Vector or scanned PDF: the ten-second test
Zoom all the way in. If the strokes stay crisp, it is vector. If they turn into blurry squares, it is a photograph of a drawing.
The answer in three lines
A vector PDF holds geometric objects: segments, curves, selectable text, each with coordinates. A scanned PDF holds only an image, a grid of pixels, in which no stroke exists as an object. Both print the same, but only the first can be measured without calibration and converted to DXF. A second, even faster test: try selecting text with the mouse. If nothing highlights, it is a scan.
What sets them apart
Vector PDF
Exported from CAD or a drawing program. Strokes are objects, the scale is often preserved, text is text.
Scanned PDF
A photograph or scan of a paper print. One image per page, often slightly distorted by the scanner itself.
When to use which
Vector PDF
You can measure precisely, recover the original layers in some cases, and convert to DXF with no loss of geometry.
Scanned PDF
You have to calibrate the scale on a written dimension, accept a margin tied to scan quality, and rely on automatic detection rather than pixel-by-pixel clicking.
One document can mix both: a scanned background with a vector title block added later. The text then selects, but the walls stay pixels.
Frequently asked questions
Can a scanned PDF be converted to DXF?
Not through a plain format conversion, since there are no vectors to convert. It takes geometry recognition, which rebuilds walls and rooms from the image and then writes a DXF. That is what FloorScan does.
Is OCR enough to take off a scan?
No. OCR recovers text, so written dimensions and room names, which helps. It recovers no geometry: it does not know where a wall runs.
Other common confusions
What if the plan did the work?
FloorScan reads a PDF, produces areas and lengths, and exports in whatever format your counterpart expects.