Three types of graphic files are used in PageStream: bitmapped pictures, drawings and EPS illustrations.
Bitmapped pictures are made up of a grid of dots. If you scale a picture larger it will become jaggier. Pictures are generally created with scanners or paint and image processing software. While you can apply effects to pictures with PageStream, you must use another program to paint in a picture. BME, Adobe Photoshop' and Cloanto Personal Paint' can be used for this.
Drawings are made up of objects defined as series of points, lines and curves. You can scale a drawing without it becoming jaggy. Drawings are non-editable when imported into PageStream, but you can dissolve them into their sub-objects which can be edited. You can also create a drawing out of shapes and paths drawn in PageStream. Examples of other programs which can create structured drawings are Adobe Illustrator', Corel Draw' and Art Expression.
Encapsulated PostScript (EPS) illustrations are designed for use with PostScript printers. They are not editable in PageStream because they are composed of PostScript language commands which describe the illustration to the interpreter in a PostScript printer.
Non-PostScript printers lack the PostScript interpreter used to translate PostScript commands into printed graphics. PageStream can convert some EPS illustrations to drawings so that they can be edited in PageStream. Only EPS files saved in Art Expression or Adobe Illustrator EPS formats can be converted. Adobe Illustrator EPS format is the de facto EPS exchange standard and most drawing programs can load and save in this format.
Once an EPS illustration has been imported and converted to a drawing, it is no longer an EPS illustration so it can be printed to any type of printer. If you import other types of EPS illustrations and print them to a non-PostScript printer, only the bitmap preview will be printed. If the EPS file does not have a preview, nothing can be printed.
PageStream for Amiga and Windows cannot display Macintosh format bitmapped EPS previews. Most MacOS illustration programs allow you to choose between PC format TIFF previews and Macintosh format PICT previews.
EPS files often include a low-resolution bitmapped preview. If the EPS file does not contain a preview, it will be shown on screen as a simple box. To see EPS illustration previews, select Preferences from the File menu and click on the View tab. Select Show Pictures to display pictures and EPS previews.
PageStream can import graphics created with other programs. Filters translate graphics from other programs into a format that PageStream can understand. Some filters can also export graphics from PageStream. You can import graphics only from programs which can save in one of the supported formats listed below.
| Format | Description | Import | Export |
| TIFF | Publishing standard for bitmapped pictures | ||
| PICT | MacOS standard for bitmapped pictures and drawings | ||
| IFF ILBM | Amiga standard for bitmapped pictures | ||
| JPEG | Popular Internet picture format | ||
| GIF | Public domain filter for CompuServe/ Internet pictures | ||
| MacPaint | Older MacOS 72 dpi bitmapped pictures | ||
| PCX | PC Paintbrush format for bitmapped pictures | ||
| BMP | Windows standard format for bitmapped pictures | ||
| IFF ILUS | SoftLogik format for advanced drawings | ||
| IFF DR2D | Amiga standard for basic drawings | ||
| ProDrawClip | Professional Draw format for basic drawings | ||
| EPS | Encapsulated PostScript illustrations | ||
| Adobe Illustrator EPS | Interpret Adobe Illustrator EPS into drawings | ||
| Art Expression EPS | Interpret Art Expression EPS into drawings. | ||
| Freehand EPS | Interpret Freehand EPS into drawings. |
Additional filters may be included with your copy of PageStream.
1. Select the Object tool.
2. Choose Place Graphic from the File menu.
A file selector will open to choose a file. Select a file and click Open.
3. Choose options from the Place Graphic dialog box.
Another dialog box will appear to select options specific to the type of file.
| Options | Description |
| Filter | Shows the graphic import filter being used to place the graphic. If more than one filter can be used, you can select the filter to use. |
| Leave External | Select to keep the graphic external to the document. Do not select if you want to store a copy of the graphic in the document. Refer to the next page for details on leaving graphics external. |
| Clip | Choose which clip to import. (Professional Draw only.) |
To import an EPS file as an EPS object for printing to a PostScript printer, choose EPS from the Filter pop-up menu. To import an EPS file as a drawing to edit it or for printing to a non-PostScript printer, choose Illustrator EPS or Art Expression EPS, as applicable, from the Filter pop-up menu if they are available. If they are not available, you cannot use the EPS illustration with a non-PostScript printer. If an Adobe Illustrator EPS file has a TIFF format bitmapped preview, you can also choose to import only the preview.
4. Click Place.
If Place Graphic in Center is selected in the Files panel of Preferences, the imported graphic will be centered in the window after loading. If Place Graphic in Center is not selected, the mouse pointer will change to the place graphic shape. Click to place the upper left corner of the graphic. Click drag to place and scale the graphic.
