insert a pdf image

[Douglas]

What is the process to bring a pdf file into a DC drawing?
Just as an un-editable image.
I regularly print DC drawings to pdf for distribution, however it would be really helpful to know how to insert a pdf image into one of my drawings.
Failing that, whats the best way to convert a pdf into a jpeg, without having to print a hard copy and scan it back into the computer.
Thanks

[Rob S]

To do the conversion, easy way would be to take a screenshot of the pdf file.

Depending on what pdf software you have, you may be able to save an image file from it.

[Dr PR]

If you open the PDF in Acrobat Reader you can left click on the image to select it. Then right click on the image and use the "Copy Image" option to copy the picture to the Windows "clipboard."

Then open DesignCAD and paste the image into the drawing.

You can also open any drawing program and paste the image into the drawing, then save it as a JPEG or PNG. Then import the image into DesignCAD.

Phil

[adriank]

I can only select the text on my Adobe Reader - and that only by going to 'select all'. If there are embedded images in the file it may select it, but if you printed to PDF from DCad the file stays as vectors and can't be selected.

I use Paintshop Pro as my image editing program, and that opens PDFs without any problems at all which can then be saved as a JPG in whatever resolution you specify.

There seems to be a boundless selection of free pdf-to-jpg convertors on the internet, including online options to save you installing any program on your computer. I've not used them but I should imagine you will get a better resolution than the screenshot option, which limits the resolution to whatever you can display on screen.

Adrian

[Rob S]

Sorry, ran out of time yesterday to provide some more details

For quick and dirty images, where screen resolution is sufficient, copy and paste works well enough.  You can use windows snipping tool, or the likes of  free Foxit reader has a snapshot tool for screen resolution.

If you want a better quality image to import into Designcad, then the Tracker Software pdf x-change editor free version can export images from pdf pages containing mixed content at specified resolution to most any image format.   Cute pdf pro also has an image export function, where you can specify your desired resolution.

If you want to import vector content from a vector-based pdf documat, such as you might get by printing to pdf from designcad or autocad, then one of the pdf to cad conversion programs can provide excellent results, which will be scaleable.  You might get 2 or 3 digits of precision, where cad itself provides 8 or 16 digits.

So there is medicine out there for whatever needs you may have 

[Dr PR]

Adrian,

Acrobat Reader can be hard to control sometimes. You have to be very careful with the "Selection Tool" to actually select what you want. Sometimes it just doesn't work.

If you have problems selecting images check the Document Properties. The originator of the PDF may have blocked copy/paste from the PDF file. In this case I open them in Photoshop, change the protections and copy the images or text.

But if images are embedded in an unlocked PDF file I normally just left click on them and then copy them.

Adobe Reader also has a "Snapshot Tool" - you just draw a selection rectangle around part of the screen and the image is copied to the windows clipboard. You can then paste it. But as Rob noted, the image is limited to the screen resolution.

Phil

[rccon]

I often use the print screen key, ctrl+v to irfanview, crop to the part I want, ctrl+c then ctrl+v to designcad. That way I don't have to figure out the commands for whatever program the image is in. I also use this for printing things from websites so I don't get extra pages or wierd formatting.

[Dr PR]

The only problem with PrintScreen is that you get an image size in pixels of the part of the screen showing the image. This is limited by the screen size in pixels. The original image may be much larger in pixels. However, if you are using a 4K monitor you can get an image large enough to print at 300 dpi up to about 12" wide.

If the resolution visible on the screen is good enough, fine. But don't try to print the image very large.

I have occasionally zoomed in on a map image and used Print Screen to capture small parts of the overall image. Then I pasted the parts together in Photoshop to get a large high resolution image of the map.

Don't try to import multiple images that are part of a larger image into DesignCAD at the same scale until you understand the points in this post:

http://forum.designcadcommunity.com/index.php?topic=5486.0

Phil

[adriank]

I now have the 'snipping tool' installed so I can save to the clipboard only the portion of the screen I need, which saves using an image editor to crop off the program toolboxes etc. If you have multiple screens set up on your computer 'prtsc' will save an image of all the screens as one image so you have plenty to crop off.
I agree with Phil about the limitations of resolution using that method & I too have spent hours on occasion piecing together high resolution maps out of multiple screen shots. Frequently I've done Google Earth images that way until I realized that Google Earth Pro (which allows you to save images at any resolution you want - 'max' of course, what else) is now FREE!

Adrian

[Dr PR]

Adrian,

Thanks for the tip about Google Earth Pro!

Phil

[adriank]

Phil, the fact that it's free is not well advertised, but appears to be a genuine thing - not an illegal hack.
Follow the instructions on this webpage:
https://www.digitaltrends.com/computing/how-to-get-google-earth-pro-for-free/

Adrian

[Rob S]

No need for any special access - just go direct to google earth website for latest version.

https://www.google.com/earth/download/gep/agree.html

When I first got it a year or so ago, it was crashing much more than the old version, but it has now been updated again, seems better

Unfortunately, no more panoramio in either version

We found lots of neat places to go and not to go by looking at the pictures people had posted

[adriank]

Yes, I noticed panoramio is gone too - the picture tabs are all there still, just not accessible, but now there is a new giant 'fisheye' type graphic of new photos that blocks out most of the earth view. Why they need to break thing that worked perfectly well is beyond me...