Can PDF schematic file be converted ??

mikediv

Hi guys after working for weeks on a project with my schematic drawing program "circuitmaker2K" somehow when I saved the file it saved it as a PDF file I can read and open it with adobe but I can no longer load it into any of my CAD programs I am total scrwd !!
I literally have been working on this for weeks full time I will have to start over from scratch if I can not figure this out .. I know how I saved it I figured that out I should have paid more attention to file type but now it will only let me access it as a PDF does anyone have any ideas?
I need to pull it back into my CAD program becuase I was going to have boards made but vendor can not use PDF??? I also thought about scanning it back in but software only lets me scan it as a text or picture and same thing CAD program will not recognize it

Brad_H

maybe this?
http://www.pdf2cad.com/

Brad

mikediv

Trying it now thank you Brad I am no expert here but this program says it converts PDF into DFX I am hoping my CAD will read this format
thanks again

kwinn

mikediv, please do update us on any software you try and the results. I am sure you are not the only one to have this problem.

T Chap

Mikediv It is always a good idea to save files for valuable stuff by incrementing a revision number, do this on a daily or weekly basis so at least you can get back to some point in the recent past i.e. mycircuit001 mycircuit002 mycircuit003 This has saved me many times over the years. The other thing to do is to upload all valuable files to a server or just an email with plenty of storage like yahoo in case the drive dies, and they do. I email my important software and circuit files to 3 different yahoo emails, plus keep a USB drive updated at all times. You may look at viewmate and see if they have a PDF import function, but that is a long shot.

mikediv

Thanks guys Todd I hear you it was the darndest thing ,, when you save a file in circuit maker you can pull down the meu underneath it and save as I never noticed it was on PDF I always just left it as default ,,

Kwinn here is waht I have so far the program Brad listed(thank you Brad) mwill let take a PDF file and convert it o a DFX Auto Cad file
its not a clean conversion there are a lot of problems but it will do it DFX is no good to me for the program I am using but I do have autocad 13
so then from autocad you can save file AS and it will let you save a differant file types unfortunatly none that helped me· ,, but then I was able to save output from autocad 13 to Orcad whew then from Orcad I can save file AS a file that Proteous 7 would read then from Proteous 7 I was able to load into Eagle Pro I have lost so much of my desgin though I might have to start over but some of it is better than nothing its a very big file
I think the program Brad listed hasmuch more potential but even though they say free 30 eval its crippled for file types.
I am wondering if I can scan my circuit then read with the program Brad listed and just use that I also think Eagle Pro has the potentail to fix my problem but I do not know how to use it just yet I will keep everyone posted I never realized how many schematics online are actually PDF files
it would be awesome if we could download these sharware circuits and be able to make boards out of them using Eagle or somehting like that
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stamptrol

Mike,

Your experience and Todd's post was a good reminder to us all to ALWAYS have more than one copy of each file we're working on!

At least yesterday's version would save some amount of work.

Cheers,

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Tom Sisk

http://www.siskconsult.com
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Beau Schwabe

I have burned myself too many times ... I save religiously.

For Linux I use rsnapshot not only to my main drive, but to an external USB 1TB drive.
For all of the Windows stuff, since I run VMWare, I make weekly copies of the entire VMWare database to the TB drive.

Not to promote a product, but I think the best $20 I ever spent was on Active@UNDELETE. The reason I mention this particular software is because some programs.. i.e. CAD, Word, Excel type programs will create temporary files that are actually native documents regardless of what you "Save As". After you are done of course they perform a 'clean up' and are deleted, but using something like Active@UNDELETE might allow you to retrieve the temp files and save them under a different name.

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Beau Schwabe

IC Layout Engineer
Parallax, Inc.

T Chap

What you are describing doesn't really add up though. Typically if an app is saving as a different file type, it saves the new file with a different extension right next to the other file name and doesn't delete the other. If in fact you saved the file with a different extension, PDF for example, and the app deleted the original CAD file with it's CAD or other extension, then I would think the other file still exists. If the app deleted the other file, then the other file is likely still on the drive, just shown as a deleted file, but the contents possibly still in tact. Back in the old days when I used pc's, there were programs that allowed one to view erased files on a drive and recover the ones you wanted to. I have done this many many times, but not in a few years. Maybe someone can suggest a software that will allow you to search for the deleted old file name and extension and see if it is still on the drive.

Post Edited (Todd Chapman) : 12/12/2009 4:29:34 AM GMT

T Chap

Back to your original question. Bobcad is a CNC CAD program that you use to create G-code for machines to use for making parts. Bobcad has a module called Bobart you can buy extra that allows importing art into the CAD program, then converting the result to tool path for engraving the art that was read in from the art file. In your case, if you have sharp lines on the PDF then there is a good chance you could import the PDF and convert it to DXF, IGES, DWG, or other file type. I think they offer a 30 day free trial that is fully functional, I don't know if the Bobart option is available in the demo, but you can call them to find out.

Beau Schwabe

Todd Chapman,

What I meant was... sometimes a program will create a native file as a temp file that it uses and makes changes to before you actually save your program. This 'native file' that is created is usually a default file type that the program was designed for and NOT what you would "save as" given the option i.e. a PDF ... in a case such as this it might be possible to retrieve a particular temp file, provide your hard drive hasn't hashed it by writing something else over it before you get a chance to get to it.

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Beau Schwabe

IC Layout Engineer
Parallax, Inc.

mctrivia

i use R-Undelete it can even get back files that have been writen over. with this program I have actually pulled 1TB of usable data off a crashed 500GB Drive.

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24 bit LCD Breakout Board now in. $21.99 has backlight driver and touch sensitive decoder.

Cluso99

mikediv: As Todd said, save often and using incremental numbering. Yes this would not have saved your work, but actually when you reopened it he first time you may have realised. You will note my _rr123 etc is my saving versions. I have been doing this for almost 40 years (minis first).

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· Prop Tools under Development or Completed (Index)
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· Search the Propeller forums·(uses advanced Google search)
My cruising website is: ·www.bluemagic.biz·· MultiBladeProp is: www.bluemagic.biz/cluso.htm

T Chap

Beau, sorry for the misunderstanding, I was referring to mikes original post and replies, not yours as it would appear. I think we both have valid ideas on possible recovery of deleted files.

I save files with a numbering system, just keep bumping up the number at some interval that seems logical or necessary. When there is a major change or improvement, add a discriptor to the file for just that save only, ie myfile143 myfile144 myfile145(internet_is_now_working).spin. This way, if the project is really complex, you have a chronology of how the project came together. Many times I have had to go back and track down things from earlier revisions that were working back then, but aren't now. Having flags of significant changes helps get right back to the root of a problem. When you are knee deep in a project, you easily remember what was what, but 6 months after you are scratching you head trying to figure out what you did.

Jekis46

You can to solve your problem try a free program Undelete Free. If not, use the help online pdf repair tool.

max72

Rhino can usually convert from pdf to vector formats, including dxf and dwg.
If you want me to test it for you let me know.
Massimo