If an EPS illustration is shown as a box, it either lacks a bitmapped preview or Show Pictures is unselected. If a picture is shown as a box, the Show Pictures option is unselected. If a drawing is shown as a box, the Show Drawings option is unselected. Choose Preferences from the File menu, click on the View tab, and select Show Pictures or Show Drawings as required.
To edit the component objects of a drawing after import, choose Dissolve Drawing from the Drawing submenu in the Object menu.
PageStream allows you to choose whether to store graphics as part of the document or to leave them external. If you choose to store graphics as part of the document, PageStream will import the entire graphic and save it in the document file. This avoids problems when you delete a graphic used by a document, but makes the document file larger and will use more memory.
If you choose to leave a bitmapped picture external, PageStream will create a low-resolution FPO (For Position Only) preview. The actual picture file will only be used for printing to conserve memory and drive space. It also allows you to work with pictures larger than the available memory in your computer.
If you leave a drawing external, it will be loaded the first time you view the page it is on. External drawings save some memory because they don't need to be loaded until they are viewed, and help keep document files smaller. External EPS illustrations are sent directly to the printer when you print a document and are never loaded so that you can import EPS files larger than the available memory.
If you open a document with external graphics and PageStream cannot find a graphic in the correct directory or in the document's directory, it will open a file selector so that you can select the graphic file to use. If you take your document to another computer for printing, you must take all external graphics with the document and should put them in the same directory as the document.
If you dissolve an external drawing, an alert box will prompt you to confirm the change because this will make the drawing's objects internal.
If you change an external graphic by editing it in another program, the new version will be loaded the next time you load the document. If the document is already open when you change the graphic, the graphic in it will be updated automatically the next time you view the page it is on.
On MacOS computers, the graphic will be updated when you switch back to PageStream. On AmigaOS computers, the graphic will be updated automatically.
If an external graphic stored on a networked drive not attached to your computer is changed while a document using it is open, PageStream for Macintosh will not be updated until you switch to the Finder or another application and back to PageStream. If the network device does not support file notification, PageStream for Amiga will not be updated until you close and re-open the document.
You can make an external graphic internal at any time, or make an internal graphic external.
To change the external status of a graphic: Select the graphic and then choose Information from the Edit menu to display the Object Information dialog box. Select or unselect Leave External and click OK.
If you change the Leave External option and PageStream cannot find the file, a file selector will appear for you to select a file to use.
PageStream allows you to export selected graphics from a document. Filters translate PageStream's graphics into a format that can be understood by other programs. Refer to Importing Graphics for a list of the supported formats.
Your export choices will be constrained by the type and number of objects selected. If you select one bitmapped picture, you can export it in any supported drawing or bitmap format. If you select two pictures or any other combination of objects, you will only be able to export them in a drawing format.
If you select one EPS illustration, you can export it as EPS. This is useful only if you deleted the original graphic.
1. Select the objects to export.
2. Choose Export Graphic from the File menu.
Choose options from the Export Graphic dialog box. Most graphic formats do not have any options.
| Export Graphic | Description |
| Filter | Choose the graphic format in which to export the selected object(s). |
| Type | Choose to save a TIFF picture in Macintosh/Amiga (Motorola byte order) or PC (Intel byte order) format. |
| Compression | Choose a compression type or None for no compression for a TIFF picture. |
| Quality | Select the level of compression versus quality for a JPEG picture. |
| Progressive | Select to save a JPEG picture as a progressively displayed picture. |
3. Click Export.
Enter a name in the Export file selector. Click Save.
PageStream exports graphics as best it can given the limitations of each format. To avoid losing object information, use IFF ILUS if you plan to import the graphic into PageStream later.
This table lists some of the known limitations of the supported formats.
| Format | Type | Export limitations |
| TIFF | Picture | No limitations. |
| PICT | Picture | No limitations. |
| IFF ILBM | Picture | No limitations. |
| JPEG | Picture | JPEG supports only greyscale and RGB pictures. |
| GIF | Picture | GIF supports only palette pictures. Other types cannot be exported in this format. |
| PCX | Picture | PCX supports only palette and RGB pictures. Other types cannot be exported in this format. |
| BMP | Picture | BMP supports only black and white, palette (4 or 8 bit), and 24 bit RGB pictures. Grayscale will be converted to palette when exported as BMP. CMYK cannot be exported in this format. |
| IFF ILUS | Drawing | No limitations. |
| IFF DR2D | Drawing | PageStream supports the ProVector 2.0 DR2D format. v3.0 attributes are not supported. DR2D supports only paths, so all objects will be converted to paths on export. Text, pictures, arrowheads, gradient fills and bitmapped fills will be lost. |
| EPS | EPS | PageStream does no conversion when exporting EPS objects. |
| Illustrator EPS | Drawing | PageStream exports in Illustrator 88/1.1 format. This format does not support merged paths or gradient fills. Text is not exported. |