Check a PDF drawing set before issue

Nothing is uploaded. Files are read in this tab and stay on your machine.

How do I check a PDF drawing set before issue?

Choose the drawing set as one PDF of up to 150 MiB and 200 pages. Its size and PDF header are checked before the whole file is read.
Select Check the drawing set. If the PDF needs a password, enter it when asked; it is used for that attempt only and then cleared.
Read the one-line summary at the top, then open any check marked Worth a look to see which pages it means. A result marked For information, such as a sheet that is not an A size, is not a mistake on its own.

What do the four drawing checks look at?

Before you send a drawing set out, check it for the four mistakes that are easy to miss when you page through by hand: one sheet at a different size from the rest, a sheet turned the wrong way, a sheet with no searchable text, and sheets that are not a standard A size. The result says which pages to look at, and the PDF is neither uploaded nor changed.

Paging through a forty-sheet set to find the one sheet plotted at the wrong size, or saved sideways, is slow and easy to get wrong; this does it in one pass. It compares the size each page displays at and names any page that differs from the rest by more than 0.05 mm. It compares the rotation each page declares, because a page stored sideways can print or plot the wrong way round. It lists pages where no text can be found at all, which usually means a scan or lettering converted to outlines, so the page cannot be searched or copied from. And it says whether each page is an A0 to A6 size within 0.5 mm, the same allowance the page size checker uses; that last result is information only, because many valid drawings use other sizes. Each check keeps a short reference such as XM-TD-001, so a result can be quoted exactly. The tool keeps no extracted text and writes no PDF.

How Xenmark makes it easy to run quick checks on a PDF drawing set

Four checks, each with a stable ID
Page size consistency, rotation consistency, text on every page and an A0 to A6 size match each report under an ID such as XM-TD-001.
Nothing leaves your machine
Nothing is uploaded. Files are read in this tab and processed in memory, with no account and no server for them to go to.
Differences grouped by page number
When pages differ, the evidence lists each size or rotation found with the page numbers that carry it, so you know where to look.
Pages with no text layer named
Pages with no extractable text are listed by number, which helps you decide whether a set needs OCR or a closer visual check.
Unknown kept apart from a finding
A check that could not finish, or that the PDF's permissions block, is reported as unknown or unsupported instead of being passed or failed.
Nothing to install
It runs in the browser you already have. There is no plug-in, no desktop application and no sign-up to get through first.

Limitations

What this tool does not do, stated up front.

This is not certified preflight, PDF/A validation, a malware scan, a print check, drawing-quality approval or standards compliance assessment.
The size checked is the size a reader displays, which says nothing about the original sheet size, the scan source, the print set-up or the drawing scale. The PDF Page Size and Drawing Sheet Checker shows the MediaBox and CropBox behind it.
Text inspection does not run OCR, rebuild layout, check wording or prove that every visible label was read. The checks stop after 30 seconds, text reading stops after 2,000,000 characters, and permissions and resource limits can produce unsupported or unknown results.

Questions

Is this a PDF/A or preflight validator?

No. It runs four fixed checks and is not PDF/A, print or standards validation. A finding means one of those checks was not met, such as pages of different sizes; it does not by itself prove the drawing is wrong.

Why is an A-series result unknown instead of failed?

Because a page that is not an A size is not wrong: many valid drawings use other sizes, so the check reports unknown rather than a finding. A page counts as a match when its visible size is within 0.5 mm of A0 to A6.

How do I find the scanned pages in a PDF drawing set?

Run the checks: XM-TD-003 lists every page with no extractable text, which is usually a scanned page or lettering converted to outlines. The tool does not run OCR, so it cannot read the text on those pages.

Why did Xenmark build free checks for PDF drawings?

Xenmark AS is a Norwegian software company building browser-based drawing review tools for owners, consultants, operators and other teams that receive and review technical drawings. Those teams handle PDFs every day, and not every file should be sent to a website just to merge, split or check it — a tender document, a client’s drawing set, a revision that is not released yet. So these everyday tools are free and run entirely in your browser: no account, no upload step, and no server ever receives the file. You can check that yourself — open your browser’s network tab, run the checks on a drawing, and watch nothing leave. What this tool cannot do is listed under Limitations above.

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Reviewing the drawings, not just handling the files?

Xenmark is affordable PDF markup and structured drawing review in the browser. Invite reviewers, pin numbered comments on the sheet, track every one by author and status, and export a clean PDF and Excel when the review is done. Unlike these tools, a review is shared, so its drawings are uploaded to your Xenmark project.

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