PDF Creator file not searchable (Eagle 4.16)

Hi Joerg,

try the EAGLE 5.11 freeware with the build in PDF export functionality.

This should give you really small file sizes together with searchable text.

Rene

René König wrote:

Hi Joerg,

 

try the EAGLE 5.11 freeware with the build in PDF export functionality.

This should give you really small file sizes together with searchable text.

 

Thanks, Rene, but I can't do that. I use Eagle as a consultant which the

freeware doesn't allow. Got to honor the rules. Ok, I could continue

using 4.16 (is licensed here) and 5.11 only for the occasional PDF

print. But I guess technically that would already be a license violation

and the king of Bavaria might send his troops over here

I didn't want to upgrade to version 5 because it did not include

hierarchical schematics. If version 6 does and nothing gets broken I

plan to upgrade.

--

Regards, Joerg

http://www.analogconsultants.com/

Joerg schrieb:

>> try the EAGLE 5.11 freeware with the build in PDF export functionality.

>> This should give you really small file sizes together with searchable text.

 

Thanks, Rene, but I can't do that. I use Eagle as a consultant which the

freeware doesn't allow. Got to honor the rules. Ok, I could continue

using 4.16 (is licensed here) and 5.11 only for the occasional PDF

print. But I guess technically that would already be a license violation

and the king of Bavaria might send his troops over here

I'm pretty sure he won't.

As far as I understand, it is perfectly fine to use the freeware license

for generating any kind of output - IMHO this also applies to the PRINT

command and PDF. IIRC, every board house is also allowed to use the

freeware for generating gerber files from EAGLE boards.

However, it might also be an issue with PDF Creator, and/or the way it

interacts with EAGLE. I am using pdfFactory for many years, and AFAIR

the PDFs have always been searchable - as long as non-vector fonts were

used.

I could try this for you, but not now - you'd have to wait until monday

when I have access to an older 4.16 installation and the time to test

that again.

(In fact, even today I use pdfFactory since it allows me to collect

several prints into a single PDF file, and besides the files are

somewhat smaller.)

Tilmann

Tilmann Reh wrote:

Joerg schrieb:

 

>>> try the EAGLE 5.11 freeware with the build in PDF export functionality.

>>> This should give you really small file sizes together with searchable text.

>> Thanks, Rene, but I can't do that. I use Eagle as a consultant which the

>> freeware doesn't allow. Got to honor the rules. Ok, I could continue

>> using 4.16 (is licensed here) and 5.11 only for the occasional PDF

>> print. But I guess technically that would already be a license violation

>>  and the king of Bavaria might send his troops over here

 

I'm pretty sure he won't.

 

As far as I understand, it is perfectly fine to use the freeware license

for generating any kind of output - IMHO this also applies to the PRINT

command and PDF. IIRC, every board house is also allowed to use the

freeware for generating gerber files from EAGLE boards.

 

Ok, then I should be able to generated searchable PDFs with Eagle. Would

be nice to get a blessing by one of the Cadsoft engineers though

However, it might also be an issue with PDF Creator, and/or the way it

interacts with EAGLE. I am using pdfFactory for many years, and AFAIR

the PDFs have always been searchable - as long as non-vector fonts were

used.

 

PDF Creator doesn't have an issue. When I do the same thing with Orcad

16.3 I get searchable PDF files, on the same computer.

I could try this for you, but not now - you'd have to wait until monday

when I have access to an older 4.16 installation and the time to test

that again.

 

But only if you've got the time.

(In fact, even today I use pdfFactory since it allows me to collect

several prints into a single PDF file, and besides the files are

somewhat smaller.)

 

That is nice, and I actually need something like that. Another CAD tool

(Mentor IC Station) appears to have a print engine from around the days

of the Neanderthal man. It cannot print a whole hierarchy so you must

spool it off one file at a time and in the ancient postscript format.

Meaning I'll have to concatenate all that. But I also need an OCR

program because what comes out of that CAD is not searchable.

My paperless office software (PaperPort) can concatenate lots of TIFF

files into one PDF document so that's take care of. OCR is another

matter. Acrobat didn't do a 100% job (an IC designer friend just tried

it on a news article) so I'll have to try Nitro, Phantom and some others

to see what's best.

--

Regards, Joerg

http://www.analogconsultants.com/

Tilmann Reh wrote:

Joerg schrieb:

 

>>> try the EAGLE 5.11 freeware with the build in PDF export functionality.

>>> This should give you really small file sizes together with searchable text.

