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

See PDF Import Options Dialog

 

Export

Use the File | Export 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

When a map with a defined coordinate system is exported to a vector PDF file format, a GeoPDF file is created. 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 the GeoPDF.

 

Only a single map object can be exported to a GeoPDF. If multiple map objects exist in the MapViewer file, all maps should be overlaid before exporting. If other drawn objects (legends, scale bars, text, etc.) exist in the MapViewer file, these objects should be temporarily deleted before exporting.

 

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 MapViewer prior to the export.

 

GeoPDF files can be imported as a base map in MapViewer.

 

 

See Also

Adobe Acrobat .PDF Raster Export Options Dialog

Adobe Acrobat .PDF Vector Export Options Dialog

Adobe Acrobat .PDF Import Automaton Options

Adobe Acrobat .PDF Export Automation Options

File Format Chart