How to fix import failures: PDFs

A workaround for common issues when importing PDFs to Ayoa

The problem

An import failure error message is returned when attempting to upload or import a PDF file to Ayoa

This may occur during imports of PDFs with text and images.

The cause

Ayoa can't currently extract or display content from PDFs that are scanned images (like photos of another document) because the data needs to be 'selectable' in order for Ayoa to convert this to a new project at import.

This applies to things like scanned images or images saved as a flat image in a document

The solution

The solution is to change the format of these PDFs so that the content can be read by Ayoa using Optical Character Recognition (or OCR format). Luckily, this is much easier than it sounds! 

Option 1: Change PDF format (and add images manually)

Changing format can be really easy, but this option requires an extra step to add the PDF images to your project

1. You can quickly and easily upload your PDF to Google Drive

2. Once uploaded, right click the file and select 'Open With' > 'Google Docs

This option automatically changes the images to OCR format. 

3. Simply download the google doc and import this to Ayoa using 'Import Files'

The import will be successful and create a project based on the PDF text.

To add images, save the images from your original PDF as JPEGs locally, and then add them to your branches 

OR

You can choose images using the existing library of royalty free images, or the AI image generator

Option 2: Change the PDF format using a smart OCR tool (and add images manually)

This option requires you to have access to a PDF editing programme like Adobe Acrobat Pro, PDF Element or SmallPDF Pro. 

These tools enable you to retain both text and images when converting your file to OCR format, resulting in selectable, readable text and images preserved.

Once re-formatted, this new PDF can be imported to Ayoa

Please check for any missing images after converting to OCR. If images are essential to the project, reattach them manually to the Ayoa tasks, whiteboards or branches.