Details of Update

Loading PDF pages – ‘No Pages Found’ message

Fixed -  Scan2CAD would, under some circumstances, report a ‘no pages found’ message when loading a PDF file.

6  New Commands added for Command Line file usage.

1. Include (or exclude) the currently loaded raster image from inclusion in a saved SVG or SVGZ file.  Must be placed before any SAVEVECTORSVG or SAVEVECTORSVGZ command.
   SVGATTACHRASTER    - 1 argument
   1    [1 = Include, 0 = Exclude]
2. Save the currently loaded vector image in an SVG format file.
   SAVEVECTORSVG    - No arguments
3. Save the currently loaded vector image in an SVGZ (compressed SVG) format file.
   SAVEVECTORSVGZ    - No arguments
4. Scale the currently loaded vectors in either the vertical or horizontal plane (or both)
   SCALEVECTOR    - 2 arguments
   2.0    [ScaleX, scale vectors by 2 times in the horizontal plane]
   2.0    [ScaleY, scale vectors by 2 times in the vertical plane]
5. Emit a BEEP wherever encountered during the Command Line file run
   If  HideWindow is invoked, it is not always evident when the Command Line file has been completed.
   Placing COMMANDBEEP before the EXIT command will give an audio indication of completion of the Command Line file.
   COMMANDBEEP    - No arguments
6. Close the currently loaded Raster file
   CLOSERASTER    - No arguments

New option added to ScanLine vectorization settings

There are now 2 options available for this vectorization type.
Option 1 – ScanLines as Solids (new)
Option 2 – Vector Lines per ScanLine (existing)

To select option 1 tick ‘ScanLines as Solids.’
To select option 2 untick ‘ScanLines as Solids’ and then set the number of required vector lines per scanline.

32k x 32k vectorization limit removed

Scan2CAD v8.2h onwards increased the raster file size limit that could be loaded into Scan2CAD to 64k x 64k but still had a restriction to vectorizing only the first 32k x 32k part of the raster image.

This limit is now removed and Scan2CAD will vectorize the full raster image.

Image Segmentation added to Scan2CAD [Pro version only]

What is Image Segmentation
It is the process of grouping areas of adjacent pixels of similar color/intensity into zones of color that best represent the original image.
Segmentation can be applied to 24bit 16.7million color and 8bit 256 grayscale color images. Other image color depths will automatically be converted to one of these before being segmented. Segmentation is applied to the whole image.
To better illustrate segmentation we will use the following Lilly flower image, highlighting just a part for clarity.
16M color image with part highlighted
Part of 16M color image

If we were to simply Reduce colors automatically then we would have the following results. Each pixel and its color would be reduced without any relevance given to its significance with respect to any adjacent pixel colors. The results could not easily be vectorized without further manual color reduction.
Automatic reduction 256 color
Automatic reduction 32 color

The following segmentation examples at various settings of color reduction illustrate the greatly enhanced benefits of segmentation. Any of the images below could be used for Picture/Photo or Outline vectorization.
Segmented 256 color
Segmented 32 color

Segmented 16 color
Segmented 6 color

To Apply Segmentation

1.  Select Raster Effects Menu > Segment
2. You should now be presented with the Segment Colors dialog
3. The Preview Window will immediately show the results of any changes made using the following sliders on the right hand side of the dialogue. The sliders affect the whole image.
4. Feature Definition slider
   This slider affects the degree of ‘sharpness’ applied to image elements when segmenting.
   If you have relatively small image elements you wish to ensure are retained then set the slider towards the ‘High’ mark.
   If you wish to reduce the significance of smaller image elements (such as ‘noise’) then set the slider towards the ‘Low’ mark
5. Maximum Colors slider
   Set the maximum number of colors that are required after segmentation.
   The slider has a range selection of 2-32, 64,128 and 256 colors.
   Segmentation will normally consider all colors in the original image and select the best set of colors to represent the image.
   You can however restrict the initial range of colors considered. Before calling this dialog, window onto a selected area of the full image in the Scan2CAD main viewing window. If a window has been selected then it will be highlighted by a green rectangle in the Preview Window. Only the colors within that window will be considered in the final colors selection that will be applied to the whole image. This can be very useful if dealing with portrait images where you may only want to consider colors relevant to the subject rather than including any background colors.
   The color selection will always include Black and White even if they are not present on the image.
6. Minimum Feature Size slider
   This allows the removal of any image feature size up to the value selected.
   The slider has a range selection of 0-63 pixels.

