Import pdf's

[Thom]

I would like to see the ability to import pdf files - at least in the Windows version.

[Kevin]

Don't know about the Windows version, but the Mac version imports PDF files just fine. Go to File>Import>Import Image File...

[michael john williams]

In windows it does it as a jpg and it would be great to import / export in pdf aswell.

[jan15]

In Acrobat Reader (I use v. 6), you can use the "Snapshot" tool to copy all or part of the file to the clipboard, and if you then Paste into VectorWorks, you get that snapshot as a bitmap.

[Kevin]

jan15: I have never used "Snapshot". Is this the equivalent of a screen capture? How is the resolution? Captured Screen Shots are low resolution and I find are often unacceptable for printing.

[alanmac]

quote:

---

Originally posted by michael john williams:

In windows it does it as a jpg and it would be great to import / export in pdf aswell.

---

pdf is not an export option but a printing one, nothing to do with exporting like a jpeg.

[michael john williams]

Alan

But thats the point, it would be good to be able to convert or import / export in pdf format to allow clients to open and print as they do not have VW.

There is no point and no value to just being able to print in pdf.

[alanmac]

Michael

What you describe you want for your clients is exactly what you do with a pdf.

I must assume from your response you do not understand pdf's and how they work but are prepared, as you do with Vectorworks, to critize something you don't fully understand.

There is great value in being able to print "to" pdf.

All anybody, such as your clients, needs is the free issue Acrobat Reader to open a pdf and print it if needs be. They can even print it to the size of their printing capability, Reader will scale it.

In fact to many people this is the ideal way of sending a design. Rather than sending a client a file, say your VW file they could alter, pass on etc, you send them a pdf.

I use it also to send files to print bureaus to print plans bigger than my inhouse capabilities. In that way they don't need VW, Autocad, or any other CAD program to print my A1 or A0 sized drawings.

If I sound a little curt its because all I ever see from your post is compliants about Vectorworks etc, when it turns out most of the time it's your lack of knowledge or understanding to be at fault not VW.

I'm sure help would be a lot more forthcoming if you were not looking for any opportunity to have a dig at Vectorworks or anybody that stands up for it in your posts.

[ 04-28-2005, 08:41 AM: Message edited by: alanmac ]

[Kevin]

I now realize that I may have completely missed the intent of this topic. Yes, a PDF can be imported as an image file. However there is a downside in that the quality of the image degrades.

The PDF is converted to either a JPEG or PNG. This conversion reduces image quality. If you were to import a PDF into VW and then print that VW file back to PDF, you would NOT have a duplicate file. The second generation would be of lesser quality.

The ability to move a PDF in and out of VW without the loss of quality would be a significant gain in productivity for me.

[michael john williams]

Alan

Thanks for enlightening me.......but rather then spending your time criticising perhaps it would be more helpful if you can describe how you can actually send a VW file in pdf format rather than jpg as you claim you can.

As Kevin rightly points out jpf is not as good quality as pdf and also is a bigger file size for emailing.

Remember that this is a wish list section and not a complement list section and so I am certainly not going to waste my time describing how wonderful VW is!

Unlike Alan, I do not claim to be a VW expert, but I certainly know more than most and I use this site to learn more and complain when things do not work - which I understand to be the whole purpose of the site - a techboard and not a loveboard!

[alanmac]

Kevin

Yes I think what tvetter wanted was the reverse of what happens when you create a pdf.

Import a pdf as lines into Vectorworks just as you would dxf etc. at least that's what I think they mean.

As a side note to the pdf printing, I understand there is a plugin utility you can buy which allows you to measure from within a pdf. Could be useful for received pdf's or even for associates, clients to use. Here is the link if it helps anybody.

http://www.linetype.com/products/linescale/index.htm

regards

Alan

Alan

[Delmer]

A small point to the contrary is that at present I like the fact that PDFs are something like digital bluprints. They're not easily manipulable and I kind of rely on that to a certain degree when I give them to people. If they could be imported and adjusted I might love the advantages but I'd have think twice about how I use and distribute them.

