Scan2CAD Hints & Tips - Carlson Software

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Scanning ChecklistIf your drawing is clean andsharp this is not normally aproblem. However if yourdrawing has faint lines or a dirtyor tinted background you willhave to experiment with yourscanner’s settings until you geta raster image where, as far aspossible, the parts of the rasterimage that are supposed to beblack are black and the partsthat are supposed to be whiteare white.If your scanner or scanningsoftware sets too much of thedrawing to white, it maycontain breaks and holes. Faintparts may be lost.If your scanner or scanningsoftware sets too much of thedrawing to black, textcharacters may “bleed” so thatwhite spaces within them orbetween them become filledand speckles and dirt mayappear in the background.Too muchwhiteOptimalToo muchblackRather than experiment withyour scanner settings until youget optimal levels of black andwhite you may find it easier toscan your drawing in grayscale.You can then use Scan2CAD’sThreshold functions to create ablack and white image afterscanning. This will allow you toexperiment with different levelsof black and white withouthaving to rescan the drawing.ResolutionIt is not true that the higherthe scanner resolution, thebetter the vectorization results.For most drawings 200 or 300dpi is adequate.However, if a drawing is small(e.g. a logo) or has fine detail,you may need a higher scannerresolution (see Using Scan2CADto convert logos included withthese Hints and Tips). On somedrawings you may need a lowerresolution. Ideally, aim forscanned lines that are about 5pixels thick.Scanning physical itemsScanning a physical part like agasket or similar for profilingcan be problematic. Becauseparts have a thickness theyproduce shadows when youscan them. Once in Scan2CADit can be hard to tell where thepart ends and the shadowbegins. Here are two suggestionsto help get around the problem.Suggestion 11.Lay the part on a piece ofwhite paper.2. Carefully trace around it witha fine, sharp pen to get atight fitting profile.3. Scan and vectorize the trace.Suggestion 2To reduce shadowing, put ablack sheet of paper or cardover the part in the scanner.You may also want to try spraypainting the part white. Whenyou scan, the shadows willsimply become part of the blackbackground.This will give you a reversedimage with a white part on ablack background. In Scan2CAD,click to switch the image soyou end up with a black parton a white background.Saving raster files... ContinuedIf you’re not scanning directlyinto Scan2CAD, save scanneddrawings as BMP or, better, aspackbits, Fax Group 3 or FaxGroup 4 TIFF files. TIFF filesmake more economic use ofhard disk space than BMP files.DO NOT save your files asmulti layer/page TIFF whichScan2CAD does not support oras JPEG or GIF, which are coloronly formats.Filling the gray area onthe screen ...When you select an area tozoom into (e.g. the areaenclosed by the red rectanglebelow) ...Only the exact area you havechosen is displayed on thescreen:To expand the displayed areaso it fills the screen, press Ffor Fill:If you press F again, the viewwill zoom out slightly so youcan see more of the imageon the screen.Stuck? Questions? Email us at postmaster@softcover.com. Web: www.softcover.comPage 2© Softcover International Ltd 2002-2006. Scan2CAD is a registered trademark of Softcover International Ltd.