Picture/Photo vectorization added to Scan2CAD [Pro version only]

Picture/Photo vectorization is used for raster images containing solid regions of color and will vectorize the whole image unless specified otherwise – (see 1-3 below).
This method converts all color elements on the raster image to vectors unless specified otherwise – (see 3. below).
Any identifiable text on the image will NOT be considered for conversion to editable vector text.
Raster images should be Segmented before using Picture/Photo vectorization.

Vectorizing part of the image

1. If you only want to vectorize a partial area of the image, choose the part you want to vectorize by windowing it or zooming into it, then follow the steps below.
2.  Templates can be set before using Picture/Photo to selectively vectorize only those areas of the image required for vectorization.
3.  Either Pick Color or Separation Colors can be set before using Picture/Photo to selectively vectorize only those colors required for vectorization

If required, 3 above can be combined with ether 1 or 2 above.

The Picture/Photo dialogue tool

1. Picture/Photo type should have been previously set using the Type > Picture/Photo Menu.
2. Click , press the F7 key or select Run Menu > Vectorization.
3. You should now be presented with the Picture/Photo Vectorization dialog.
4. In the Preview Window, if the image is large, zoom into the image so that you will be able to clearly see the effects of the vectorization using the following slider and settings options.
5. Vectors Definition slider
   This slider affects the degree to which the vectors exactingly follow the color edges of the image.If the slider is set to extreme ‘High’ (0) then the vectorization will follow every pixel edge. This is generally not required. The initial level of (5) will be suitable as a start point and the user can move the slider up and down to see the results in the Preview Window. Moving the slider to ‘Low’ will relax the degree to which the vectors follow the color edges.
6. Polygon Profile settings
   Options within this heading allow the user to set the nature of vectors describing the boundaries of color areas of the image.
   Angular – Boundary vectors will be comprised of a series of straight lines.
   Angular with Curves – Boundary vectors will be comprised of a series of both straight lines and curves(formed from beziers) as best suits the image edges.
   Identify Circles – Where an image area can be described as circular then the vector boundary will be formed from a circle.
   Bias Right Angles – Where the color area is describing a drawing part with a right angle, the apex pixel(s) of the right angle might not exist. If this option is selected Scan2CAD will attempt to identify these conditions and adjust the vectorization accordingly. If the image does not generally have a number of required right angles 7. then do not set this option.
7. Polygon Type settings
   Options within this heading allow the user to set the type of the polygon formed from the edge vectors. Polygon shapes(profiles) will reflect the settings made in Polygon Profile.
   Solid – Polygons are solid. The edge and fill color is the same as the pixels outlined.
   Non Solid – Polygons are not solid but empty(no fill color).The edge color is the same as the pixels outlined.
   Edge – Edge indicates that Polygons are not required. Each unique edge between different areas of raster color will be represented by either Polyline, Bezier or Circle vectors. The vector color will be the same as either of the adjacent pixel areas.
8. Display settings
   Options within this heading allow the user to set the display characteristics of the image in the Preview Window.
   Highlight Polygons – The edge color of polygons is displayed as black. This is useful in identifying polygons especially where you may have adjacent polygons of a similar color or the polygons are being displayed on top of the raster image. This is only a display feature – the original edge color is retained.
   Show Raster – The segmented raster image in shown in the Preview Window with vectors displayed on top. When used with the Non Solid and Edge Polygon types the user can see how exactingly the vectors follow the image color edges. This option is not of value when used with the Solid Polygon type as the solid vectors displayed will fully cover the raster image.
   Show Raster Faded – The raster image will be displayed ‘faded’ to give a measure of contrast between the colored vectors and the raster image.

