You can import any PDF into Magic Import without editing it — but a few adjustments will get you better results.

Magic Import reads your PDF's text layer in order, so the cleaner and flatter that layer is, the more accurately your events will come through. Passing your PDF through an AI tool first is the fastest way to clean it up, but it's not required; a few manual adjustments go a long way too. This article covers what to check before you import.

Tips & Tricks 💥

• Flatten the PDF to a single layer. PDFs exported from design tools (InDesign, Canva, some DMC quoting systems) can contain overlapping text boxes or layers that read out of order once Magic Import extracts the text. If your source PDF was designed rather than typed, use Print > Save as PDF on it once. This flattens everything into plain, ordered text.
• Make sure the PDF has a real text layer, not just an image. A scanned itinerary or a PDF made from photos won't have selectable text, so Magic Import will have difficulty reading and parsing the information. To check that your PDF has a real text layer, try selecting a line of text in the PDF with your cursor. If nothing highlights, it's an image-only file. We recommend you run the PDF through OCR software first, such as with Adobe Acrobat, before using Magic Import.
• Always include the year on every date. If a year is missing, Magic Import may assign the event to an incorrect or random year in the Details tab.
• Keep it to one column where possible. Multi-column layouts (common in DMC quotes) can cause text from side-by-side columns to interleave, scrambling dates and details. A single-column, top-to-bottom layout imports most reliably.
• Avoid heavy tables for day-by-day details. Tables can import fine for simple line items, but complex or merged-cell tables often lose their structure once converted to text. Plain paragraphs under each date tend to hold together better.
• Remove unnecessary images if the PDF is very image-heavy — this also helps with file size.
• Keep PDFs to around 30 pages or fewer. For longer itineraries, split the document into two smaller imports rather than one large one.
• Watch for repeating headers, footers, or watermarks. Text that repeats on every page (a supplier logo line, page numbers formatted as text, a watermark) can get pulled in as noise on every event. Removing these first with a PDF editor keeps the import cleaner.
• Magic Import works best with a fully detailed, day-by-day Itinerary. PDFs that include only e-tickets or basic activity lists without key details—like dates—may not process as expected, regardless of size or flattening.

Keywords: Magic Import, PDF, PDF layers, flatten PDF, scanned PDF, OCR, best practices, What makes a good PDF for Magic Import