How to use Scan2CADThis page assumes you are using Scan2CAD v7.5 or later and thatyou have not turned off the Warning:Color Image dialog thatappears if you load an image that contains more than two colors.If you have turned the dialog off, reinstall Scan2CAD to reactivate it.This page outlines basic steps only. You may prefer to use Andrea’sReal World Guide, which tells you how to handle imperfect scansand tweak vectorization settings. You can get a copy by going towww.softcover.com and clicking the Hints and Tips button.Convert a black and white imageWithout OCROCR (text recognition) isoptional. Use this method ifyour drawing has no text or thetext is poor quality.1.Click to load a BMP, TIFFetc. raster file, or scan adrawing using File>Acquire.The Warning: Color Imagedialog may appear. If it does:a)Select the second option.b)Click OK. If a warning appears,click Yes. You will enter theSimple Threshold dialog.c) Move the slider to a positionwhere the lines on yourimage are as solid as possibleand the background is asclean as possible.d)Click OK.2.Work through the RasterQuality Checklist suppliedwith these Hints and Tips.3.Optional (recommended): Click(Raster Effects>Smooth).4.Make sure you are zoomedout by clicking .5.Go to the Type Menu. Thiscontains vectorization settings.• Choose the setting that bestdescribes your drawing, e.g.Architectural or CNC Profile.• If you drawing is a solid shapeto be outlined, choose Outline.6.Vectorize the image byclicking on . Any text willbe converted to short lines.7.Save the vectors as DXF usingFile > Vector > Save As.With OCRUse this method if your drawinghas clear sharp text charactersthat you want to vectorize.Follow Steps 1 to 5 ofWithout OCR. Then:6.Scan2CAD’s text recognitionrecognizes raster text when:• The text is easily legible.• Characters do not touch eachother or other drawing elements.• Characters are not atdifferent orientations.• Characters are in a font thatScan2CAD can recognize.Work through the RasterText Quality Checklistsupplied with these Hints andTips to ensure your textmeets these conditions.7.Tell Scan2CAD what text sizeto expect:a)Go to OCR > Char Size.b)Zoom into the biggestcharacter on your drawing byplacing your cursor over itand scrolling your mousewheel forward or pressing theM key several times, until youcan see the character clearly.c) Click on a black part of theraster text character. Itbecomes enclosed in a box.d)Click to zoom out.8.Vectorize ALL the drawing,(drawing elements and text,by clicking on .9.Save the vectors as DXF usingFile > Vector > Save As.After vectorization press V to view Vectors, B to view Bothvectors and raster, Shift+F to Fade the raster, C to toggleviewing vectors by Color or by type and G to toggle Grab Pointdisplay at vector ends. Press Shift+F8 to clear vectors.Create a color DXF filefrom a color raster image1.Click to load a BMP, TIFFetc. raster file, or scan adrawing using File>Acquire.The Warning: Color Imagedialog appears. Select thefourth option and click OK.2.Go to Palette>Reduce ColorsAuto. Select a manageablenumber of colors, e.g. 32.3.Go to Palette > View/EditPalette and group togethersimilar colors:a)Select all shades of a color(e.g. all shades of red) - clickon the shades in the palette(right), in the PreviewWindow (left), or both. (Youmay find this easier if youselect Hue in the dialog.)b)Click .c) Click on one of the colors youselected in (a).d)Click Preview Change. Thecolors you selected in (a) arechanged to the color youselected in (c).e)Repeat (a) to (e) for all colorgroups - whites, blues, etc.f) Click OK.4.Double click your left mousebutton to deselect anyselected colors.You now have two options:Option 1. This option is betterbecause it uses colorinformation while vectorizing.5. Go to Palette > SelectSeparation Colors. Click onthe colors you want tovectorize and click OK.6.Follow Steps 2 onwards ofWithout OCR or With OCR.Option 2. Use this if you wereunable to group the colorscleanly in Steps 2 and 3 above.5.Follow Steps 2 onwards ofWithout OCR or With OCR butjust before you save the DXFfile go to Vector Edit>VectorColors to Raster Colors.Stuck? Questions? Email us at postmaster@softcover.com. Web: www.softcover.comPage 3© Softcover International Ltd 2002-2006. Scan2CAD is a registered trademark of Softcover International Ltd.
Page 4 and 5: Not getting the results you were ex
Page 6 and 7: Raster Quality ChecklistFuzziness i
Page 8 and 9: Color ChecklistLook at the number a
Page 10 and 11: Vectorization Settings ChecklistGap
Page 12 and 13: Using Scan2CAD to convert PDF files
Page 14 and 15: Using Scan2CAD to convert logos...
Page 16 and 17: Typing over poor quality textIt doe
Page 18: How to tell if a polyline is closed

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