Adobe Portable Document Format (*.pdf) Files

You can export SOLIDWORKS part, assembly, and drawing documents as Adobe® Portable Document Format (PDF) files and part and assembly documents as 3D PDF.

For the best results, use the latest version of Adobe Acrobat Reader when opening .pdf files. You can download an updated copy of the Adobe Reader from http://www.adobe.com.

To save documents that include non-English characters as PDF files, the Arial Unicode MS font must be installed on your system.

You can:

  • Open a 3D PDF file in Adobe Acrobat Reader and manipulate the model image.
  • Open a 3D PDF file in Adobe Acrobat Professional.

Exporting PDF Files

To export a SOLIDWORKS document as a PDF file:

  1. Click File > Save As.
  2. In the dialog box, select Adobe Portable Document Format (*.pdf) in Save as type.
  3. Click Options to select PDF Export Options, select or clear options, then click OK.
  4. Enter the file name in File name, and click Save.

    For drawing documents, PDF format is limited to a sheet size of 200 inches (508 cm) in width and height. If a drawing document contains sheets over this limit, a warning message appears and the sheets that are too large are not included in the PDF file.

    When you save a drawing document as a PDF file, and the drawing contains non-English (non-ASCII) characters, the appropriate fonts must be available to render the characters. If the specified font is not installed on your computer or does not support Unicode character glyphs, then the Arial Unicode MS font is used. If the Arial Unicode MS font is also missing, then the characters fail to render.

    The Arial Unicode MS font is not provided with Microsoft® Office® 2016 software. To install the Arial Unicode MS font, install both Microsoft® Office® Professional Plus 2013 (minimal installation with only International Options enabled) and Microsoft® Office® (2016 or later).

Exporting 3D PDF Files

To export a SOLIDWORKS part or assembly as a 3D PDF file:

  1. Click File > Save As.
  2. In the dialog box, select Adobe Portable Document Format (*.pdf) in Save as type.
  3. Select Save as 3D PDF, verify the file name, and click Save.

PDF Export Options

Export options are available when you export documents to Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF).

Characters created using an external character editor are not displayed in PDF output.

To access PDF export options:

  1. In a SOLIDWORKS document, click File > Save As.
  2. Select Adobe Portable Document format (*.pdf) in Save as type.
  3. Click Options.
  4. Select options as described below, then click OK.
    Option Description
    Export PDF in color  
    Embed fonts The font definitions become part of the document, which increases file size but guarantees that the fonts are as defined in the original document.
    High quality lines For drawings only. Vectored lines are drawn double precision for best quality. Increases file size and time to save file.
    Shaded/Draft geometry DPI For drawings only. Controls dots per inch setting. An increased value improves quality while increasing file size and time to save file.
    Sharpened OLE/DPI  
    High quality shaded edges For drawings only. The edges of shaded views are drawn with vectors instead of being raster-drawn. Increases time to save file.
    Print header/footer Uses the header and footer specified in File, Print, Header/Footer.
    Use specified printer line weights (File, Print, Line Weights) When cleared, the default printer line weights are used.
    Include layers set to not print For drawings only. Includes layers that are set to not print when you save a drawing as PDF.
    Include bookmarks For drawings only. Includes bookmarks when you save a drawing as PDF.