PDF & image import

All about importing files into Rayon.

Rayon supports high-fidelity import of PDFs and images, with a scaling step, or without for quick import. We detail here how each import flow works.

PDF importing options

To import a PDF file in Rayon, start by clicking on Import in the top right of the project manager and choose a file.

Alternatively, you can Import from the menu within a model.

In the step that follows, select the pages you would like to import, and define the formatting for import... 1. Name for model : Define the name of your model if importing from the project Manager 2. Toggle Selection / All pages : Select specific pages or all of them. 3. Toggle Public / Private : whether your model should be accessible only to you, or to the wider Rayon community. More information on public models here. 4. Toggle Vector / Images : When vector is chosen, Rayon will import any editable geometry. If image is chosen, your file will be converted to an image, and you won't be able to edit its geometry. 5. Toggle Single / Multiple : Single mode will place all selected page on one canvas, at the same scale. Multiple mode will create a new canvas for each selected page, with individual scale.

Once settings are chosen, click Import to move on to the scaling step.

At this point, a few options are available to you to set the scale of your imported drawing, by either choosing distance mode or scale mode.

In distance mode, start by drawing a line between two known points. You can move around the model to find and use a familiar element (ex: an existing dimension present on your PDF, or use a common entity, ex: width of a door.)

At this point, enter the distance of the blue line that you drew in the previous step, and then change the unit to the correct one. Once have chosen both the unit and the value, click on continue. This will close the current tab and open the PDF in your model.

In scale mode, you'll be asked to define the scale of your drawing. If you know it, look for it on your PDF. In doubt, use the distance mode.

Image importing options

Importing images works like PDF importing, without the page selection step. In essence, to import an image in Rayon, you can...

• Click on Import in the top right of the project manager and choose a file. Note that for images, Rayon supports only *.jpg, *.png, *.webp, *.heic, *.bmp, *.gif formats.

• Set the scale of your imported drawing, by either choosing distance mode or scale mode. Then click on Continue.

That's it! Your file is imported In a new Model.

Note that another, simpler way to import images without the scaling step is to drag and drop multiple images directly from your file explorer to your Rayon model. Also, as for DWGs, images can be imported from within an existing model, by going to the main menu > Import.

Note, Images larger than 2048x2048 Pixels will be compressed.

Importing a RY file

To import a RY in Rayon,

• Click on Import in the top right of the project manager and choose a file.

• That's it! Your file is imported In a new Model.

Copying from one model to another

To copy entities from one rayon model to another,

• Select the entities you wish to copy

• Right click and select Copy as export or Ctrl + Shift + C

• Past the content in the other Rayon model.

For more step-by-step information, watch our tutorial about how to use layers in Rayon:

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Book a demo with our team, right here. Feel free to email us at [email protected].