This article describes the PDF Scout™ Inspector Tool embedded into e-PlanREVIEW® (EPR) and our goPost™ Public Portal, as well as EPR Connect API.
Scout can identify some known issues in the PDF files, prior to assignments being created.
Documents that do not pass Scout inspection will not proceed for plan review.
In this article:
Running Scout in EPR
During the file intake process, PDFs uploaded for plan review are analyzed online via our PDF Scout inspector.
In EPR, the inspection happens on the Documents Upload page when the user selects the PROCESS button, as shown below.
Attachments are not analyzed by Scout because attachments are not used to create plan review assignments .
Step 1: Select PROCESS
After Scout inspects each plan review file, the page will refresh to display the results, as shown below.
Step 2: Evaluate Scout results
Select the eye icon to view the results of the Scout inspection. An example is shown in the image below.
Step 3: Delete rejected plan review documents
Documents flagged with a red X should be deleted. Select the ellipsis icon to the right and choose Delete.
Documents with a yellow warning sign are acceptable.
Issues that Scout PDF Inspector Identifies
Issue | Is Active | Is Configurable | Configurations | Default Behavior | Default Result | Solution |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
ACCESSIBLE | Y | N | N/A | Checks if the file is invalid (such as a PDF Portfolio), corrupt, or password protected. | REJECTION | Check if PDF can be opened by Adobe Reader and confirm it is not a PDF Portfolio. If the PDF cannot be opened, create a new PDF from the source program. Remove password protection, if applicable. |
FILENAME | Y | Y | Filename Special Characters | Checks if filename contains: !, *, \, (, ), ;, :, @, &, =, +, $, , (comma), /, ?, %, #, [, ], " , <, >, | characters. Characters cannot be edited. | REJECTION | Remove these characters from the filename and re-upload the file. |
SIZE | Y | Y | Minimum/Maximum PDF size in bytes | Documents must not exceed 400 MB (419430400 bytes). Recommended maximum size is 2 GB. | REJECTION | Return to the source document and create PDF files that are below the file size limitation or break up PDF into smaller files. Follow the instructions in the DOCUMENT SUBMITTAL RECOMMENDATIONS. |
PAGE COUNT | Y | Y | Maximum page count | Checks the PDF page count based on the configured maximum page count. The default is set to 500 pages. | REJECTION | Split large files into smaller subsets and submit files separately or the Agency can choose to increase the maximum page count. |
TEXT CONTENT | N | Y | N/A | Checks whether PDF text and fonts are present and legible. | N/A | Properly embed or substitute missing font. Using true type fonts is recommended. |
VERSION | Y | N | N/A | Checks PDF version. If PDF version older than 1.4 is detected, the file will be rejected. (Version 1.4 was released prior to 2001.) | Warning | None required but it is recommended to update the PDF to a newer version. |
PAGE ACCESS | Y | Y | N/A | The inspector tries to read each page in the document. If a page is not readable, the file will be rejected. | REJECTION | Adobe Reader may report these pages as damaged or in need of repair. Recreate the PDF from the source document using Adobe Pro or Nitro Pro. |
ANNOTATION | Y | Y | N/A | Checks for annotations that appear in the pdf Reader ‘Comment’ panel, such as SHX Text generated by AutoCAD. | Warning | None required. Note that SHX text annotations will be removed from pdf 'Comment' panel when printing deliverable files so they do not interfere with review comments. (No other annotations will be removed.) |
METADATA | Y | Y | N/A | Check hidden content and unexpected metadata like embedded Flash, other PDFs, etc. | Warning | Remove hidden content by following the instructions listed in the EPR Wiki document “How To Remove Metadata from PDF”. |
SIGNATURE | Y | Y | N/A | Checks for the presence of a digital signature in the PDF. | Warning | Validates that the signature exists but cannot confirm source authenticity. |
ATTACHMENT | Y | Y | N/A | Checks if any attachments exist in the PDF. | REJECTION | Recreate the PDF without any attachments or reprint PDF as new to remove attachments. |
RESOLUTION | Y | Y | Minimum/Maximum pixel count | Checks pages for low resolution (in pixels) based on page dimensions. | Warning | Create a new PDF from the source. |
ROTATION | Y | Y | N/A | Checks if a document has mixed page orientations based on the first page orientation. Scout does not look at page content so, it cannot determine if pages are upside-down, for example. | Warning | None required. Manually checking that pages are not upside-down or sideways is recommended. Page rotation can now be corrected within EPR. |
Completing Document Inspection
Select the FINISH button to push accepted plan review documents to the Intake page, where plan review assignments can be created.
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