PDF stands for Portable Document Format.

A PDF file can originate from a variety of sources such as word processing and page layout programs, document scanners, print drivers and many others.

An advantage of PDF files is that Adobe Acrobat PDF reader is pre-installed on most computers so users can view PDF files with no problems. PDF files can also be viewed in most web browsers.

What is in a PDF file.

A PDF file may contain one or more pages.

Each page may contain any combination of 2D vector graphics, text or raster images.

·The PDF vector graphic objects(entities) are limited to fairly simple types such as lines, beziers, polygons etc.

·PDF files allow for very fine positional accuracy of text. Words and sentences are often held as a set of individual characters, each with associated positional and style information.

·Single or multiple raster images can be placed in any position on a page. The encoding of each raster image can be one of many PDF supported types.

Issues with PDF to CAD conversions

·PDF Vector Graphics

As indicated above PDF vector graphics are limited.

In a vector PDF file, there are no CAD Arc or Circle entities. Arcs and Circles are either made up out of many short lines that are difficult to edit or out of Bezier curves.

Scan2CAD includes Make Vector Arcs and Make Vector Circle options. If you select these, Scan2CAD will replace the short lines or Bezier curves with true Arcs and Circles that are easy to edit.

For example:

Circles converted by another PDF to DXF converter

PDF to CAD Circles converted by Scan2CAD

·PDF Line Types

A PDF file may contain user defined line types (e.g. a line comprising a sequence of dashes and dots of varying lengths and order). Where these line types have been used, Scan2CAD identifies them and saves them accurately to the DXF file.

For example:

PDF to CAD User-defined line types converted by Scan2CAD.

User-defined line types converted by another PDF to DXF converter.

Scan2CAD settings

There are no user required settings as Scan2CAD will automatically retain User-defined line types when loading the PDF file.

·PDF Line Widths

A PDF file may contain line width information associated with each PDF vector entity. Scan2CAD retains the line widths used in the PDF file while giving you the option to turn them off when saving DXF.

For example:

PDF to CAD Line widths converted by Scan2CAD.

Line widths converted by another PDF to DXF converter.

·PDF Text

As previously stated PDF files allow for very fine positional accuracy of text. Words and sentences are often held as a set of individual characters, each with associated positional information. The “reassembly” of these characters into strings is challenging. If it is not optimally done, the text in the resultant DXF file may be made up of discrete characters and split words that are very difficult to edit.

Scan2CAD uses high quality “reassembly” of characters into words and sentences, making the text easy to edit in your CAD program.

For example:

PDF to CAD Text converted by Scan2CAD.

Text converted by another PDF to DXF converter.

Text converted by yet another PDF to DXF converter.

·PDF Raster Images

A single PDF page can be made up of multiple raster images. Traditional PDF to DXF converters save each raster image as a separate raster file. Scan2CAD maps all the raster images into a single raster image file that can be edited or vectorized within Scan2CAD.

Another major benefit of Scan2CADs approach is that when saving a DXF file from Scan2CAD where you require the raster image to be included then you will only have a single raster file associated with the DXF file.

For example:

One PDF file we have tested includes several hundred arrow heads, each one a separate raster image.

PDF to CAD with Scan2CAD will convert this PDF file to one raster image:

If you convert the same PDF file in a traditional PDF to DXF converter you end up with hundreds of raster images:

Scan2CAD settings

The single raster image produced by Scan2CAD can be controlled by setting the following twoScan2CAD Menu options before loading your PDF file into Scan2CAD:-

File > PDF > Import Options… > Color Raster as > BMP or JPEG

If BMP is selected then full color raster image accuracy will be retained when the file is exported.

If JPEG is selected then there will be a reduction in color raster image accuracy when the file is exported but the exported file will be smaller.

Please note that black and white images are always exported as TIF (Group4).

File > PDF > Import Options… > Limit Raster max DPI

If the single raster image produced by Scan2CAD has a very high DPI then you may find that due to the memory constraints of your PC that it is not possible to load the image.

