Scan2CAD raster to vector eNewsletter - September 2008

Q: How do you eat an elephant?
A: One bite at a time!
African proverb much used by Scan2CAD's Head Developer.

What's in this Newsletter

New version

We have released an updated version of Scan2CAD, v7.6i.

Version 7.6i adds the ability to launch your CAD or CNC program from within Scan2CAD. If you have vectors on the screen that you have saved as a DXF file, you can now automatically open the DXF file in your CAD or CNC program.

If you are a registered user of Scan2CAD v7, you can upgrade to v7.6i free of charge - click here for more information.

If you are a registered user of Scan2CAD v6.1 or earlier, you can upgrade to v7.6i at the upgrade price - click here for more information.

You can see which version of Scan2CAD you have by going to the Help Menu then choosing About Scan2CAD.

Who's using it? - Digging up the dirt on difficult archaeological drawings!

Unlike AEC drawings with their straight orthogonal lines and perfect arcs and circles, archaeological sketches are usually made as freehand drawings on-site in difficult conditions (rain, mud) using pencils (which can be too faint) or pens (which can be too thick and whose ink may bleed, thereby causing a loss of sharp drawing detail). The vectorization of these sketches can be difficult and require workarounds ...

Read more ...

If you are a Scan2CAD user and would like to showcase your business in our newsletter and on our web site please email us.

Converting PDF to CAD - Scan2CAD and PDF2CAD are a perfect match

There are two types of PDF file, raster and vector. Raster PDF files are normally created by scanning a paper drawing and saving it as PDF. Vector PDF files are normally created by saving PDF from a CAD program.

To find out whether your PDF file is raster or vector, see our Quick Tip at the bottom of this newsletter.

Scan2CAD Pro converts raster PDF files to CAD, but to convert a vector file to PDF, you need a dedicated vector PDF converter such as PDF2CAD.

We are now offering a Scan2CAD Pro / PDF2CAD bundle that will allow you to convert both raster and vector PDF files, saving $100 over the combined list price of the two products. Click here for more information.

PDF2CAD are also offering readers of this newsletter a $20 discount on a standalone copy of PDF2CAD. To take advantage of their offer, enter coupon code SC0908P2C into the PDF2CAD order form when ordering your copy of PDF2CAD. Click here to visit PDF2CAD's web site.

Scan2CAD now available in Polish

Following the appointment of Uslugi Informatyczne Szansa (UIS) as our Polish distributor, Scan2CAD has been successfully translated into Polish. Founded in 2000, UIS is also the Polish translator and distributor of ZWCAD, an affordable Chinese 2D and 3D CAD program which uses DWG as its native file format and of PDF2CAD, a vector PDF converter which fits well as the "flipside" of Scan2CAD. In addition, ASCON, the producer of KOMPAS-3D CAD/CAM software, has recently appointed UIS as its distributor in Poland.

Gabriela Ciszynska-Matuszek, UIS's cheerful owner, says "As the official ZWCAD distributor in Poland we are always looking to supply our market with cost-effective CAD and design solutions. Scan2CAD is a professional raster to vector converter available at a price many Poles can afford. Our market research has shown us that there are many professional CAD users in Poland who can benefit from raster to vector conversion. We look forward to selling and supporting the Polish version of Scan2CAD in Poland with the assistance of Softcover."

Polish Scan2CAD raster to vector converter web site

Scanners4CAD - large format scanner news, views and buying advice

www.scanners4cad.com

The latest edition of Scanners4CAD includes a review of Contex's new CIS SD Series large format scanners, aimed at users wanting to scan technical drawings.

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Quick tip - How to tell whether your PDF file is raster or vector

PDF files come in two varieties - raster and vector. If your PDF file is raster, you can use Scan2CAD Pro to convert it to DXF for editing in your CAD or CNC program. However if it is vector, you need a dedicated vector PDF converter such as PDF2CAD.

There are various ways of determining whether a PDF file is raster or vector. Here are two.

Load your PDF file into Scan2CAD Pro or the Scan2CAD Trial version

If Scan2CAD loads it in and the drawing is displayed, it is raster.

If Scan2CAD displays the message "Scan2CAD found no raster images", it is vector.

Note that there are also PDF files that are vector but that contain raster images within them. In this case, Scan2CAD will load the raster images.

Load your PDF file into Adobe Reader 8, then click on it

If nothing happens, the PDF file is vector.

If the drawing is highlighted in blue, it is raster.

If you have a Scan2CAD tip you would like to share, please email postmaster@softcover.com.

And finally ...

We all need to write in our daily lives, particularly now that email has become such a ubiquitous form of communication. Here are some tips on How to Write Good.

Avoid alliteration. Always.
Prepositions are not words to end sentences with.
Avoid cliches like the plague. (They're old hat.)
Employ the vernacular.
Eschew ampersands & abbreviations, etc.
Parenthetical remarks (however relevant) are unnecessary.
It is wrong to ever split an infinitive.
Contractions aren't necessary.
Foreign words and phrases are not apropos.
One should never generalize.
Eliminate quotations. As Ralph Waldo Emerson once said: "I hate quotations. Tell me what you know."
Comparisons are as bad as cliches.
Don't be redundant; don't use more words than necessary; it's highly superfluous.
Profanity sucks.
Be more or less specific.
Understatement is always best.
Exaggeration is a billion times worse than understatement.
One-word sentences? Eliminate.
Analogies in writing are like feathers on a snake.
The passive voice is to be avoided.
Go around the barn at high noon to avoid colloquialisms.
Even if a mixed metaphor sings, it should be derailed.
Who needs rhetorical questions?

(Normally attributed to Frank L Visco.)