[SML] Cleaning up drawings

[Joe D]

It should be mentioned that a CAD drawing that is converted to .pdf format could be in either a vector format or a raster format.  If the data is stored in vector format inside the .pdf, then the line art obviously is better maintained, and may even retain the layer information. Though, there is generally a loss in the number of decimal palces, so it is not as accurate as the original cad file.

Some CAD programs convert the vector art into a raster image in the .pdf.  This obviously reduces resolution, while also swelling the file size. Doing optical line recognition is obviously has its own issues.  But, at least you can delete things.

Sometimes it is important to take a step back and evaluate what is important. If the goal is to produce a 11x17 piece of paper with the lighting plot, it may be that you are over concerned about precision.  If the goal is to simplify the original drawing plans, then it may be easier to just visually trace over the image, and not be too concerned about how accurately you are working, and omit some of the details that you might otherwise have liked to include.

-Joe