Importing or converting an architectural mode in PDF to EA. Possible?

[EA_enthusiast]

Hello EA experts,

Is there any tool or a way to import/convert an architecture model in a PDF format to EA / EA file format?

Thank you!

[qwerty]

Simply: no, except for using eyes/brain/fingers to do the transformation.

q.

[EA_enthusiast]

Thank you, qwerty! I heard of some tools and addins that convert PDF to Visio. I was curious whether something similar exists for EA.

[steen.jensen]

Soon it should be possible for some AI.
Bing AI can describe element and relations from an Archimate jpg picture. It does not understand the Element-type yet, and I was trying to get the textual in Exchange Format but did not succed.
Maybe some payed version can do it already

[EA_enthusiast]

That makes sense, Steen. I would expect to see a reasonable solution to this problem in the next 1-2 years.

[Jan van Duuren]

You could use NODEJS with a PDF text Reader package (npm) to open your EA repository and PDF-Files to create elements.
such script will not run inside EA, but on Windows itself.

Steps you would need are:

• download and install nodejs engine from Internet
• installl npm package 'winax' to use ActiveXObjects (COMObjects)
• install npm package 'pdf-text-reader'
• create a js script in which you:
• open your EA repository as ActiveXObject
• retrieve required info from PDF file
• create EA elements retrieved from PDF
• close EA repository

[EA_enthusiast]

You could use NODEJS with a PDF text Reader package (npm) to open your EA repository and PDF-Files to create elements.

Thank you, Jan, for sharing this. I am wondering whether you have tried this yourself and it worked for you?.

[Jan van Duuren]

Yes, I did use it for retrieving some documentation from multiple PDFs.
I grabed all PFD files, itterate through each PDF file, searched for some fixed text (tags) and then inserted them as new elements in EA.
So it is doable and repeatable.

[EA_enthusiast]

This is nice! I should try it, then. Thank you, Jan.