Edit pdf import?

[dbrumbach]

Hi everyone,

After importing a pdf and properly scaling it to match my existing drawing, I would like to easily extract simple shapes from the pdf for use as extrudes in my original drawing?

Thanks in advance.....

[dbrumbach]

I think I answered my own question.

- First I opened the pdf in Adobe Illustrator CS3

- Then exported as a DWG file

- Imported that dwg into Vectorworks (Using VW2010)

- Adjusted the scale to match my drawing

Now I can simply select the 2D shapes from the imported plan and extrude into 3D shapes

[Pat Stanford]

How about just duplicating the PDF and Ungroup it. You will get three objects, a bitmap, a white filled rectangle the size of the page and a group containing all of the vector objects in the file.

[dbrumbach]

Just tried that and it appears that what I am interested in is part of the bitmap. I wonder if that occurs based on the output settings when the pdf was exported from whatever program created it?

[Pat Stanford]

If the information that was used to generate the PDF is Raster (bitmap) and not vector (lines) then the Ungroup won't do you much good as everything will be in the bitmap and nothing in the group.

[Ray Libby]

If you use the Mac built in print to PDF you will have a Raster PDF. If you export to PDF you will have vector data. That's just Vectorworks though. Most of the PDFs I get from AutoCad user have vector data.

[Benson Shaw]

Actually, the print to pdf does create a vector component to the group.

Print a page to PDF>drag/drop pdf onto VW (or import)>ungroup.

Result is a group with a bitmap, a rectangle (the page boundary), and another group with the vectors. As previously mentioned, these vectors are pretty bad representations of the source vectors.

The export pdf does not create better vectors. I horsed around with export/print resolution values, conversion settings, etc and never got any good curves. If someone worked this out, please post the solution!

Use of these vectors for extruding could be dicey, especially the curves. Faceted objects may be safe, but probably import as line segments which need to be composed into polys.

-B