Can't copy image from PDF

[MedBooster]

For some reason copying images from the original PDF itself works fine, then it is added to my clipboard
, but not when I copy an image that is a "comment" , meaning that you get this "stamp" icon when you hover your cursor over it. Why is that, is there a way to fix it? Meaning I am not able to copy those kind of image comment elements, even if I have inserted it myself

[Daniel - PDF-XChange]

Hello, MedBooster

Comments have a number of special formatting options that causes them to generally be incompatible when pasting to external applications. You should be able to copy them between documents within our software, but if your image is a comment, you will often not be able to extract it without some extra steps.

If you have an image (stamp) comment you wish to copy from a PDF and paste somewhere outside, you will first want to "flatten" the stamp. Do this by selecting the stamp and choosing "flatten selected comments" from the right click context menu. After you have done that, switch to the "Edit" tool to select and copy the image, and then you should be able to paste it to external applications.

This post has also brought to light some minor confusion/annoyances with how these items are initially pasted into the software, and so we will be discussing them with the Dev team to hopefully have the paste options labelled more obviously to dictate the output.

Kind regards,

[MedBooster]

and if you flatten a PDF you won't be able to change your other comments like highlights and shapes anymore right?

[Daniel - PDF-XChange]

Hello, MedBooster

If you flatten the entire document, by using the "flatten comments" tool on the comment tab, yes that would be true, but that is not what I have suggested here. If you only select a single comment (or a group of comments), and then right click, you are given the option to flatten only the selected comments, leaving everything else in the document intact.

Kind regards,

[MedBooster]

Thank you for the explanation. Maybe you could share a screenshot for clarity as to which flatten comment command it is specifically and where to access it?

[Stefan - PDF-XChange]

Hello MedBooster,

When you select one or more comments - you can then right click and from the context menu select to flatten only those. E.g. on my image below only the rectangle and oval will be flattened and the cloudy triangle will remain an annotation after I execute that flatten selected comments operation:

image.png

Kind regards,
Stefan

[FelixPDF]

I have the same problem and so do most of my students.

A feature (context menue entry) for copying an image that was inserted as a stamp, would be a useful addition.

A simple copying of an image inserted as a stamp, via context menue > copy [image] of stamp

[+] High productivity gain
[+] Little programming effort
[+] User expectation is met, since most users simply paste an image with Ctrl+v, without knowing if this is now an image/stamp/etc, and expect to be able to copy it again.

I myself would be happy about a very soon implementation! Have to copy numerous stamp images and can't possibly do this via the detour.

Thanks for all the quick help!

[Daniel - PDF-XChange]

Hello, FelixPDF

Copying is not the moment which would cause a stamp item to be created, so unfortunately that will not be possible.
Creation of a "pasted stamp" happens during the pasting process. If you wish to use this in our Editor, simply copy the desired content, and then Right click and you will see a number of paste options. If the copied content can be pasted as "Annots" or "image" it will either retain the original structure of the content, or if certain base content items were selected, it can paste it as a stamp comment containing all of that content.

Kind regards,

[FelixPDF]

Sry. I dont want to paste an image into the PDFeditor ... I want to copy an image (already inserted as a comment/stamp) from the editor into another programm. But this does not work ... hence the suggestion of a method to copy an image inserted as a comment/stamp. Or am I missing something?

best regards

[MedBooster]

Sry. I dont want to paste an image into the PDFeditor ... I want to copy an image (already inserted as a comment/stamp) from the editor into another programm. But this does not work ... hence the suggestion of a method to copy an image inserted as a comment/stamp. Or am I missing something?

best regards

That was my main issue too... As of now I am just taking screenshots of the image within PDF-xce if I need the image in some other program ...

edit:
[Suggestion]
Maybe it would be better if you could tick some option in the settings or something so that images are always pasted in as "flattened"/images, and not "stamps"/comments

[Dimitar - PDF-XChange]

Hello MedBooster,

[Suggestion]
Maybe it would be better if you could tick some option in the settings or something so that images are always pasted in as "flattened"/images, and not "stamps"/comments

Thank you for your suggestion to me this does sound like something useful, but let's see what our developers have to say.



I made a Feature Request ticket in our internal ticket system:

#6403: FR: Adding an option for images to always be pasted in as base content not as stamps



As always we can not make promises as to whether this would be approved or when it could be implemented, as this is up to our Devs.


Regards.

[FelixPDF]

Hello MedBooster,

[Suggestion]
Maybe it would be better if you could tick some option in the settings or something so that images are always pasted in as "flattened"/images, and not "stamps"/comments

Thank you for your suggestion to me this does sound like something useful, but let's see what our developers have to say.

