PDF Template Import

The PDF Importer for the CE.SDK allows you to seamlessly integrate PDF files into the editor while retaining essential design attributes.

Further, numerous design tools like Adobe Illustrator, Affinity Designer, and Canva allow you to export your designs into .pdf files which can be imported into a Creative Editor scene.

Quickstart

• Save or export your document as a standard .PDF file
• Import your file into the Creative Editor

Features

The main features include:

• File Format Translation: The importer converts .PDF files into the CE.SDK scene format using Mozilla’s pdf.js (via the IMG.LY @imgly/pdfjs-dist fork). Embedded images become in-memory buffer:// URIs that can be relocated to permanent URLs before saving.
• Multi-Page Support: Import entire documents with multiple pages, each converted to a separate page block.
• Platform Agnostic: Works in both browser and Node.js environments with no file system dependencies.

Design Elements

The following PDF design elements will be preserved by the import:

• Positioning and Rotation - Element positions and rotation are accurately transferred, with PDF points converted to inches (1pt = 1/72 inch) for CE.SDK design units.
• Image Elements - Embedded JPEG and PNG images are extracted and placed as graphic blocks. Images carrying a soft mask (SMask) are composited into RGBA PNGs so per-pixel transparency is preserved.
• Text Elements - Font family, size, weight, and italic style are maintained. Fonts are resolved against a configurable typeface resolver, with Google Fonts (@imgly/gfonts) as the default. Type3 and restricted-embedding fonts that cannot be substituted are emitted as vector outlines so the visual output stays exact.
• Vector Paths - SVG path data from the PDF is imported as vector path blocks, including custom shapes and outlined glyphs.
• Colors - RGB, CMYK, and Separation spot colors are preserved end-to-end. CMYK values are kept as CMYKColor rather than collapsed to sRGB, and Separation inks are registered on the document’s spot-color registry. DeviceN inks degrade to their alternate-space solid.
• Gradient Fills - Linear (axial) and radial gradients on shapes and backgrounds are supported.
• Transparency - PDF fill and stroke alpha (ca / CA graphics state) is preserved on the imported block’s opacity.

Limitations

The following elements are not currently supported:

• Linked (external) image references (only embedded images are resolved)
• PDF annotations, form fields, and other interactive elements
• Advanced transparency-group blending modes
• Complex clipping paths and compound shapes (may experience minor distortion)
• Function-based and tensor-product shadings (PDF Shading Types 1, 4–7); only Types 2 (axial) and 3 (radial) are supported
• Fonts with no substitute available in the configured resolver fall back to vector outlines (visually exact, not editable as text)
• JPEG images with a soft mask lose the JPEG pass-through optimization and are decoded then re-encoded as PNG

Your input is invaluable as we continue to refine and improve the importer’s capabilities. If you run into any issues, please let us know by sending an email to support@img.ly and include example .PDF files.