Free tools
Free tools for engineering drawings.
Single-task tools for the PDFs that come with every project: convert, measure, redline, check layers, and assemble plan sets, plus the calculators every plan needs. Built for drawings, not office documents.
Convert PDF drawings
Measure PDFs to scale
Redline and mark up
View PDF layers
Plan set PDF tools
Merge drawing sets
Combine sheets and sets into one PDF without touching the linework.
Split a plan set
One PDF per sheet, or per range, from a full set, with the linework untouched.
Extract sheets
Pull just the sheets you need from a set into a new PDF.
Rotate drawing sheets
Fix sideways sheets in a set and save the orientation.
Compress drawing PDFs
Coming soonSmaller plan sets for email and portals, with the vectors kept sharp.
Civil and site calculators
Drawing scale converter
Convert between engineering, architectural, and metric scales.
Slope and grade calculator
Percent grade, H:V ratio, and degrees, with rise and run solved.
Horizontal curve calculator
Radius, delta, length, tangent, chord, and stations for a circular curve.
Grading tool
Draw feature lines on your site plan and get drafted contours.
Vector-native
They read the real linework in CAD-exported PDFs, so you snap, measure, and convert actual geometry.
Bigger sets, in Vellum
The free tools take PDFs up to 25 MB. Larger plan sets open in Vellum, and the drawing you started with comes along.
Questions about the free tools
Are these tools really free?
Yes. The PDF tools and calculators are free to use as often as you like, with no trial clock, and nothing they produce is watermarked. The grading tool is free too, and asks for an email before you download.
Are my drawings uploaded?
Not by the PDF tools. Converting, measuring, redlining, layers, and the plan set tools read, render, and write your PDF in your browser rather than uploading it to the cloud, and the calculators take no file at all. The grading tool is the exception: it sends the sheet you are grading to Vellum's server to read its linework, where it is processed in memory for that request and never stored.
How large a PDF can the tools open?
Up to 25 MB per file, and 25 MB in total when merging. Larger plan sets open in Vellum, and the drawing you started with comes along into your first project.
Do the tools work on scanned drawings?
Most do. A scan opens, measures (by clicking, since there is no linework to snap to), takes redlines, and can be merged, split, extracted, rotated, or exported as PNG. Converting to DXF and picking an outline for an area need the vector linework that a PDF exported from CAD carries, and the tools say so when a sheet is scanned.
Do I need to install anything?
No. The tools run in a current browser on Windows, Mac, or a tablet, with nothing to download. Sheets render sharp at any zoom, and you can pinch to zoom and pan on a touch screen.
How are the free tools different from Vellum?
Each free tool does one job on one file, and its results clear when you close the tab. Vellum is the full workspace for drawings: markups and measurements stay on the sheet and are saved with the project, the whole set opens at once, and your team reviews it together.
When one tool isn't enough.
Vellum puts snapping, measurement, CAD-style drafting, live review, and DXF export on every sheet of the set, in the browser.
10-day free trial · No credit card required · Pro is priced per user