If this happens then try setting max DPI to a smaller value before attempting to reload the PDF file.

Download your free Scan2CAD trial now

Changes to Scan2CAD for Version 8.2.F

Problem with dual monitor displays resolved.

Details:-
When Scan2CAD was displayed at full screen size on the second monitor, the Scan2CAD window was not drawn correctly with only partial details being displayed.

New PDF import option

Details:-

New option to include/exclude PDF Text added to PDF Import options Menu:-

PDF > Import Options…

Scan2CAD by default will load all vector entities found in the PDF file.
Where text is provided in the PDF file for the purpose of utilising the Adobe Reader ‘Search’ option then it may not be required for loading as part of the vector image.
Setting Load PDF Text OFF (i.e. no tick) will result in no text being loaded from the PDF file.

PDF image import enhanced to deal with 16bpp Gray images:-

Details:-
Scan2CAD did not previously handle 16 bits per pixel Gray scale images – now enhanced to do so.

New vector scaling option added to Menu:- Vector Edit > Scale…

Details:-
The currently loaded vectors can be scaled in either/both of the X and Y directions.
If a raster file is currently loaded then the current image extents will not be changed and
therefore those vectors which have been scaled beyond the raster image extents will not be visible.
If no raster file is loaded then the image extents will be scaled by the new X and Y scale factors.

Problem with command line file directory names containing a dot resolved.

Details:-
If a specified directory name contained a dot then the associated command would fail.

Scan2CAD now supports the Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) file format.

SVG format files are built using the Extensible Markup Language (XML).

SVG vector images are scalable to the size of the viewing window and will adjust in size and resolution according to the window in which it is displayed without distortion or loss of definition.

Internet Explorer 9 (IE9) has recently been released which now directly supports the SVG format. Chrome and FireFox browsers also support SVG.

Free Download A SVG Converter & Much More – Scan2CAD

Download Scan2CAD for free now and see why Scan2CAD is a market leading SVG converter, raster to vector converter and PDF to vector converter.

Changes to Scan2CAD for Version 8.2.E

Additional PDF support.

Details:-
Support added for Nitro PrimoPDF palette encoding scheme.

New OCR Option – Split Strings on Space

Details:-
OCR Strings will be split into words/numbers whenever a space is encountered following a word/number.

Usage From GUI.
OCR > Split Strings on Space – click menu to toggle option ON/OFF

Usage From Command Line File.
OCRSPLITSTRINGSONSPACE
1    [1=ON, 0=OFF]

New Toggle Solid/Non-Solid Polygons.

Details:-
This option will toggle all Solid Polygons to Non-Solid Polygons and Non-Solid Polygons to Solid Polygons.

Usage From GUI.
Action toggled by usage of the following 4 key combination:
Ctrl +Shift + Alt + R

AnchorPoint Solutions, LLC, based in Tacoma, WA, is a public safety technology consulting company whose expertise and focus is on E-911 Fire/EMS (Emergency Medical Services) agencies.

In offering end-to-end solutions for Fire Service pre-incident planning, AnchorPoint Solutions now includes Scan2CAD v8 professional raster-to-vector and PDF-to-CAD conversion software in their product line-up. The company also uses Scan2CAD in-house for paper to CAD conversion.

AnchorPoint Solution’s customers are fire agencies who provide fire suppression, prevention and emergency medical services within their response areas. In order to have useful information available on potential emergency locations, fire agencies take the precaution of preparing and storing pre-incident plans of high risk buildings, complexes and institutions within their area.

Fire pre-incident planning is vital to successfully minimizing the loss of life and property. While complete information is seldom available to fire fighters during the first crucial minutes on scene, many factors affecting time critical decisions can be known in advance. Failing to use these factors in pre-planning a response means that fire agencies are forced to make strategic decisions based on incomplete information, often placing their response at a disadvantage.

Ideally, the pre-incident plan should be easy to read and contain pertinent information needed by fire agencies, e.g. the building’s location, exit points and any specific hazards, etc. For large facilities, pre-incident plans should contain several drawings in addition to one that clearly shows the overall building layout in relation to its street location with fire hydrants, assembly points, etc.

