9 replies to this topic

[Dennis Hilborn]

I can insert a pdf into a drawing and draw on top of it.  If I need to insert another pdf I can't get the original lines to show up on top of the second image.  I tried "move" to rear in "common" tab.  That didn't do anything to the image. I tried "move to front" but that didn't do anything to the lines.   I need the second image since it shows the changes to be made to the existing plan.

 

[Keith Almond]

The PDF's cannot be rearranged. They will also in certain circumstances blank out the lines as they appear to stay on top.

 

Try putting each PDF on it's own layer, and switch them on and off as necessary.

[Dennis Hilborn]

I tried that.  Didn't help.  But what I need is to insert a pdf into a drawing with some existing drawing and have it not cover up the existing lines.

The old software had a command to put the image at the bottom of the drawing "stack" so that the line work shows up.

What does the "move to back" command do in the common tab of the image?

[Henry Buckner]

I don't know exactly what you're trying to do but you might be able to accomplish it with multi-drawing. If you overlay the second PDF that way the two shouldn't affect each other.

[Mark Petri]

I put the PDF on it's own drawing and then add it to the plan set page. Keeps things more manageable. You have to have two windows open if drawing lines and notes over the PDF (in the other drawing), but it works with a bit of trial and error. Would be nice if we could actually align things in plan set pages easier (too jumpy with no fine tuning allowed).

[Dennis Hilborn]

Here's what I do in more detail.

 

Start a drawing and insert a pdf of the original house plan using the "Review" pdf import function.  Scale it to the correct scale.

Start drawing over the pfd.  This part works fine.  The lines and walls are on top of the pdf and show up fine.

If I have to insert a second pdf for any reason it shows up on top of the walls and lines previously drawn and covers them up. 

If I edit the pdf, in the common tab there is a button to "move to rear".  Clicking that button should change the draw order so that the lines and walls are on top of the image.  But that button doesn't seem to do anything.

[Keith Almond]

The "MOVE TO FRONT" and "MOVE TO REAR" commands only work with JPG's. PDF's display differently.

 

Are these real PDF's or JPG's in a PDF wrapper. If they are real PDF's, then INKSCAPE (FREE) will be able to save them as DXF's which you can import into Softplan. If they are JPG's then maybe you can resave them as JPG's and use the "MOVE TO" features.

[Paul James]

Are you using the pdf as just a reference to trace, or do you show it in the final plan?

[Dennis Hilborn]

Just to trace.

 

But after much research on the new I find that in SP you do not have as much control as you do with a jpg.  It's just not built in yet so the solution is to convert pdfs to jpg before inserting.

[Keith Almond]

JPG's are RASTER graphics, a PDF (depending on how it's created) should be a VECTOR graphic which is much more accurate.

 

As I said earlier saving it as a DXF file (via INKSCAPE) would be MY preferred method.