Use AutoCAD Raster Design software with AutoCAD software, and applications based on AutoCAD to unlock and extend the value of existing design information. Make the most of scanned engineering drawings and plans by using them in current projects while saving redrafting time with powerful correlation and raster-to-vector conversion tools. More easily edit, enhance, and maintain your archive of scanned drawings and plans within a familiar AutoCAD environment with image cleanup, processing, and hybrid editing tools. Using AutoCAD Raster Design, you can increase productivity; improve decision making and presentations; and enhance, preserve, and maintain valuable raster assets.
AutoCAD Raster Design includes:
Image Display
Image Editing & Cleanup
Raster Entity Manipulation (REM)
Vectorization Tools, Including Optical Character Recognition (OCR)
Image display
Additional Raster Data Formats
Use a wider range of raster data for display and project application than with AutoCAD software alone.
Image Embedding
Save bitonal raster images within a DWG file instead of maintaining the image as an external reference. Easily and reliably share drawings that contain images with clients, partners, and agencies electronically, while avoiding image-path problems on the receiving end.
Image Insert, Save, and Export Functionality
Choose from a range of image data. Insert individual frames of multiframe images, and use them as independent image insertions or as bands of a multispectral data set. Enjoy Image Preview functionality during insert.
Use a Polygonal Mask Boundary to Display Image Subsets
The Mask feature works across multiple image boundaries and provides greater flexibility than the Image Clip feature in regular AutoCAD software. Use Mask to display and plot a subset of the images in a drawing.
Image Editing & Cleanup
Despeckle, Bias, and Mirror Commands
Improve the usability and legibility of scanned images with powerful image cleanup tools. Despeckle removes stray pixels in images created by scanning imperfect drawings or blueprints. The Bias command corrects distortions in an image's aspect ratio. Use the Mirror command to reflect an image along the horizontal or vertical axis, correcting reversed-image problems in scanned drawings.
Touchup Tool
Reduce time and effort cleaning up scanned drawings and maps with this Touchup Tool, similar to the drawing tool in Microsoft Paint. Multiple resizable brushes fill in foreground or background image colors.
Enhance Images
Realize more value from your investment in existing images by improving and adjusting their appearance. The Histogram command equalizes images, adjusts brightness and contrast, converts grayscale or color images to binary images, and converts color images to grayscale. Convolve command's smoothing filters reduce ruggedness and noise. Sharpening filters make differences in shading more distinct, while the Invert command reverses the light and dark shades of binary, color, and grayscale images.
Tonal Adjustment
Improve the clarity and usefulness of scanned imagery by bringing detail out of the shadows without affecting highlights. Use a nonlinear contrast curve to improve the appearance of scanned photos and satellite imagery with single-exponent (gamma) value, fitted-curve, or piecewise linear curve adjustment.
Edit Multiresolution Files
Edit multiresolution image files, such as LizardTech’s MrSID and ER Mapper’s ECW, and save them in JPEG 2000 format.
Rubbersheeting
Reduce costs, increase accuracy, and get more predictable results by leveraging available aerial photography and scanned maps instead of expensive orthocorrected imagery. Transform or stretch an image to make specified control points match corresponding points in the drawing as closely as possible. Automate control point selection for grid points. AutoCAD Raster Design employs a triangulation algorithm that's more compatible with global positioning system (GPS) and surveyed control points.
Save Images to Different File Formats
Standardizing image formats within your organization enables you to share and use the data in other applications more easily. Read images in any image format and save them in your standard image format. For instance, saving your images to JPEG 2000 format decreases the size of your files without compromising visual image quality.
Raster Entity Manipulation (REM)
Use Standard AutoCAD Commands on Raster Regions and Primitives
Save time by reusing existing data instead of redrawing it. Seamless integration with AutoCAD software and AutoCAD-based applications improves productivity and speeds up learning. Edit raster entities in binary, color, and grayscale images. Adjust the radius of a raster circle, remove dimension lines on a mechanical drawing, or use raster entity manipulation (REM) functionality to copy electrical symbols between images.REM commands define raster entities as REM objects. AutoCAD commands can move, scale, copy, rotate, and perform other operations on those objects. Merge modified raster data into an existing image, or create a new image from the data.
Create REM Primitives and Regions
Improve productivity with fast, accurate, and powerful raster selection methods, including SmartPick, One Pick, or Multipoint Selection. Work with pixels inside a specified area by using a REM region object. Primitive objects, such as polygons, rectangles, circles, or diagonals, are also available for selecting raster objects. Grip Stretch commands and the Properties window enable you to change a primitive's dimensions. Take advantage of the flexibility of primitives by modifying a dimension, such as a circle’s diameter, while maintaining its original linewieght.
Create Enhanced Bitonal REM Regions
Powerful AutoCAD selection techniques for raster data can speed up and streamline your processes. Define an enhanced bitonal region object, and use AutoCAD commands to modify it. An enhanced bitonal region object includes complete raster entities within the region defined by your chosen selection option, including smart or connected options. Merge the REM objects back into the original raster image, or create new images.
Easily Erase Raster Lines, Arcs, and Circles
Rapidly and accurately modify scanned drawings. SmartPick’s Quick Delete functionality removes raster lines, arcs, or circles you define as primitive objects. Use AutoCAD Raster Design software to automatically detect the geometry of a selected raster entity, delete it, and clean up intersections with other raster entities.
Vectorization Tools
One Pick with SmartCorrect
Increase the value of existing design data with faster conversion, and save time by eliminating related cleanup steps. One Pick vectorization tools give you more accurate results when you create lines and polylines from raster data.
Optical Character Recognition (OCR)
Speed up manual data entry and improve accuracy when converting drawings with text. Recognize machine- and hand-printed text and tables on raster images to create AutoCAD software text or multiline text (mtext). Interactive verification corrects results with dictionary matching.
Create Circles, Arcs, Rectangles, and Text
Increase accuracy and reduce your learning time with One Pick vectorization tools that fully integrate with AutoCAD drafting settings. The verification step helps you get the precise results you require.
Create Polylines, Breaklines, and Contour Objects
Sophisticated options control the process of quickly creating polylines and breaklines. Trace the raster data semiautomatically and improve the accuracy of vector models. The 3D Polyline Follower command (only available when used with AutoCAD Map 3D-software-based products) traces a defined fence or existing vector polyline and prompts for elevation data at each point where it intersects the raster. The resulting AutoCAD 3D polyline represents the elevation of the raster contours it intersects.
Control Output with Vector Separation Options
Save time and get results that meet your design standards. Vector separation assigns layer and polyline width values to vectors, based on the width of the underlying raster for continuous and noncontinuous objects.