Many drawings are provided by the building’s owners. These are often cluttered with unnecessary details, such as lighting fixtures, plumbing and even furniture. Diagrams that are cluttered with other than the most important details such as alarm panel locations and sprinkler connections can be rendered more or less useless due to the time needed to decipher or sift through the drawing detail.

Intelligent Raster To Vector

As modern building drawings created in CAD software are invariably layered, it is possible to add and delete layers when printing or copying from a file. Many building owners are willing to work with fire departments to customize drawings so that they show only the information that the fire department needs. Some are even willing to help by adding the fire department’s own symbols to their drawings.

However, there are times when no CAD file is available, when a building drawings exist only on paper. These still need to be captured in an electronic format for pre-incident planning. This is where Scan2CAD provides a handy solution to fire agencies. As the industry leading raster-to-vector converter, it automatically converts scanned paper drawings into a AutoCAD and similar PC CAD-compatible DXF file format. In this process, it is a relatively simple matter to extract only the detail that is needed.

“AnchorPoint Solutions is committed to helping public safety agencies solve the problem of managing a wide array of pre-incident building survey information needed to mitigate emergency situations. Scan2CAD fits well into the overall end-to-end solution for fire service pre-incident planning. Scan2CAD has the potential to fill a big gap in the process of completing pre-fire plans. It addresses an issue that can be a big stumbling block to the overall project success,” says Craig N. Coulson, President, AnchorPoint Solutions, LLC.

AnchorPoint Solution’s consultants offer years of practical experience with Fire Service Information Systems, Fire Operations and Fire Administration as well as project management for multiple system implementations, including Pre-Incident Planning, Computer Aided Dispatch, Records Management, Staffing, Medical Information, Building Inspections, etc. Its staff are experienced in implementing both custom and vendor information systems and in developing custom applications and systems that meet individual business needs.

AnchorPoint Solutions is also an authorized reseller of The Cad Zone’s The Fire Zone and First Look Pro, two dedicated software solutions for fire services. The Fire Zone is a CAD program tailored to meet the needs of firefighters and fire investigators. According to Craig, “The Fire Zone provides accurate, easy-to-read, pre-incident plans that save lives and property. It is the best software available for creating pre-incident plans, training diagrams, post-incident critique diagrams, and even courtroom-ready investigation diagrams. With Scan2CAD, we have a way to quickly import paper-based building plans into The Fire Zone as a DXF file for editing, thereby saving a lot of redrawing or tracing time.”

Scan2CAD’s intelligent raster to vector conversions are no stranger to use in fire and life safety services. One of its biggest US users is SimplexGrinnell and its parent, Tyco International. SimplexGrinnell is a long and historic leader in life safety and property protection. Over the years, these two companies and their approved agents, as well as building service engineers, estate and facilities managers, etc., have purchased hundreds of copies of Scan2CAD. It allows them to quickly convert scanned drawings of houses, offices, factories, education institutions, etc., into a DXF CAD floor plan for the fitting of SimplexGrinnell’s fire alarm, fire sprinkler, fire suppression, integrated security, sound and healthcare communications systems.

For further information, please contact:

Craig N. Coulson
President
AnchorPoint Solutions, LLC
www.anchorpts.com
coulsoc@anchorpts.com
425-770-4270

Changes to Scan2CAD for Version 8.2.D

Various PDF enhancements

Enhancements to import and export abilities.

Minor update of help system

Help System found in ‘help’ > ‘Contents’ in the Scan2CAD menu updated to reflect added functionality.

After many successful years of marketing Scan2CAD, Softcover International Ltd passed the reigns to AVIA.
This has allowed AVIA to seize the opportunity to market, support, and drive an enhanced development program that will ensure that Scan2CAD remains a market leader in Raster (and PDF) to Vector conversion software.

George Kennedy, Head of Development at Scan2CAD said “I’m extremely pleased with AVIA’s decision to market Scan2CAD. It brings new energy to the progress of Scan2CAD, already a market leader”

AVIA has made a long term commitment to Scan2CAD and looks forward to establishing Scan2CAD as the prime product in its range for quality, affordability and excellence of support.

