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Copy Paste Order


When you execute a Copy from one application (e.g. EazyDraw) and a Paste to a second application (e.g. PowerPoint) the operating system (OS X) facilitates the transfer of information (your EazyDraw graphics) using the system pasteboard.

Data can be placed in the pasteboard server in more than one representation. For example, your EazyDraw graphic might be provided both in Tag Image File Format (TIFF) and as encapsulated PostScript code (EPS). Multiple representations give pasting applications the option of choosing which data type to use.

In some cases this automated selection may not provide the desired results. In the example (EazyDraw to PowerPoint) the TIFF format would be correct if the graphic was a photograph that was perhaps cropped and enhanced with a composition affect. But this would be the wrong format for an electronic timing diagram, in the later case a vector representation would be far superior.

These check boxes and ordering specifiers provide control over this inter-application interaction.

When applications interact with the pasteboard server they indicate the allowed formats and an order of preference. In some cases the preference order may define the actual format used. The Order parameters provided allow control of this preference ordering.

The check boxes on the Copy column define which formats are included when a Copy (or drag off screen) action is performed by EazyDraw. Check the box to include the format.

The numbers specified in the Copy Order column determine the order in which the formats are placed on the pasteboard. A lower number indicates a preferred format. Change the order by typing a number in the text box associated with a format.

The two Paste columns work in the same fashion, except they provide control over the formats accepted with a paste (or Drop) operation into EazyDraw from another application.

LinkBack is not a stand-alone data format. This is ancillary data information provided with other copy or paste formats. The LinkBack data is not actually displayed when copied or pasted, the information is used at a later time when an edit of the content is requested. This data is provided only when a receiving application requests the data, so there is no time, memory or other unnecessary performance impact for including this information on the pasteboard.

These parameters have no effect when copying from one EazyDraw drawing to another. In these cases EazyDraw makes use of internal proprietary formats that are more complete in the information transferred.

These parameters are especially important when working with older "Classic" style applications. In this case the "Classic Pict" format may provide far superior quality of the pasted graphics. However if left to their own choices, the destination application may prefer the newer TIFF format. In these cases (MSWord, PowerPoint, and AppleWorks) be certain to include Classic Pict - exclude Quick Time Pict - which is an encapsulated TIFF - and make the Classic Pict the number 1 in the copy order. If low quality imports are still present, turn off all the other Copy formats to force acceptance of the Classic Pict.

For communication with newer applications on OS X, known as Cocoa Apps, TIFF and PDF will be formats that are more likely to provide high quality image rendering in the destination application.

There is a Short Cut Export icon found in the title bar of any drawing that has been saved to disk. You can use this Copy - Paste method independently from the Copy - Paste order defined by these parameters. These parameters have no control over the format and content of a drag - drop action using the title bar icon.

The ICNS format is used by the Finder for the graphic images used to display icons or thumbnails of files and folders. This is a special case and would not normally be used unless you are specifically designing icons and understand the procedures involved. If this format is selected, all the others are disabled to make things work properly with the transfer of information. If you are using your drawing as a desk top icon, be sure to use the ICNS format and not PICT or TIFF. EazyDraw generates automatically a family of different size images and masks to obtain the best quality results for the generation of the icons. To use this capability, open the Get Info window of a file or folder, copy from EazyDraw the select the icon in the upper left of the Get Info window, then paste - this will install your EazyDraw graphics as a file or folder thumbnail.