PDF (vector — Portable Document Format)
Open BetaVector PDF stores the map as geometry and keeps every detail at any zoom — ideal for printing and editing in CAD/Illustrator. It opens on any device without extra software. For very large areas (whole-country or region maps) vector can be heavy and slow to open in browser viewers — pick raster PDF instead, which opens instantly regardless of feature density.
Key Features
About PDF Format
PDF (ISO 32000) is the format that opens everywhere: in a browser, on a phone, in any operating system, with nothing to install. The vector variant stores the map not as a picture but as geometry: road lines, building outlines and labels stay independent objects.
Two practical consequences follow. The map can be enlarged without losing crispness — in print the lines stay thin and even on any sheet size, from A4 to a poster. And it can be edited: the file opens in Illustrator, Inkscape or CorelDRAW as ordinary vector graphics, where objects can be recoloured and moved.
The file is assembled through the QGIS print layout in vector mode: labels stay text with embedded fonts — they show up in a document search and can be selected, not just looked at. The sheet size is chosen at export time (A4-A0) or picked automatically from the area of the region.
Vector PDF has a limit: the more objects there are, the heavier the file and the longer it takes to open — a map of a whole region can noticeably lag in a browser viewer. For such cases there is raster PDF: it opens instantly regardless of how dense the development is, but does not scale without losing crispness.
What Program Opens PDF Files
The following programs and applications can open, edit, and work with PDF (vector — Portable Document Format) (.pdf) files exported from OSM2CDR:
Format specifications
- Open standard
- 2D only
- Lossless (no quality loss)
- No attributes
- Output: 1 file
- PDF 1.4 (ISO 32000). Vector paths; layers optionally unlocked in Acrobat Pro. Print-ready at 300 DPI. Embedded fonts.
Who Uses PDF Maps
How to Export PDF
How to Open After Export
- Any browser, Acrobat Reader, Preview on macOS or SumatraPDF — open and look; a document search will find street and place names, because the labels remained text.
- Adobe Illustrator or Inkscape (free) — open it as vector graphics: recolour layers, remove what you do not need, add your own labels, a frame and a legend.
- CorelDRAW — import the PDF for further prepress work, if the layout is being put together there.
- Printing — in the print dialog turn off "fit to page" and print at 100% scale, otherwise the stated map scale will no longer match the sheet.
- A print house — for offset, ask for the file in the PDF/X profile: we deliver it as a separate format, with the parameters that printing requires already written in.
Popular maps in PDF
Get PDF (vector — Portable Document Format) map exports
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Frequently Asked Questions
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