Extracting from PDF maps

[answerquest]

Problem: Many maps like development plan, ward maps are typically released by government agencies in a PDF form, exported from AutoCAD or so. When you open the PDF, sometimes you can notice that it is loading in layers, with a background image, then border lines, then labels, etc. This is because the PDF is holding multiple layers together, like a bunch of transparent sheets.

I have outlined here some ways to extract these layers from the PDF, using a free open source vector editing tool called Inkscape :

https://superuser.com/a/1296609/487360 Answer to forum question: How can I split PDF file into layers