GUIDE
Digitize a PDF well log
In short
- Open the PDF directly in the workspace; no conversion to an image is needed first.
- Calibrate depth and each curve, trace, then export LAS, CSV or Excel.
- Everything runs in your browser, and your files stay on your computer.
Why PDFs need digitizing
Many older logs are shared as PDFs that contain only a picture of the curves. The numbers are not in the file, so they cannot be copied out. Digitizing reads the curve position from the picture and converts it to values using the printed scales.
Steps
- Open the PDF in the workspace.
- Calibrate the depth with two known depths and choose feet or metres.
- Add each curve, enter its left and right scale values, pick the track edges and choose linear or logarithmic.
- Trace the curve with the pen or by right-clicking the printed curve for automatic tracing.
- Review with the data checks, then export.
Long logs
Long logs can be traced in sections. Completed intervals stay protected while you extend the trace, and a new pen stroke replaces only its own depth span.
If the PDF already has text data
If a PDF contains a real table of numbers rather than a picture, copy the table into a spreadsheet or text file and open it in LogPlot Studio as Excel, CSV or text data instead of tracing it.
Common questions
Do I need to install anything?
No. Log Digitize runs in your browser.
What can I export?
LAS, CSV, Excel and text. See the scan-to-LAS guide for the details.
Related guides
- Convert a scanned well log to LAS
- Calibrate a log curve scale
- Open and plot LAS files online
- All guides
Try the sample log in your browser · Back to the introduction