[alanmac]

Hi Delmer

I'm not sure as I only use a basic pdf creator but I think with something like Acrobat Distiller you can set passwords and levels of document accessability, editing, printing etc. to help prevent changes being made but I take your point.

As I said before pdf makes it ideal as a way of passing drawings around to people without CAD software.

Alan

[ 04-28-2005, 04:18 PM: Message edited by: alanmac ]

[Kevin]

Alan is correct. You can make your PDF documents read only.

[Delmer]

alan, so you are right! I hadn't even looked into that aspect of Acrobat. Opens up a whole new world of potential / can of worms.

I retract my earlier caution.

[ 04-28-2005, 04:58 PM: Message edited by: Delmer ]

[alanmac]

There is another advantage to VW drawing pdfs I've found.

From a presentation point of view, and it does depend on how you've created your objects, one of the other things I like about pdf's is that if you have Photoshop and you bring a Vectorworks created pdf into Photoshop it won't have the "background" like a jpeg, just the lines drawn in Vectorworks.

So you could float a Vecterworks drawing over the top of another image, say photgraph etc. in Photoshop for certain types of presentations without the white background blocking the underlying image. You just see your lines and the image below.

I think you have to ensure any object has "None" as it fill attribute. Easily done even if you change it back again for other things.

I'm sure the same happens in Illustrator but I don't use it to confirm.

It's like exporting an eps, because I think, but not 100%, that in the process of creating the pdf it converts to eps. So you could do the same with exporting your drawing as an eps and then import, "rastering away" as Photoshop does, to get your background free VW lines image.

Alan

[ 04-28-2005, 05:28 PM: Message edited by: alanmac ]

[jan15]

quote:

---

Originally posted by Kevin:

How is the resolution?

---

Bitmap graphics in the PDF file come into VW with the same number of pixels they had in the PDF file. Texts in a PDF file are vector graphics -- i.e. they have variable pixel size depending on zoom factor -- but they go to the clipboard, and come into VW, as bitmaps, with the same number of pixels they were displayed with at the time you took the snapshot (i.e. at that zoom factor). So if you want high resolution vector-graphics text just like in Acrobat Reader, it's better to use the Text Select tool in Acrobat Reader and then Copy that, and then when you paste into VW you get a VW text object that you can format as you wish.

[ 04-28-2005, 11:46 PM: Message edited by: jan15 ]

[Kevin]

Thanks for the link, Alan. Could be a useful tool. Unfortunately for me it is Windows only, not OS X.

[alanmac]

Originally posted by michael john williams:

[QB] Alan

"Thanks for enlightening me.......but rather then spending your time criticising perhaps it would be more helpful if you can describe how you can actually send a VW file in pdf format rather than jpg as you claim you can."

From your attitude I thought you knew! What would be more helpful is a change in your attitude towards Vectorworks. You feel inclined to spend your time criticising VW at every opportunity so it's a two way street.

"As Kevin rightly points out jpf is not as good quality as pdf and also is a bigger file size for emailing."

"Rightly points out", Kevin may know about pdf's. What experience do you have in quality between pdf and jpg or even the differences. You make the inference you share the same level of knowledge.

"Remember that this is a wish list section and not a complement list section and so I am certainly not going to waste my time describing how wonderful VW is!"

But you never do, in any post - 90% to 95% the negative

"Unlike Alan, I do not claim to be a VW expert, but I certainly know more than most and I use this site to learn more and complain when things do not work - which I understand to be the whole purpose of the site - a techboard and not a loveboard!"

Never claimed to be an expert, but I also don't make incorrect statements about a program when it's in fact its a lack of personal knowledge not the inability of the program. We've been through this before when you moaned about VW and how much better Autocad Lt and Sketch Up was etc.etc.

You've only got to do a search on your posts, if anybody can be bothered, to see where I'm coming from and the reason I'm short with you.

