AutoCAD File Preparation

AutoCad to Illustrator Workflow

Step 1: Clean up your AutoCAD file so it only has the geometry you want to use on Illustrator. Make sure that your units in Autocad correspond with the units set in Illustrator as the scale of your drawing will be altered significantly.  

Step 2: Using the Layers Properties Manager name and assign a color to each layer. Save the file as a .dxf/.dwg using 2010 version or earlier, as Illustrator cannot open later versions

Step 3: In Illustrator, open the .dxf/.dwg file and make sure the Artwork Scale is “Original Size” if you do not want to change the scale of the drawing. Make sure the “Center Artwork” option is turned on so that your drawing can be centered to the artboard with the correct orientation. There are other options to scale to fit the Artboard or to pick a custom scale/size. Make sure the “Merge Layers” is not turned on if you want to preserve your layers 

Step 4: Illustrator will not import your layers in the same order as they were on the Autocad Layers Properties Manager. If you want to rearrange the layers you will have to do that manually in Illustrator