Measuring from a PDF

Owned by Editor9
Jul 30, 2021

Now that RoS has moved away from working with paper documents, plans officers often have to measure, plot and scale from digitally held deed plans, normally in a PDF format. This guide illustrates one method for taking scale measurements from a PDF file.

Useful links

Vector perfect mapping

Plan Creator Technical Guide


1 Open the PDF
2 Click on the Tools tab

3 Click on the Measure icon

  • a toolbar will now be displayed with the pdf.

4 Click Measuring Tool on the tool bar

First time only

a. Right mouse click on PDF

b. Select Preferences from the pop-up list

c. At the bottom of the left-hand panel select Units

d. Change the Page units to centimetres

e. Close the window.

5 On your PDF, use a feature you know the 1:1 scale (real world) measurement for, or you can use the scale bar on the PDF of there is one.

  • Click the start of the line
  • Click the end of the line

This will give you the "paper" length of the line.

6 Right mouse click and select Change Scale Ratio and Precision

  • In the first box type in the length as measured on "paper"
  • In the second box type in the actual 1:1 scale (real world) length
  • Use the drop down boxes to change the units to match the measurements you are using
  • Click OK.
7 All measurements on the PDF will now be shown as 1:1 scale (real world) measurements.

Registers of Scotland (RoS) seeks to ensure that the information published in the 2012 Act Registration Manual is up to date and accurate but it may be amended from time to time.
The Manual is an internal document intended for RoS staff only. The information in the Manual does not constitute legal or professional advice and RoS cannot accept any liability for actions arising from its use.
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