Can I ask for some advice on converting some maps for roll20?

Ok, so for my first big game on roll20, I am using the Curse of Strahd, a 5th edition D&D module. To help make this easier, I bought some high res digital maps of the module online. They arrived via email, and all grouped together in one .pdf file. No matter what I try, I can't seem to break these images up to individual files to convert them, can't save them differently, nada. I'm hoping to try converting the file (shudder) to see if that helps, but not sure how to even begin to do so. I tried GIMP but the program crashes everytime I load the bloody thing. I'm trying to read up on the formats, conversion options, what will look best on roll20, etc, and it's frankly a little intimidating. Digital editing is NOT a strong point of mine (see: crashing GIMP). I'd love to get some feedback/advice on which file format is best for background maps, and ideally a way to convert these files that's easy enough that a brainless zombie could do it, as that's my comfort zone when it comes to new tech.  Thank you for your time! Vicky

Open the PDF, and try right clicking on the image then paste it into Gimp or Paint.net, then slice them up and save them as JPGs.

Hi Vicky! This is possible but not the ideal situation. I'm not familiar with this product that you purchased, but, is it possible to get the maps from the seller in a non-PDF format, a folder of individual maps in graphic-formats ready for Virtual tabletop play? Converting PDF to other formats (or getting individual graphic elements out of a PDF) is a common question and issue, not just in Roll20. There are a number of variables. PDF can be set up to allow copying-exporting of internal graphics and text (The method that Al suggested!), or on the contrary a Locked PDF can also be set-up to deny permission to do this, which makes it more difficult. First question is to look in the PDF you got, check permissions, check the licensing you bought it under, and see if it is a PDF that is able to let you "Select" a picture, hit "Copy" on that picture, and then hit "Paste" in something like GIMP, Photoshop, or Paint. &nbsp;If it will allow you to copy graphics elements and paste them elsewhere, this would be the best way. &nbsp;If it's not that kind of PDF, you still have other options, but they are not as quick and may tend to reduce quality or have other hurdles. Roll20 wiki for image best practices, addresses this to a point: <a href="https://wiki.roll20.net/Image_Best_Practices_for_R" rel="nofollow">https://wiki.roll20.net/Image_Best_Practices_for_R</a>... Some users have reported Roll20 has a way of letting you upload a PDF directly which will tend to convert 1 page of the PDF into a useable format. But PDF is not a supported graphic format for Roll20 itself, and this method is not great for multi-pages. You can take Screenshots of the PDF that you bought. If necessary, zoom in & take multiple screenshots at a good quality view, and then re-assemble the pieces in Roll20 to reconstruct the full size map that you need. Hope this helps. Others will probably come along to help. Pat has experience with importing PDF to Roll20 on the one-page method.

Thank you both, that helped. With a bit of luck (critical hit!) I think I have it working now. Took FAR longer than it should have, considering I paid to avoid the headache I still received. Oy. If evil rears it's ugly head again, I shall return ;)

Vicky, I sent you a pm on how to convert with gimp. As it is not related to roll20, it was more appropiate to pm the information.

You might find Grae's Gothic Horror tokens pack comes in handy for that particular module! <a href="https://marketplace.roll20.net/browse/set/841/unes" rel="nofollow">https://marketplace.roll20.net/browse/set/841/unes</a>...

Inkscape is brilliant at extracting maps from pdfs. It's really easy. Import the page, ungroup them, delete the stuff you don't need, export. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wnVO4IsWssI" rel="nofollow">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wnVO4IsWssI</a> (Sadly, inkscape only exports to png, so you'll have to use GIMP to convert to jpg.)

I use GoodReader on my iPad to extract maps from the 13th Age Alliance adventures, then use Preview on my MacBook to convert to JPEG, and upload to Roll20.