Large or high-resolution plan files can impact loading time, navigation performance, and overall takeoff efficiency. This article provides best practices for preparing, importing, and working with large or high-DPI PDF plan files in the Pipeline LBM Takeoff workspace.

Very large PDFs or high-resolution scans (for example, architectural drawings at 300 DPI or higher) contain more image data. This can increase upload times and affect how quickly sheets load, zoom, or pan during a takeoff.

Best practices before importing plan files

Follow these recommendations before importing PDFs into a job:

• Use vector-based PDFs when available instead of scanned images.
• Avoid unnecessarily high DPI. If possible, keep scans at a reasonable resolution that still preserves readability.
• Remove unnecessary pages from the PDF before upload.
• Split very large plan sets into smaller PDFs (for example, one file per discipline or floor).
• Ensure drawings are oriented correctly to avoid additional rotation or rework later.

Best practices when importing PDFs

When importing large or high-resolution files:

• Import one PDF at a time, especially for large files.
• Allow the import process to complete before navigating away from the page.
• Be patient with initial loading; large files may take longer to display the first time.
• Close unused browser tabs or applications.
• Refresh the Takeoff workspace if a sheet becomes unresponsive.
• Consider splitting extremely large PDFs into smaller files and re-importing them.