Create and Manage Plan PDFs

In the StrataSite™ Portal, you can easily create a PDF (Adobe's Portable Document Format, a file type that can be read by nearly all modern personal computers) of a Plan and share it with project stakeholders.

In this article, we will explain:

  • How to Preview a PDF
  • How to Show a Grid on the Maps in a PDF
  • How to Download a PDF
  • How to Append a single PDF so it contains information from multiple Plans or other PDFs

PREVIEW A PDF

To preview the PDF for any Plan, navigate to the Plan's current Parent Project from the Portal Home Page. 

Click the PDF Preview icon (Fig. 1) near the lower-right corner of the Plan's card.

Figure 1. The Preview PDF icon
Figure 1. The Preview PDF icon

While previewing the PDF, several buttons will become available near the upper-right corner of your screen (Fig. 2).

Figure 2. The buttons available while previewing a PDF
Figure 2. The buttons available while previewing a PDF

SHOW A GRID ON PDF MAPS

By default, maps in your PDF will not show a grid (Fig. 3).

Figure 3. A section of a Map displayed in a PDF without the Grid
Figure 3. A section of a Map displayed in a PDF without the Grid

However, you may find it helpful for users to find locations on the map when you describe them with grid coordinates. (e.g. Please see the Fire Staging Area in section A3.) To Show the Grid on your Maps, simply click the Show Grid button near the top-right corner of your screen (Fig. 2). All Maps in your PDF will then be displayed with the Grid (Fig. 4), and the Show Grid button will update to read Hide Grid. Clicking it again will remove the Grid from all Maps.

Figure 3. A section of a Map displayed in a PDF with the Grid
Figure 3. A section of a Map displayed in a PDF with the Grid

DOWNLOAD A PDF

To Download a PDF, you can either click the Download button near the upper-right corner of the screen while you are Previewing the PDF (Fig. 2, above), or click the Download icon (Fig. 4) while you are viewing the Plan's card in its Project.

Figure 4. The Download icon on a Plan's card within a Project

APPEND A PDF

After you have created a PDF from a Plan, you may decide to add additional information to it, such as PDFs you have created from other Plans, a PDF with a list of contacts or PDFs with any other relevant information.


This can be done with the Append PDF functionality in your StrataSite™ Portal. While previewing a PDF, scroll to the bottom of the screen to find the Append PDF section (Fig. 5), and click anywhere on it to expand it.

Figure 5. The collapsed Append PDF section
Figure 5. The collapsed Append PDF section

After expanding the Append PDF section (Fig. 6), you can drag additional PDFs directly onto it from your computer or click the or Browse for PDF button.

Figure 6. The expanded Append PDF section
Figure 6. The expanded Append PDF section

If you have added multiple PDFs, you can use the Re-order PDFs button (Fig. 7) to change the order in which the PDFs will be appended. To remove a PDF without appending it, click the X icon below it. To preview a PDF before appending it, click the magnifying glass icon below it. When you are done, click the Add PDFs button and your main PDF will be appended.

Figure 7. The Append PDF section with two files ready to be re-ordered or added
Figure 7. The Append PDF section with two files ready to be re-ordered or added

After you are done previewing your main PDF, click the Return button (Fig. 2, above) near the top-right corner of your screen to exit the Preview PDF area.