>> Thanks, Rene, but I can't do that. I use Eagle as a consultant which the

>> freeware doesn't allow. Got to honor the rules. Ok, I could continue

>> using 4.16 (is licensed here) and 5.11 only for the occasional PDF

>> print. But I guess technically that would already be a license violation

>>  and the king of Bavaria might send his troops over here

 

I'm pretty sure he won't.

 

As far as I understand, it is perfectly fine to use the freeware license

for generating any kind of output - IMHO this also applies to the PRINT

command and PDF. IIRC, every board house is also allowed to use the

freeware for generating gerber files from EAGLE boards.

 

Ok, then I should be able to generated searchable PDFs with Eagle. Would

be nice to get a blessing by one of the Cadsoft engineers though

However, it might also be an issue with PDF Creator, and/or the way it

interacts with EAGLE. I am using pdfFactory for many years, and AFAIR

the PDFs have always been searchable - as long as non-vector fonts were

used.

 

PDF Creator doesn't have an issue. When I do the same thing with Orcad

16.3 I get searchable PDF files, on the same computer.

I could try this for you, but not now - you'd have to wait until monday

when I have access to an older 4.16 installation and the time to test

that again.

 

But only if you've got the time.

(In fact, even today I use pdfFactory since it allows me to collect

several prints into a single PDF file, and besides the files are

somewhat smaller.)

 

That is nice, and I actually need something like that. Another CAD tool

(Mentor IC Station) appears to have a print engine from around the days

of the Neanderthal man. It cannot print a whole hierarchy so you must

spool it off one file at a time and in the ancient postscript format.

Meaning I'll have to concatenate all that. But I also need an OCR

program because what comes out of that CAD is not searchable.

My paperless office software (PaperPort) can concatenate lots of TIFF

files into one PDF document so that's take care of. OCR is another

matter. Acrobat didn't do a 100% job (an IC designer friend just tried

it on a news article) so I'll have to try Nitro, Phantom and some others

to see what's best.

--

Regards, Joerg

http://www.analogconsultants.com/

Joerg schrieb:

>> However, it might also be an issue with PDF Creator, and/or the way it

>> interacts with EAGLE. I am using pdfFactory for many years, and AFAIR

>> the PDFs have always been searchable - as long as non-vector fonts were

>> used.

 

PDF Creator doesn't have an issue. When I do the same thing with Orcad

16.3 I get searchable PDF files, on the same computer.

As I said, it might be an issue with the combination of EAGLE and PDF

Creator.

>> I could try this for you, but not now - you'd have to wait until monday

>> when I have access to an older 4.16 installation and the time to test

>> that again.

>>

 

But only if you've got the time.

I just had to check something at my laptop - where a 4.16 installation

resides. Printed a schematic to pdfFactory and got a searchable PDF file.

>> (In fact, even today I use pdfFactory since it allows me to collect

>> several prints into a single PDF file, and besides the files are

>> somewhat smaller.)

 

That is nice, and I actually need something like that.

I can strongly recommend FinePrinter as well as pdfFactory. They are

really affordable, and worth every cent.

Tilmann

Tilmann Reh wrote:

Joerg schrieb:

 

>>> However, it might also be an issue with PDF Creator, and/or the way it

>>> interacts with EAGLE. I am using pdfFactory for many years, and AFAIR

>>> the PDFs have always been searchable - as long as non-vector fonts were

>>> used.

>> PDF Creator doesn't have an issue. When I do the same thing with Orcad

>> 16.3 I get searchable PDF files, on the same computer.

 

As I said, it might be an issue with the combination of EAGLE and PDF

Creator.

 

>>> I could try this for you, but not now - you'd have to wait until monday

>>> when I have access to an older 4.16 installation and the time to test

>>> that again.

>>>

>> But only if you've got the time.

 

I just had to check something at my laptop - where a 4.16 installation

resides. Printed a schematic to pdfFactory and got a searchable PDF file.

 

Thanks, interesting. So it seems PDF Creator and Eagle really don't like

each other much. I wonder why.

>>> (In fact, even today I use pdfFactory since it allows me to collect

>>> several prints into a single PDF file, and besides the files are

>>> somewhat smaller.)

>> That is nice, and I actually need something like that.

 

I can strongly recommend FinePrinter as well as pdfFactory. They are

really affordable, and worth every cent.

 

In case someone else has similar issues, these programs are here:

http://fineprint.com/pdf/

I'll need something with good OCR though because of the issues with this

other CAD (Mentor IC Station). The PDF format has some quirks. For

example, some searchable documents created with Adobe Acrobat are not

well searchable in Foxit. Weird, and not cool because I never know what

my clients will be using.

--

Regards, Joerg

http://www.analogconsultants.com/