SolidWorks Tutorials on Demand

To what end?

Assuming Illustrator was used for the conversion, you'll have a difficult to edit collection of most likely unconstrained lines and arcs. You might get some items in different layers, but I'm not sure if that is helpful.

A free alternative to Illustrator is Inkscape. Does it export/convert a PDF to a vector format like DXF or DWG?

For raster to vector conversions I use Vector Magic. The output is again going to be limited to unconstrained sketches, so while useful, there are limitations.

You can insert a PDF into say a SOLIDWORKS drawing, but that only shows a single page, and it is often blurry unless the resolution is increased, which of course balloons the drawing's file size.

Are you importing a PDF to help you make a part? Or are you importing a PDF for use in making a drawing?

If you are not using Adobe Illustrator (with which you can probably export a DXF and import usable lines or just copy and paste usable lines) you might be limited to image and text imports.

For images you can sometimes just copy and paste these into a sketch that you have started, or alternatively select Import -> Object and bring in an entire PDF file (if it's not too big or complex).

For text, you can just open up the text dialogue box within a sketch by selecting the text tool (icon is large letter A) and then copy and paste into the dialogue box whatever text you want to import.

I thought of one other thing, but if it works depends on what version of SOLIDWORKS you have.

It was possible in the past to simply rename the PDF file to have a .AI file extension. Oddly enough SOLIDWORKS would import an AI file without Illustrator, but not a PDF.

This no longer works in 2018. I'm not sure when they "fixed" this loophole.

Don't work with Solidworks version 2016 and 2018.