RealCADD 5.40

[Eric Pousse]

Bonjour,

Here's an explanation of the main new features in this version:

The new version of RealCADD, version 5.40, allows you to work with pdf files in 2 new ways.
Previously you could only import pdf files into your drawings as images.
This option still exists, as does the ability to import jpg, pgn or other images.

With RealCADD 5.40, 2 new possibilities are offered:
- An annotation mode for pdf files,
- Vector data extraction from pdf files.

To do this, a new 'PDF' item has been added to the 'File' menu, with 3 commands:
- Annotate a pdf...
- Extract from a pdf...
- Export as PDF...

The 'Annotate a pdf...' command lets you select a pdf file and open it in a special annotation mode.
In this mode, the pages of the pdf file are displayed as background images without being selectable.
And you can draw on these pages with all the tools and capabilities of RealCADD.
You can save your file in RealCADD format so that you can reopen it later and continue your annotations.
When you have finished making annotations, use the "Export as pdf..." command to create a new pdf file using the original pdf file plus your annotations.
The "Export as pdf..." command only works for annotated pdf files.
As before, to create a pdf file from another drawing, you need to use the print function.

The "Extract from a pdf..." command, as its name suggests, extracts as many vector objects as possible (lines, polygons, text) from the pdf file.
Of course, there's no point in trying this command with a pdf file generated by a scan...
The pdf files must be vector pdf files, i.e. generated directly from a computer.
The aim of this mode is not to have a perfectly exact representation of the pdf but to recover as many vector objects as possible.
It is therefore possible to recover objects that are outside the visible areas of the pdf or that extend beyond these areas.
Bitmap images are not read.
The quality of text recovery depends on its encoding and there may be some loss of text.
Some software transforms text into polygons.
Vector objects are recovered as they were defined when the pdf file was created.
For example, dotted lines can be recognised as a succession of small lines and not as a single line.
Another example is that backgrounds are defined by some software as a multitude of triangles rather than polygons.
So the number of objects recovered can be high even for a fairly simple file.
For pdf files with several pages, the vector objects retrieved from the second page onwards are offset by the height of the previous pages plus a margin.

Please try out different pdf files and let me know if there are any problems by sending me the problem files.

Cordialement.

[debenriver]

Mostly it works very well. I'm amazed how much I use both Annotation and Extraction – often in things far removed from designing or drawing.

It's made dealing with many official forms and all sorts of PDF documents used in bookkeeping or record keeping so much better and easier to deal with.

Getting back to drawing/designing – any thoughts on gradually developing a 3-D aspect to RealCADD?

Cheers -- George

[Eric Pousse]

Bonjour George,

I have no plan for adding 3D in RealCADD.
It will be a very big work and I never used 3D.

Cordialement.

[debenriver]

Hi Eric

I've just realized that I only have v. 5.32b9 – The zip file for v. 5.40 on the download page seems to actually open as v 5.31??

Cheers -- George

[Eric Pousse]

Bonjour George,

Thank you very much !
It is solved now.

Cordialement.

[debenriver]

Hi Eric

Great - downloaded just fine now!

I have two PDF's that RealCADD can't extract – both are scans of a document. I've tried opening them in Preview and then exporting them again as a PDF (this works when Adobe won't print properly, which seems to be quite common!), but that didn't make any difference.

I assume it's because they are scanned PDF's?

And one of them I rotated and saved as a PDF again and that caused RealCADD to crash.

Crash!
Error Type
'OutOfBoundsException' in
Method/ Class'WDessin:DoRotateAll'

It will Annotate OK – both the original and the rotated version.

Cheers -- George

[Eric Pousse]

Bonjour George,

Yes, object extraction does not work on scanned PDF's.

Cordialement.

[Mikerosen]

Bonjour, Eric and George!

I hope you're both doing well. I haven't been around much. Since I've stopped doing cabinet installations, and only building them in my shop, business has dropped off. And since a minor stroke a year ago, and heading towards retirement (I'm 75!) it doesn't bother me that much. I don't use the app as often. But I still use it, and I'm quite pleased with it.

I have two questions about 5.4: Where is the download link, and, do I really need it, since it appears that the PDF function is the only change?

[debenriver]

Hi Mike!

Nice to hear from you. I built a Murphy bed recently in our apartment here and I spent a lot of time looking on your site. Because you use them I also used Create a Bed metalwork etc., and it indeed indeed excellent. My floor was 2" out of level in the length of the bed (I built a horizontal one) and the wall over 1" out in the height – so I had to do a bit of careful measuring and modification! But it all turned out very well.

Don't retire too soon Mike! I'm 80 and not retired, though I'm slower at some things than I was; and I don't go climbing up ladders etc. like I did! But keep the old mind active!

The download page is here:

https://adx-online.com/realcadd/RealCADD_downloads.html

I have found the PDF >> Extract from a pdf ... incredibly useful. Filling in forms for example – extract the form, fill it in in RealCADD and then export it back to PDF. But the most useful thing I have found is to be able to extract really accurate and usable RealCADD files from all my old ClarisCad files that were exported to PDF. I'm sure that would work for pretty much any vector drawing program.

So if you've got old files in another program that you'd like to open in RealCADD, just export them to PDF (via Apple's Print function) and then extract them in RealCADD, using the new PDF >> Extract function. Takes a few seconds!!

I think that 5.40 is slightly slower with very big drawings, so I keep the previous version as well to use with those – I could be wrong of course!

Cheers -- George

[Eric Pousse]

Bonjour Mike,

The list of changes in version 5.40 is :
- Add pdf annotation mode and extract objects from a pdf
- Add a tool "Text with spline and line"
- Add icon to switch on/off the "highlight objects"
- Add a preference to unselect tools after one use
- Some improvements and bug fixes

Voilà !
Cordialement.