline, and a layer checklist so a heavy file does not arrive whole.

A DXF at its real scale

Any CAD package's DXF comes in with its own layers intact and lands at a true 1:1 real-world scale automatically, so the Measure tool works the moment it opens.

A real editor once it's in

Pen and Pencil tools, anchor-level editing, a genuine pathfinder, fill and stroke as arrays with gradients and arrowheads, named text styles, and export to PDF, SVG, DXF or PNG.

Nothing here requires Linea.

Drop a vector-ready PDF export from AutoCAD, Revit or SketchUp LayOut, and Vector is fully useful on its own from that point. A DXF from any CAD package works the same way, at a true real-world scale from the moment it lands. Linea owners get an extra route in, an "Open in Vector" action straight off a plan's DXF export, but it is one route among several, not a requirement.

Open Vector

A real pathfinder, not a shape-merge toy.

Unite, Minus Front, Intersect, Exclude, Divide, Trim, Merge, Crop and Outline, running on the same Skia engine behind professional illustration tools. Outline Stroke turns a line into a fillable shape, Offset Path grows or shrinks a boundary by a typed distance, and stroke alignment genuinely draws inside or outside a line rather than only centring it.

Set once, measure forever.

Pick a standard architectural ratio or calibrate against two points and a real distance, and a true scale bar regenerates on the drawing automatically. From there, the Measure tool reads a real-world distance or hovers a closed shape for its area and perimeter, not paper millimetres pretending to mean something.

Draw fresh, not only trace.

A Pen tool for corner and smooth anchors, a Pencil tool that fits a curve to a freehand stroke, direct anchor and handle editing, cut, join, average and round corner. Fill and stroke as arrays, ISO pen weights, gradients, a document swatch palette and graphic styles, so a diagram is styled once and reused everywhere.

What Vector gives you as a piece of software.

PDF and DXF import that keeps the data

Real fills, strokes, text and layers, not a flattened picture, with a pre-import report so a large file arrives on your terms.

Real-world scale and measurement

Standard ratios or two-point calibration, then a real distance, area or perimeter reading anywhere on the drawing.

Pen, Pencil and anchor editing

Draw fresh paths, edit anchors and handles directly, cut, join, average, round and simplify.

A genuine pathfinder

Unite, Minus Front, Intersect, Exclude, Divide, Trim, Merge, Crop, Outline, Outline Stroke and Offset Path.

Paint as a system

Fill and stroke as arrays, ISO pen weights, dash presets, gradients, arrowheads, a swatch palette and graphic styles.

Real type

Point and area text, named text styles, type set on a path, and Convert to Outlines for a font-independent file.

Select, transform and organise

Snapping to artboards and other items, groups, a real Layers panel, align, distribute, and select by shared attribute.

Export to what a consultant expects

PDF and SVG as vector with real text, DXF as CAD linework at true scale, PNG when a raster is all that's needed.

A bridge to Linea, when you want it

Open a Linea plan's DXF export straight into a new Vector document, or send a Vector drawing back into a new Linea model.

Frequently asked.

No. A vector-ready PDF from AutoCAD, Revit or SketchUp LayOut, or a DXF from any CAD package, is enough to start. Linea owners get one extra route in, opening a plan's DXF export straight into a new Vector document, but it is optional.

Ready to start? Jump straight in.

Every ArchAdemia Tools plan includes everything on this page. From £29 a month, all in, with no per-tool fees and no surprise charges.

See Pricing