Here’s a structured, useful report on the (primarily developed by HotDoor ), which is the leading CAD plugin for Illustrator. Report: Adobe Illustrator CADtools Plugin 1. Executive Summary CADtools is a commercial plugin that transforms Adobe Illustrator into a functional 2D CAD (Computer-Aided Design) application. It adds over 100 precision drawing, dimensioning, scaling, and construction tools normally found in dedicated CAD software (like AutoCAD or DraftSight), but within Illustrator’s vector graphics environment.