Vectorworks is far from perfect and not above criticism.But most of the time your contribution to any thread is to complain.

I'd love to and gladly give you as much help and advice as I can within the sphere of knowledge I've garnered from using Vectorworks and the help other users have given me etc. but I'm afraid I've been put off by your constant sniping to feel that way inclined.

[alanmac]

Hi Kevin

It is only Windows !!. You know I got the details originaly via the Architosh site which is a Mac centric site and naturally assumed it to be Mac or at least both.

Oh well, hardly a good enough reason to switch platforms. Maybe they'll get round to a OSX version. Maybe a few emails from Mac users will prompt them.

All the best

Alan

[michael john williams]

Alan

I have read your comments a number of times....but I still can not see how you can import and open a pdf file or save a VW file as a pdf file within Vectorworks. It is not described in the manuel and the only image files are gif, jpg, tif and bmp. The whole simple purpose of this thread, as I understand it, was to wish that NNA would add this facility to VW.

I am not going to enter a personnel battle with you, but all my previous comments are valid and have an equal right to be placed on the board. If I did not like VW I wouldn't be using it. I just want to learn more on how to use it and improve it, which I would of thought most users want to do.

[alanmac]

Michael

I don't deny your right to comments within this Forum, freedom of speech is high on my list of human rights as I'm sure it is yours.

Fine, you want to learn more, but as I said to me you seem to either make an enquiry on the premise that Vectorworks cannot do something or is lacking or its just to jump in on somebody elses thread if they are complaining. Anyway for the sake of the other poor members I'll say no more.

With regard to pdf, its not a case of exporting your file as a pdf but creating a pdf from your file, if that makes sense.

You won't find any reference to pdf's in the manual because its not an export/import option.

You install a pdf creator like a printer because that's what it does, "prints" your file to pdf. But instead of a file on paper its in pdf - portable document format, which you use Acrobat Reader to view and if need be print from.

So just like your Epson, HP or Canon printer you install your pdf printer, which can be used by any program, not just Vectorworks.

You install it in the same way in Windows but it's not a physical printer but an electronic one.

All pdf creators should create a pdf that can be read by the Adobe free issue Acrobat Reader, download it from their site if you don't have it. Many software programs use pdf files of their manuals on install discs etc and usually include it on the disc just in case. Version 7 is the latest but you won't have a problem even if you have 5,6 etc.

Now you need to obtain a pdf creator program. Adobe will sell you their Acrobat Distiller for around ?200 which is highly capable but will probably do far more than you'll need.

I use two programs, a cut down version of Adobe's which I got pre installed on my PC and pdf995 a free version of the net, which is like winzip, free to use but for a small fee the "nag" pop ups disapear.

Download it from their site. If you also download the edit program you can then merge several pdf's into one.

For example pages of a quote created in Word printed to pdf, VW plans etc. printed to pdf and some colour visuals as jpegs printed to pdf. In the edit program you can change the page sequence, add, remove pages then create a single pdf with all your other pdf's as pages in the single pdf document.

Its usual small, easily emailed and opens automaticaly with Acrobat Reader - provided you have that program on your computer - most people do, or get it free.

Alan

[ 04-29-2005, 04:25 AM: Message edited by: alanmac ]

[alanmac]

Michael

I'll add that I've never had occasion to want to "import" a pdf into VW so the original posters wish is something I don't disagree with but I'm sure as in broad terms a pdf is an "image" its possible.

I should also point out that pdf995 page sizes take into account you are a "Autocad user" so you can go up to A1 etc. Some others only do the standard sized "paper" most people use A4 A3 etc.

I'm sure once you get the hang of it you'll never go back to sending jpeg images to clients again.

Alan

[ 04-29-2005, 04:40 AM: Message edited by: alanmac ]

[jan15]

I second (actually 3rd or 4th, I guess) the recommendation of the program "pdf995" for exporting to PDF format. I use it all the time. It works perfectly and effortlessly.