Expert: Bill DeShawn - 10/8/2006

Question
Is it possible to be able to import a scanned image.
Place it on a particular layer and draw selected
areas on another layer? ie (tracing over the image)

Answer
Harry:
I do this quite frequently, actually.  Often times we get building sites with "topo" lines representing the terrain, and we can't get a digital file, so, Using the bearings shown on the site plan, I will lay out the property, and then add the topo lines by tracing over an image.  After bringing in the image, you scale and align it with something whose size is absolute.  In my case that's one of the property lines.  Images of hard copies don't scale perfectly, so I scale and rotate several times until I get it in the best possible position to do my tracing.  It's kind of painstaking, but it pays off in the long run.  The tracing takes a while, too.  Fortunately for me, if a topo line goes off a little, it's not a big deal.  But if you're dealing in absolutes, tracing is not the best way to go.  It's often times better to redraw/redesign an object.

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Bill DeShawn
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