Adobe Portable Document Format .PDF File Description

Portable Document Format, .PDF, is a file format used for document exchange. PDF is used for representing two-dimensional documents. PDF was created by Adobe Systems.

 

File Structure

A .PDF. file consists primarily of eight object types.

Import Options Dialog

See PDF Import Options Dialog

 

Export Options Dialog

Use the File | Export | Graphic command to export as a PDF (Raster) (*.PDF) file or a PDF (Vector) (*.PDF) file. Alternately, you can use the File | Print command to print to a PDF driver if you have one installed.

 

GeoPDF Import and Export

When a GeoPDF file with a defined coordinate system is imported into Strater as a base map in a map view window, the PDF is imported with the correct map coordinates and coordinate system.

 

When a map with a defined coordinate system is exported to a vector PDF file format, a GeoPDF file is created. The scaling source for the GeoPDF is changed on the Scaling tab in the Export Options dialog.

 

When a map with a defined coordinate system is exported to a raster PDF, the georeference options for the GeoPDF are changed on the Scaling and Spatial References tabs in the Export Options dialog. The Internal file format option must be checked on the Spatial References page to create a raster GeoPDF.

 

Only a single map object can be exported to a GeoPDF. If other drawn objects (legends, scale bars, text, etc.) exist in the Strater file, select the map object prior to clicking the Export command and check the Selected objects only check box in the Export dialog.

 

An add-on, such as TerraGo toolbar, may be needed to view the GeoPDF options in Adobe's Acrobat or PDF Reader programs. The map layer and map must have an assigned coordinate system in Strater prior to the export.

 

 

See Also

Adobe Acrobat .PDF Raster Export Options Dialog

Adobe Acrobat .PDF Vector Export Options Dialog

File Format Chart