Sketch Text and Imported Artwork (Canvas, SVG, DXF)

Overview#

Sketches are not limited to hand-drawn lines. You can type text and extrude it into embossed or engraved lettering, and you can bring in outside artwork: a photograph or drawing as a tracing reference (a canvas), a vector logo as an SVG, or a 2D CAD drawing as a DXF. This page covers the Text tool and the common ways to get imported artwork into a sketch.

In Autodesk's help, the insert tools (Canvas, SVG, DXF) are on the Insert menu of the Design workspace toolbar, while Text is in the sketch Create panel. Press S to search for any of them by name.

Where to find it#

Step by step: adding text#

1. Start or edit a sketch.
2. Choose Create > Text; the Text dialog opens.
3. Choose the Type: Text (inside a rectangular frame) or Text On Path.
4. For Text, click the first corner, then the opposite corner of the frame. You can rotate the frame with the rotation handle or an angle value, and click a snap point on the frame to change its rotation point.
5. Enter one or more lines in the Text box. To reference a text parameter or an expression, wrap it in curly braces, for example Part number {PartNumber}.
6. Set Font, Typeface (bold, italic), Height (in the units of the design), Character Spacing (a percentage; 0% is the font's default spacing), Flip (horizontal, vertical) and Alignment (left, center, right; for the Text type also top, middle, bottom).
7. For Text On Path, select a sketch curve as the Path, then set Placement (above or below the path) and Fit to Path (distribute the text evenly along the entire path). If you change the path shape later, the text adapts; for a circular path you can rotate the text with Move/Copy.
8. Click OK. The text appears and a new text model parameter is created for the Sketch feature in the Parameters dialog.
9. Finish the sketch and use Extrude or Emboss on the text. Extrude with the Cut operation to engrave, or Join to emboss (general modeling practice).

Editing text#

Reopen the Text dialog to change the wording, font, and height without redrawing. A text parameter and a text height parameter are created in the Parameters dialog. With Type set to Text, you can also dimension and constrain the text frame relative to other sketch geometry.

Note: not confirmed in Autodesk's documentation: the exact gesture used to reopen the dialog (double-click or a right-click Edit Text entry).

Text profiles and quirks#

• Each closed letter outline becomes a profile, and letters with holes (A, B, O, P) have the counter as a separate region, so select profiles carefully when you extrude (general behavior).
• Fonts: Autodesk recommends a Latin font if you plan to Emboss, Extrude or Explode text. Single line fonts (listed at the top of the font list with an SHX suffix) have no thickness, only a path for a laser or milling tool; do not use them with Emboss. You can extrude single line fonts as surface bodies using the tools on the Surface tab.
• Explode Text: right-click text in the sketch and choose Explode Text to convert it to fixed sketch geometry. Finalize the wording and layout first; once exploded it is no longer editable as text but can be modified like other geometry. The text and text height parameters are deleted unless the text parameter is referenced in another parameter's expression.
• As general guidance (not Autodesk data), very small text may be hard to print or machine; check the minimum feature size of your process.

Step by step: importing an SVG#

1. In the Design workspace choose Insert > Insert SVG. Select the .svg file and click Insert.
2. In the canvas, select a planar face to place the sketch. A sketch is created and the image geometry is centered on the sketch origin.
3. Use the manipulators or the Insert SVG dialog to set X Distance (positive moves right of the origin), Y Distance (positive moves below the origin), Z Angle (rotation about the origin; positive is clockwise), Horizontal Flip (mirrors using the Y axis), Vertical Flip (mirrors using the X axis), and Scale.
4. Control Point Frame gives access to the control point frame of splines for modifying their shape.
5. Click OK. The sketch with the SVG appears; use the sketch tools to add or modify geometry as needed.

Per Autodesk, SVG is for detailed sketches such as logos, text, or PCB silkscreens. As general guidance, convert text to outlines in your vector editor before exporting so the paths are closed.

Step by step: importing a DXF#

1. In the Design workspace choose Insert > Insert DXF; the Insert DXF dialog opens.
2. In the canvas, select a planar face to place the sketch.
3. Navigate to and select the DXF file. The DXF origin is placed at the sketch origin.
4. Set Units to scale the imported DXF (if the result is 25.4 times too big or small, the units are wrong; reinsert with the correct unit).
5. Choose an Insert Mode: Single Sketch (selected layers into one sketch) or One Sketch per Layer.
6. Set X Distance (positive moves right of the origin) and Y Distance (positive moves above the origin). In DXF Layers, all layers are checked by default; uncheck any you do not want. Control Point Frame gives access to the control point frame to modify the geometry.
7. Click OK. The DXF is inserted into a new sketch. Check that profiles shade; imported lines can have gaps or overlaps (see Troubleshooting).

Imported geometry is generally unconstrained (blue) unless you add constraints (general behavior). To go the other way, right-click a sketch in the Browser and choose Export DXF: choose a unit type (the design's active unit is the default) and optionally include Points, Projected Geometry and Construction Geometry.

Step by step: canvas (reference image)#

1. Choose Insert > Canvas, select an image file from a project or your computer (PNG, JPG, JPEG, TIF and TIFF are supported; the file extension must match the true format), and click OK.
2. Select a face (or plane) to place the image on. The dialog then offers Display Through, Selectable and Renderable options, position (X Distance, Y Distance, Z Angle), Scale X, Scale Y and Scale XY, and Horizontal Flip and Vertical Flip. Click OK.
3. In the Browser, expand the Canvases folder, right-click the image and choose Calibrate. Choose two points on the image, specify the distance between them, and press Enter; the image scales to that distance.
4. Start a sketch on the same plane and trace the image using lines, arcs, and splines.

A canvas is an image reference, not sketch geometry, and it does not create profiles. Calibrating before tracing means you do not need to scale the sketch later.

Options reference#

Tips and pitfalls#

Tip: For text on a curved face, you can place text on a plane and use Project To Surface (see the project page) or the Emboss tool; for Emboss choose a font that is not a single line font.

Tip: For raised text on 3D prints, a bold sans-serif font is a reasonable choice (general guidance, not Autodesk data).

Tip: Place the text on its own sketch. That keeps your main sketch light, and editing the text does not interfere with other constraints.

Warning: Text can bog down a sketch because every letter adds many curves and profiles. Consider hiding the text sketch once the geometry is consumed by a feature.

Warning: Imported DXF and SVG files often contain duplicated lines, tiny gaps, and artifacts. Zoom in and check before extruding.

Practice exercise#

1. Create a 60 x 30 x 5 mm plate.
2. Sketch on its top face. Add the text "FUSION" centered (Alignment: Align Center), 10 mm tall, in a bold sans-serif font.
3. Extrude the letters 1 mm with the Join operation to emboss them.
4. Edit the sketch text to read "SKETCH" and observe the update.
5. Draw an arc, create new text with Type set to Text On Path, and compare.

Expected result: a plate with raised lettering that is easily edited.

Related#

• Project and include geometry (02-sketching/project-and-include)
• Modify tools (02-sketching/modify-tools)
• Troubleshooting sketches (02-sketching/troubleshooting)