I made a Feature Request ticket in our internal ticket system:

#6403: FR: Adding an option for images to always be pasted in as base content not as stamps


As always we can not make promises as to whether this would be approved or when it could be implemented, as this is up to our Devs.


Regards.

Hi Dimitar,
thanks for your interest in this topic! I really enjoy that someone is taking the time to work on a solution!

I sincerely have to reject that the suggestion of an insertion setting is a good solution, not even a good quick fix.

• This setting would assume the users knowledge and use of such setting before encountering a case in which this setting would be helpful.
  ... this is never the case

• Or, this setting would be turned on by default, in which case no images are inserted as comments, while most image insertions are meant as a comment.

• and maybe worst, such setting does not fix the current problem of copying (e.g. images) from already existing comments

The logical solution, as stated before:
Let's think of comments as a syntactic sugar wrapper for some content (images, sounds,..., any future data format).

If the PDFEditor is capable of wrapping content inside a comment, wouldn't it be logical to assume that the PDFEditor should be capable of unwrapping the same, and should provide the user of a way to copy respectiv content.

Create a context menu option for comments... to copy the wrapped content (payload of the wrapper) ... this is a solution for all comment types regardless of underlying data type!

best regards

[Willy Van Nuffel]

Hi all,

Maybe I do not correctly understand your goal of copying images or stamps to other applications, but why don't you use the "Snapshot"-tool for that (available in the Home-ribbon) ?

You can draw a rectangle exactly around the content that you like to copy (text, images, shapes, lines, ...) and you can also set the quality of the copy (via File > Preferences > Snapshot Tool > Use specified resolution for snapshot images).

Kind regards.

Willy

[Daniel - PDF-XChange]

Hello, Willy Van Nuffel

I have to agree, our inbuilt snapshot tool is specifically designed to take a screenshot of a section of the document, so it should serve Felix's needs here.
FelixPDF,
The trouble with simply Copying the content is that the way a PDF is formatted, much of the comments are not easily translatable to other formats, so for example, while you are correct a "stamp" is a container, it is a container that can hold numerous base content items. not only text and images, but also shapes. An application like Excel, cannot accept a combined output action, so trying to copy it this way would accomplish nothing. Likewise, pasting this content to Word, which would understand the text and image, but may not understand the shapes while it is part of the same past operation.

What happens if there clipboard only contains a group container with these incompatible items? Most applications will not accept the input unless they can parse it. As such, I am afraid that changing our Copying methods will not be a viable solution to accomplish what you are looking for here, you should instead follow Medbooster and Willy's advice and use the snapshot tool or another screenshot method if you need to copy these items without flattening them.

Kind regards,

[MedBooster]

Hello, Willy Van Nuffel

I have to agree, our inbuilt snapshot tool is specifically designed to take a screenshot of a section of the document, so it should serve Felix's needs here.
FelixPDF,
The trouble with simply Copying the content is that the way a PDF is formatted, much of the comments are not easily translatable to other formats, so for example, while you are correct a "stamp" is a container, it is a container that can hold numerous base content items. not only text and images, but also shapes. An application like Excel, cannot accept a combined output action, so trying to copy it this way would accomplish nothing. Likewise, pasting this content to Word, which would understand the text and image, but may not understand the shapes while it is part of the same past operation.

What happens if there clipboard only contains a group container with these incompatible items? Most applications will not accept the input unless they can parse it. As such, I am afraid that changing our Copying methods will not be a viable solution to accomplish what you are looking for here, you should instead follow Medbooster and Willy's advice and use the snapshot tool or another screenshot method if you need to copy these items without flattening them.

Kind regards,

wouldn't that be like taking a regular windows screenshot/snapshot, meaning that you wouldn't get the full quality of the image

[MedBooster]

Hello MedBooster,

[Suggestion]
Maybe it would be better if you could tick some option in the settings or something so that images are always pasted in as "flattened"/images, and not "stamps"/comments

Thank you for your suggestion to me this does sound like something useful, but let's see what our developers have to say.



I made a Feature Request ticket in our internal ticket system:

#6403: FR: Adding an option for images to always be pasted in as base content not as stamps



As always we can not make promises as to whether this would be approved or when it could be implemented, as this is up to our Devs.


Regards.

Being able to toggle on images being pasted as base content as opposed to comments would be nice.

I actually prefer PDF-xce to Word for example for designing layouts of text, and even taking notes sometimes. (E.g. when writing/designing a book with illustrations) ... it just runs more smoothly on my PC for some reason.

[Paul - PDF-XChange]

It will be a raster image based on the display, yes, the same as other snapshot tools.