I need to extract some vector graphs from a PDF document and turn them into values in a spreadsheet. If I could pick the curve itself out of the document and save it as an SVG, that would be a start. I can't think of a tool that can import and break a PDF into its constituent parts except for Adobe Illustrator and I don't have that on my system anymore. Any clever suggestions?
@thor but still, inkscape might be worth a try.
@hil It doesn't run too well on Mac. They didn't really do a good job of porting it. Runs on the Quartz X server instead of being a fully native app. Also takes ages to start. In fact, I couldn't even get it to the splash screen when I tried to fire it up earlier today. Given the line thickness of the graph, I'd get better results if I could just isolate the vector path from the graph instead of tracing it, since that's going to be way more precise.
@thor http://plotdigitizer.sourceforge.net/ java should work an mac? I have no really good idea, sorry. Fishing here in an useless attempt to help. Good luck anyway ^^
@hil The PDF contains vector paths. I don't need to trace it. They are already vectors. I just need a vector editor that import PDF and export SVG. Had hoped I could pull it off with Inkscape, but it plain refuses to start, so that's why I was looking for suggestions.
@thor You could run it from a linux iso in a vm on your mac just for that one task. Will not perform superfast, but if it is just that one task... might be the easiest way. and cheapest.