Customer support is a key requisite to the future success of Scan2CAD and AVIA welcomes old and new Scan2CAD customers alike to participate in driving their future vision for Scan2CAD.

Changes to Scan2CAD for Version 8.2.C

Various enhancements to the PDF support.

Added support of more variations PDF encoded formats.

New – ColorTrac Scanners Ethernet support added.

Support added for the communication to ColorTrac Scanners via Ethernet

New – SVG vector export option

New SVG export option added to coincide with Internet Explore v9 SVG support. See this post for more information.

Raster Text Quality Check-list for OCR text recognition

Scan2CAD has a capability for converting raster text to vector text using OCR. When you convert raster text using OCR, the vector text is proper editable text rather than a series of uneditable lines and arcs.

Scan2CAD’s OCR recognizes raster text where the following conditions are met:

• The raster text is easily legible.
• The raster text characters do not touch each other.
• The raster text characters do not touch other drawing elements.
• The raster text characters are not at different orientations.
• The raster text characters are in a font that Scan2CAD can recognize.

To ensure that your text meets these conditions, work through the following Raster Text Quality Checklist.

First, place your cursor over a piece of text on your image. Press M to Magnify. Press M again and again until your image is highly magnified. Or, zoom in by scrolling your mouse wheel forward. To zoom out again, click .

Is the text easily legible?

If you cannot read the text easily, as in the examples below, Scan2CAD won’t be able to read it either.

If the text is not easily legible, the only remedy is to start off with a better quality raster image.

If this is not possible, you will have to retype the text manually. You can either do this in Scan2CAD or in your CAD program after you have imported the converted file into it.

You may want to erase areas of very poor quality text from the raster image so that these areas are not vectorized to lines and arcs.

Are the characters touching?

Scan2CAD cannot recognize characters that touch other characters, even if the characters are only connected by a few pixels:

If the characters touch, try selecting OCR > Settings > Split before doing OCR recognition. When this option is selected Scan2CAD will attempt to split and identify touching characters.

This will improve text recognition on some raster images, however on others it may result in a lot of “junk characters” being recognized. This is because characters that touch are often very poor quality and are unrecognizable even after splitting. For example, the characters in the example above have “bled”. Not only has this caused them to touch each other but it has also filled in the “A”. This means that the “A” is no longer typical of an “A” and Scan2CAD may have difficulty recognizing it even if it is not touching other characters.

You can often improve the quality of an image that has bled by rescanning it in grayscale and thresholding it (see the Scanning Checklist).

Is the text written over other drawing elements?

If text is written over drawing elements or is attached to underlining or boxes as in the examples below, Scan2CAD won’t be able to recognize it.

Is the text at more than one orientation?

Where text at one orientation is intermingled with text at another orientation it is virtually impossible to recognize all the text.

Can Scan2CAD recognize the font?

By default, Scan2CAD can only recognize text that has been written using a standard font such as the font in the example below.

It may not recognize other fonts well. It may also fail to recognize standard fonts that are narrower or wider than normal or that are italicized.

If Scan2CAD’s default text recognition cannot recognize a font well and you have a lot of images containing that font, you can train Scan2CAD to recognize the font (Pro version only). You can do this if the font characters are consistent and do not touch. For example:

Scan2CAD’s default text recognition will recognize this font but it will not recognize it optimally because the font is narrower than normal. You could train Scan2CAD to recognize this font well.

Scan2CAD’s default text recognition will recognize this font very poorly because it is italicized and hand written. However, because the characters are clear and do not touch you could train Scan2CAD to recognize it.

Scan2CAD’s default text recognition will recognize this font very poorly because it is hand written and because the characters touch each other. You could not train Scan2CAD to recognize this font because the characters touch.

Despite the fact that the quality of this text is poor you could train Scan2CAD to recognize it because the characters are consistent and do not touch each other.

It takes a few hours to train Scan2CAD to recognize a font but it can significantly improve text recognition.