Topic Title

Is anyone using the PDF import feature advertised? Is it working? Any issues? We've been waiting to upgrade and if this is truly working it could seal the deal for us.

Yes, it works and depending on your computer's resources and the PDF being imported, will allow up to 600 DPI. You can also convert the DPI once it's imported. The available import options range from 100 DPI to 600 DPI at 100 intervals. The import option also allows you to import at a fixed size (actual PDF sheet size) or Dynamically Sized on placement, including resizing after placement. Another great feature added is the ability to bind PDF's into a single PDF file and this feature works with any PDF's, not just DataCAD prints. We've just had a big tender go out and used it to bind the drawing set and the specification and accompanying docs into 2 single PDF docs. Clients and contractors seem to be preferring this approach rather than lots of individual PDF's.

Yes, I have used it, with very good results. The key thing is to use enough resolution (DPI) to look good enough, but don't go too high, as a really large PDF at high resolution, will slow things down a lot.

A bonus: you can save a new revised version of a PDF with the same name, in the same location - and just refresh it in DataCAD. This makes it very easy to keep things up to date, as a project changes.

Thank you very much. We have multiple items that we need to add to our plans from our local jurisdictions and they are in PDF format. What I have to do now if convert those to a jpeg and import using the bitmap function. It would be great to remove that step.

We also have to submit plans as one pdf not multiple sheets.

One issue that we've always had is the PDF files size DC creates when plotting to PDF. Wish that could get smaller initially without having to use another program to reduce the file size. What type of files sizes are you seeing when binding the files in DataCad?

Thank you very much. We have multiple items that we need to add to our plans from our local jurisdictions and they are in PDF format. What I have to do now if convert those to a jpeg and import using the bitmap function. It would be great to remove that step.

We also have to submit plans as one pdf not multiple sheets.

One issue that we've always had is the PDF files size DC creates when plotting to PDF. Wish that could get smaller initially without having to use another program to reduce the file size. What type of files sizes are you seeing when binding the files in DataCad?

The Import PDF is straight forward. I'd suggest starting at a low DPI, (I think it defaults at 300) but whether it loads depends on your PC and the size of the source PDF. If you load it at the lowest setting (100 DPI) it's more than likely to import, then ctrl-right mouse click to convert it to a higher DPI, which happens real time. You'll get an error message noting not enough system resources once you reach your PC's limit. Obviously the higher the DPI the clearer the image. It's a good feature to add with the other import options available.

Combined output PDF sizes all depend on the individual source PDF sizes. We've noticed if PNG images are used in lieu of JPG's there is a reduction in PDF file sizes, but nothing of great significance. We haven't come across a file size limit from combining PDF's into bound sets. The largest bound set was about 90mB made of sheets with hi res renders. Normal bound sets for A1 drawings without any images average around 300kB - 1.2mB per sheet, and over 4mB for more complex drawings. Overall there appears a minor decrease in the total bound set compared to the total individual sheets. We use Dropbox and One-drive to transfer the PDF sets rather than attachments to emails and just copy the download link into an email.

Thank you very much. We have multiple items that we need to add to our plans from our local jurisdictions and they are in PDF format. What I have to do now if convert those to a jpeg and import using the bitmap function. It would be great to remove that step.

We also have to submit plans as one pdf not multiple sheets.

One issue that we've always had is the PDF files size DC creates when plotting to PDF. Wish that could get smaller initially without having to use another program to reduce the file size. What type of files sizes are you seeing when binding the files in DataCad?

The Import PDF is straight forward. I'd suggest starting at a low DPI, (I think it defaults at 300) but whether it loads depends on your PC and the size of the source PDF. If you load it at the lowest setting (100 DPI) it's more than likely to import, then ctrl-right mouse click to convert it to a higher DPI, which happens real time. You'll get an error message noting not enough system resources once you reach your PC's limit. Obviously the higher the DPI the clearer the image. It's a good feature to add with the other import options available.

Combined output PDF sizes all depend on the individual source PDF sizes. We've noticed if PNG images are used in lieu of JPG's there is a reduction in PDF file sizes, but nothing of great significance. We haven't come across a file size limit from combining PDF's into bound sets. The largest bound set was about 90mB made of sheets with hi res renders. Normal bound sets for A1 drawings without any images average around 300kB - 1.2mB per sheet, and over 4mB for more complex drawings. Overall there appears a minor decrease in the total bound set compared to the total individual sheets. We use Dropbox and One-drive to transfer the PDF sets rather than attachments to emails and just copy the download link into an email.

Our computer systems can handle the larger DPI files so that won't be an issue.

We too use drop box One-drive or wetransfer.com for sending files. Our typical residential set ranges from 30-60mb. Some clients have issues though as they aren't tech savvy and giving them a multiple step download process doesn't always register.