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New GeoPDF Features



I’ve covered the free GeoPDF plugin for Adobe Acrobat and Reader before, but the latest version adds a lot of new features:

  • Create a point on the map, then open and view the corresponding point on Google Maps
  • A lot more coordinate systems supported, including MGRS, Lambert Conformal Conic, Mercator, etc.
  • Import and display shapefiles, re-projecting them on-the-fly
  • Import Google Earth KML/KMZ data; also CSV and GPX files
  • Annotate points with “sticky notes”, or with a GeoStamp symbol in various categories (incidents, infrastructure, operations)
  • Draw rectangles, polylines and polygons, and annotate them
  • Export annotated and imported data in shapefile format (automatically split into points, lines (arcs) and polygons)
  • Export annotated and imported data in KML format for use in Google Earth (another way to convert shapefiles to KML format)

One capability that’s still missing is the ability to export the view in georeferenced raster format, like GeoTiff; hope that’s coming soon.

The TerraGo Technologies tutorials page has a video tutorial on GeoPDF, and brief written tutorial with sample data for you to play around with. You can also download free USGS topo maps in GeoPDF format from the USGS Store’s Map Locater and Downloader. While these are still mostly in raster format, the next generation of USGS topo maps will come in vector GeoPDF format, letting you select from up to 37 different data layers.

Via Directions Magazine.


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6 Responses to “New GeoPDF Features”


  1. 1 rheitzman

    looks like among the USGS new features is the removal of an georeferenced images – maybe they haven’t been available from them in the past….

    It looks like the toolbar for Reader can only display images – all the import/export stuff is disabled.

    Hopefully I’m wrong but it looks like you need the mega-buck$ AcroBat software for this tool to be useful.

  2. 2 Matt

    Unfortunately, I don’t think we will ever see a free tool from TerraGo that will export their proprietary format to something like GeoTIFF that is used by 99.9999999999999999% of the rest of us.

  3. 3 Siobhan

    GeoTiff topo maps were never easily obtained from USGS, I used to download them from other government websites. The import/export features were disabled because the document wasn’t GeoMark Enabled (the first step of this process involves opening a document for comments and analysis within Adobe Reader and is a required step by Adobe to place any comments within a document opened in reader, even non geospatial ones). We’ve used the GeoPDF Bundle product for my city for a while now and it’s made our jobs a bit easier. I’ve also found that they are receptive to feature or product requests when you contact them so if you have a request let them know.

  4. 4 Evan

    How’s it coming on that geotiff converter you said you were going to work on (http://gpstracklog.com/2009/02/usgs-e-topos-co.html)? That would be sweet.

  5. 5 Leszek Pawlowicz

    I’ve been waiting to see the new layer-based PDFs, but haven’t seen any. As far as I can tell, the current GeoPDFs are just scanned versions of older USGS topo maps, and those are available in GeoTiff format all over the web.

  6. 6 Evan

    That’s mostly true, except that the USGS is making GeoPDFs of 500 dpi re-scans of the original maps and, thus, higher resolution than what’s currently available as geotiffs. I understand that most areas of the east coast, gulf coast, and Florida have been redone and that Wyoming, California, Arizona, Lousiana, and Nebraska are next. You won’t know until you have downloaded the file if you have a “low” or high res image. But the naming convention is different. The low res has the old USGS quad code in it (eg o37091H7) and the newer ones have a more descriptive name.

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