A PDF file can contain one or more PDF pages, and Scan2CAD will ask you whether you want to load all of the pages in the file, or just selected pages.

A PDF is also unique in the sense that it may contain raster elements, vector elements or both.

A page that contains only raster entities will often have been created by scanning a drawing and saving it as PDF.

A page that contains vector entities has normally been created by saving a drawing as PDF from a CAD program. It may contain vector entities only, or it main contain raster entities as well, often a logo or photograph.

 Scan2CAD allows you to load any PDF page, whether it contains raster entities, vector entities or both.

You do not need to know in advance what type of elements are contained in the specific PDF page you are working with, as Scan2CAD will notify you as you load it in.

If your page contains both raster and vector entities, you can either load the raster entities, the vector entities or both.

Click or select File Menu > Raster > Load.

Click or select File Menu > Vector > Load.

File Menu > PDF > Load.

If the PDF file contains more than one page, click Next to select the next page. Click Last to select the previous page.

To jump to a known page in the PDF file, type the number of the page you want to jump to in the white page number box and then click Next.

If the Raster option is selected in the PDF Page Select dialog, the page you have selected contains raster entities.

If you do not want to load the raster entities, deselect the Raster option.

When you deselect the Raster option, the raster entities are no longer displayed on the screen.

If the Vector option is selected in the PDF Page Select dialog, the page you have selected contains vector entities.

If you do not want to load the vector entities, deselect the Vector option.

When you deselect the Vector option, the vector entities are no longer displayed on the screen.

The PDF page is loaded into Scan2CAD.

If you have loaded color or grayscale raster entities, the Warning: Color Image dialog may appear. If it does, select an appropriate option and click OK.

You can turn the Warning: Color Image dialog off by:

Selecting the Do not show this message again option on the dialog.

Deselecting File Menu > Raster > Options > Color Display Warning.

If you have turned the Warning: Color Image dialog off, you can reactivate it by selecting File Menu > Raster > Options > Color Display Warning.

You can also load a PDF file by starting up Scan2CAD then dragging the PDF file from Windows Explorer into the open Scan2CAD window.

If you have loaded raster entities …

Raster entities are loaded into Scan2CAD as a raster image, just like any other raster image such as TIFF or JPEG.

You can use Scan2CAD’s raster viewing and editing tools to view and edit the raster image.

If you want to save the raster image as DXF for editing in your CAD program, you must first use Scan2CAD’s vectorization tools to convert it to vectors.

Raster images loaded from PDF pages potentially suffer the same quality issues as any other raster image. Before vectorizing the image, work through the Raster Quality Checklist and the Raster Text Quality Checklist.

If you have loaded vector entities …

Vector entities are loaded into Scan2CAD as a vector image.

You can use Scan2CAD’s vector viewing and editing tools to view and edit the vectors.

Because the vector PDF file is already a vector image, you do not need to vectorize it in order to save it as DXF for editing in your CAD program. Once you have loaded the vector PDF file into Scan2CAD, you can immediately save it as DXF by clicking or using File Menu > Vector > Save As.

If you have loaded both raster and vector entities

When you load both raster and vector entities into Scan2CAD, the raster entities are loaded as a raster image and the vector entities are loaded as a vector image.

As with any other raster and vector image in Scan2CAD, the vector image is displayed superimposed over the raster image (see View the raster image, the vector image or both images).

If you vectorize the raster image, the new vectors will be added to the vectors that were loaded from the PDF file.

In a PDF file containing both raster and vector entities the drawing – the bit you actually want to edit in your CAD program – is very often vector. The raster content is often a logo, a photograph or something similar that you do not want to edit.

In this instance, once the PDF file is in Scan2CAD, simply save it as DXF by clicking or using File Menu > Vector > Save As.

IMPORTANT NOTE: If you want the raster image to be loaded into your CAD program along with the vectors, you MUST ensure that File Menu > Vector > DXF Export Options > Attach Raster Image is selected before saving.

If File Menu > PDF > Import Options > Always Display Vector Colors on Load is selected, vectors loaded from a PDF file are always displayed by color rather than by type.

If File Menu > Vector > DXF Export Options > Vectors -> Color Layers is selected, PDF vectors will be saved to layers in the DXF file according to their color. The original PDF vector color will be mapped to the nearest color in the AutoCAD palette. If Vectors -> True Color is selected, PDF vectors will be saved in their original colors but will not be saved to layers.

Problems? See Troubleshooting PDF file loading, Technical support