Export/Retain Georeferenced PDF Metadata

[bobwz]

When modifying a pdf with geo-reference metadata and exporting the results. I would like an option for that metadata to be preserved. 

Currently, this information is stripped and the resulting export is useless as a geo-referenced PDF.

This feature is vital for using Designer over Illustrator for map design. This feature was additionally requested in 2017.

[Carta]

Bobwz's request is spot on. From my experience, there are two really useful applications to his request:

1. A PDF can be imported into a GIS app like QGIS or ArcInfo. That completes a round-trip journey where a map is developed in GIS software, exported and edited in Designer, then imported back into the GIS software. Why the round-trip? Because while GIS software provides adequate graphics control of a map, Designer makes it sparkle. Designer's type tools alone are enough to elevate map quality by a large margin. Importing a visually enhanced Designer map into GIS software where it may be shared or used in mapping operations gives added value to the map.

2. A geo-referenced (or "geospatial") PDF can be uploaded to the Avenza Map Store. This store offers mapmakers a way of distributing maps. It serves mapmakers like the Kindle Store serves authors. The map store has nearly a million submissions. For more information, see www.avenzamaps.com

Preserving the geo-referencing for a PDF exported from GIS software would prove a great asset for mapmakers using Affinity products.

[bobwz]

Thank you Carta for that elaboration. Those two examples eloquently summarizes my use cases in their entirety. 

Quote

2. A geo-referenced (or "geospatial") PDF can be uploaded to the Avenza Map Store. This store offers mapmakers a way of distributing maps. It serves mapmakers like the Kindle Store serves authors. The map store has nearly a million submissions. For more information, see www.avenzamaps.com

To add to this second point, geospatial PDFs can be loaded onto mobile phones with the Avenza app. From there, the phone's GPS is used to show users where they are on the map, like an offline Google Maps.

My current workflow without this feature is as follows:

1. Develop a georeferenced PDF in QGIS containing the major map features required for project. Although Designer will discard the georeferenced metadata, this type of export from QGIS generates vector layers for editing.
2. Import into Designer, clean up and organize vector layers.
3. Perform edits and refinements.
4. Export from Designer as a PDF.
5. Import back into QGIS and re-associate the geospatial information.
6. Export final PDF from QGIS.

The import back into QGIS will rasterize portions of the PDF and I lose control over my color format. In addition, the process of georeferencing will cause distortions as the software tries to stretch and shrink elements so they conform to specific geospatial constraints. 

While this certainly works, once the final product has been created, future modifications require me to start from step 2. This entire process also results in a substantial loss of quality.

[Carta]

Another possible workflow is to use Acrobat DC Pro (a paid app that's part of the Adobe Creative Cloud suite of software). According to Adobe, a GeoPDF, among several other geospatial file formats, can be directly imported. It will import shapefile data directly. See their webpage.

I'm not an Acrobat subscriber other than the free Acrobat DC Reader. I'm speculating how this would work:

1. In QGIS, export two PDFs -- one for the full file and the other just containing a background or neatline
2. Edit the full export in Designer and export from Designer as a PDF
2. Open the QGIS-exported file with the background or neatline in Acrobat DC Pro
3. Now use Acrobat's combine command to merge them into a single PDF -- the idea here is that the first file opened in Acrobat would be the master and so retain its geo-referencing. The merged Designer-generated file would be combined without creating a new, non-geo-referenced PDF.

Anyone able to test this?

[Old Bruce]

3 hours ago, Carta said:

Anyone able to test this?

Not without a suitable geospatial map pdf.

[Kelly Bellis]

I've posted a couple of georeferenced PDFs over in this thread, in case you're still looking for something to test:

Affinity Publisher - Getting blend modes recognized in exported PDF

I don't have a Creative Cloud subscription, so I also can't test, but in regards to the so-called round-trip workaround, one added stopping point at the end of the itinerary, specifically for multi-page PDFs, would involve taking the individual maps being produced, edited, re-rectified; and then, finally inserted into a single PDF.

Whether using Publisher or Designer, Affinity's vector-based toolsets are well suited to making marked visual improvements on maps coming out of GIS softwares. This is in no way meant as shade toward GIS softwares. Think of it more as making an amazing album cover for the majestic LP within.

[Carta]

Thanks for commenting, Kelly.

The GIS software is needed to compile data for things like streets, lakes, points-of-interest in a file that can be output as "vector" art (like svg or PDF).

My workflow is to use this output directly in Affinity Designer if the file doesn't need any directly manipulation of the GIS data.

More often, I must use Adobe Illustrator because it has a plug-in called Avenza MAPublisher. That allows me to select data in the Illustrator file by attriat her doesn't work with Affinity apps and I don't see that day coming anytime soon.

But, what my original post suggests, is that if Designer can open a PDF from GIS software and keep its geographic information (where it's located, what map projection it uses, etc.), then mapmakers could work more in Designer and output a PDF that keeps that geographic information (a "GeoPDF").

Adobe Acrobat Reader can open and keep the geographic information that's in the original PDF. So it would be awesome if Designer could also keep the info in a PDF it opens and keep it upon export to PDF after the PDF has been modified in Designer.