topic Re: PDF to Shapefile in Data Management Questions

PDF to Shapefile

AndrewMartinez4 — Tue, 13 Sep 2016 19:32:36 GMT

Any suggestion on how I could transform blueprints in a pdf to a shapefile in ArcMap10.3.?

Re: PDF to Shapefile

ChrisDonohue__GISP — Tue, 13 Sep 2016 19:41:50 GMT

In most cases PDFs cannot easily be transformed directly into shapefiles as the process to create most PDFs rasterizes the data. So the big question then is, for your pdf, has it been rasterized? One way to check is to open the PDF in Adobe Acrobat and then use the pointer tool to click on something that in theory is linework. If the whole pdf gets selected ,or you get rectangular or square "blocks" of selection instead of the linework, it probably has all been rasterized.

Chris Donohue, GISP

Re: PDF to Shapefile

NeilAyres — Tue, 13 Sep 2016 19:44:19 GMT

I have sucessfully used udc (universal document converter) to translate pdf pages to image files like jpg or tiff. Even in batch mode.

After that then you will have to georeference the images and capture the data either manually (by editing) or with tools like ArcScan.

Sorry, no auto magic solution.

Re: PDF to Shapefile

AndrewMartinez4 — Tue, 13 Sep 2016 19:45:13 GMT

Someone suggested this process, has anyone tried this?

Corel Draw is a good solution. However, a combination between Corel Draw and Wintopo will enhance your products.

1. Make use of Corel to select extracted features. By the way, delete unnecessary things such as text, symbols and some other labels.
2. Export this Corel Draw to TIFF file
3. Use of Wintopo to vectorize the image
4. Use of Wintopo to register the output into the designed coordinate system (just input 4 corners of X,Y)
5. Use of Wintopo to export results into Shapefile.