Import PDF as New Project

Although most drawings supplied by architects, consultants etc. are created in applications that can provide useful, to-scale, editable drawings in DWG format, it is becoming more and more common that the drawings' authors supply only PDF files.  Historically this has been a source of difficulty for AV integrators since PDF files cannot be used or edited in the same way as native vector files like DWG, but Stardraw Design 7.3 is able to import PDFs in such a way as to provide editable drawings..

The Import PDF tool will create a new Project file in SD7.3 with a drawing tab for each page in the source PDF file.

Where the source PDF contains vector objects - like lines, polygons, text etc - these objects will be converted to equivalent objects in SD7.3, allowing you to edit them like native objects.

To create a project from a PDF file just choose File | Import PDF as New Project

Notes and Hints

PDF files can be made up of vector objects, rasters (images) or a mixture of both. It is usually impossible to tell, just by looking at the PDF in a Viewer, exactly what its composition may be.

• When SD7.3 encounters a vector object it will create an equivalent object that can be edited in SD7.3 e.g. a line, polygon, text object etc.

• When SD7.3 encounters a raster object, i.e. an image, it will display that image within the drawing but, of course, images cannot be edited natively within SD7.3.

• In some PDFs what looks like text might not actually be text; the process that converts text from the source drawing into 'text' in the PDF might represent letters as line objects and curve objects.  SD7.3 cannot convert lines and curves back into the real text they represent so, in some cases, you might find that letters are just lines etc, so the text is not editable in the normal way.

• On import, all the objects in each drawing will be grouped.  This makes it quick to render and scale the drawing.  If you want to edit individual objects in the drawing you must either Ungroup it or use the Unlock Cursor.

• Importing a PDF file creates a new project.  To include a drawing from an imported PDF in an existing project simply Copy (Ctrl+C) the objects in the drawing, go to the other project and Paste (Ctrl+V)

• Important: the size of a PDF page is based on a 'paper size' e.g. 8.5" x 11" or A4, which means that the imported drawing is unlikely to be the actual size of the thing(s) it represents e.g. a building floorplan; it will be much, much smaller. This means that symbols inserted immediately after import will usually appear much, much too large relative to the drawing.  It is usually necessary to 'scale up' imported PDF drawings to get them back to the 1:1 scale of the original drawing.  The movie below shows how to scale imported PDF drawings.