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Date: Mon, 15 Jun 1992 16:42 EST From: Ellen Ricca <ERICCA@RCNVMS.RCN.MASS.EDU> Subject: A matter of graphics,transfers, and madness-SUMMARY OF RESPONSES Below are some of the helpful suggestions I receieved to my post about graphics/text transfer and translation accross platforms.... Thanks again to all those who responded. Ellen Ricca ----------------------------------------------------------------- From: IN%"Les.Ferch@mtsg.ubc.ca" 12-JUN-1992 02:39:42.38 To: IN%"ERICCA@RCNVMS.RCN.MASS.EDU" CC: Subj: A matter of graphics, transfers, and ...(A) > Ellen: >Do they just need the same software on both platforms, i.e., >Illustrator and Word on the MAC and Illustrator and Word on the PC? >>Les.Ferch says: >>That's the best approach because it usually works and you can bug >>one company if it doesn't. >Ellen: >What if they should end up with completely different applications, >i.e, Illustrator and Word on the MAC and lets say CorelDraw and >WordPerfect on the PC? How could they seamlessly transfer then? Or >is that impossible? * stuff deleted >>Les.Ferch says: >>Illustrator, Word, Excel, PageMaker, and WordPerfect are available on >>both Mac and PC (use Windows versions only on PC). I'm not sure, but I think >>FreeHand may be available for both as well. >>The kickers are things like TIFF is often different on Mac and IBM. >>EPSF has a screen preview which has to be for Mac or IBM. PICT is >>a Mac format that handles both object oriented and bitmap graphics >>but there is no equivalent standard on the PC. It goes on and on. >>I've learned all my Mac stuff slowly over a six year period. I >>don't envy you having to figure it all out in a short time. >>Good luck. From: IN%"Shekhar.Govind@utxvm.cc.utexas.edu" 12-JUN-1992 04:14:26.25 To: IN%"ERICCA@RCNVMS.RCN.MASS.EDU" CC: Subj: Graphics translation >>Shekhar.Govind says: >>There are a number of translators available that should do your job. >>The one I use (and therefore am most familiar with)is MacLink Plus. >>MacLink/Plus comes with over 100 modules that translate different text and >>graphics formats (Mac <-> PC). To give you a partial list: >>PC formats recognized: AutoCAD DXF, Harward Graphics CGM, >>Lotus Freelance CGM, Lotus PIC, PC Paintbrush, TIFF PC, Ventura >>Publisher GEM and IMG, Windows BMP, WordPerfect WPG etc. >>Mail order price is around $110 (available from the usual suspects e.g., >>MacWareHouse, MacZone, MacConnection etc.). Hope this helps. >>Cheers - Shekhar Govind, Lafayette College. govi@lafayette.edu From: IN%"csc345@central1.lancaster.ac.uk" "Ian C McCall" 12-JUN-1992 07:33:13.19 To: IN%"ERICCA@RCNVMS.RCN.MASS.EDU" CC: Subj: Image File Formats >>Ian C McCall says... ** Stuff Deleted >>For transfer between DOS and Mac platforms, I would say that either TIFF >>or EPS are the most widely accepted. TIFF is taken by virtually all the >>Mac applications, and by a wide variety of DOS applications. EPS is >>taken by a largish number on both, but there is the odd time when you >>find an EPS incompatibility (the standard example is two Mac programs - >>Freehand and Illustrator). >>To make the process even easier, I would also reccomend getting either >>DOSMounter or AccessPC for your Macs. Then you'd just be able to stick a >>floppy in from a PC, double click on the file, and it would open up in >>whatever Mac application you want it to. I use DOSMounter myself, but I >>don't really know the difference in features between the two. From: IN%"HOLT@dstl86.gsfc.nasa.gov" 12-JUN-1992 09:04:12.30 To: IN%"ERICCA@RCNVMS.RCN.MASS.EDU" CC: Subj: A matter of graphics, transfers, and ...(A) >>Brett Holt says... >>Since you already mentioned looking through Mac magazines, maybe this isn't >>the help you need, but I noticed that the March 1992 MacWorld has a very >>complete guide on Mac-PC file transfers. It has a great pull-out chart on >>pp. 156-157 that shows a matrix for a wide variety of writing and drawing >>programs under both Mac and DOS Platforms, and how to exchange files between >>those programs. For example, it looks like DOS CorelDraw (to take your >>example) can read Adobe Illustrator output with little or no special >>treatment. >>Best of luck, ** Stuff deleted Brett Holt ** holt@dstl86.gsfc.nasa.gov From: IN%"IRBLOOM@VTVM1.CC.VT.EDU" "Allan M. Bloom" 12-JUN-1992 09:06:56.55 To: IN%"ericca@RCNVMS.RCN.MASS.EDU" "Ellen Rica" CC: Subj: Graphics Translation >> Alan Bloom says ... >>Ellen, it sounds like all you need is a $109 program called MacLinkPlus >>Translators (MacWarehouse price, item #COM 0052, 800-255-6227). It offers >>a variety of Mac <--> IBM graphics and word processor (and spreadsheet >>and data base) translations. It also includes DOS Mounter, an extension >>that allows you to read/write/format MS/DOS disks in the FDHD. ** Stuff Deleted Al Bloom, Virginia Tech From: IN%"simkin@bagel.epi.mcgill.ca" "Leah Simkin" 12-JUN-1992 10:26:45.07 To: IN%"ERICCA@RCNVMS.RCN.MASS.EDU" CC: Subj: your post to INFO-MAC ** Stuff Deleted >>Leah Simkin says... >> Barring this, you can use different software but read/write the same >>graphic format. Warning: there seem to be variants of at least some of these >>formats. Her is a quote from the (Borland) Quattro Pro manual: >> "Quattro Pro supports the DIF file format developed by Software Arts >> Products Corporation, which is used by VisiCalc. Although other >> programs may import/export DIF files, they aren't necessarily the >> same file format. Consequently, they may not be compatible with >> Quattro Pro." >>Bad? This is good! They actually _tell_ you somewhere in the manual! >> You will need to do a translation of file formats for Mac->PC even if, >>for example, both ends are using the same graphics definition (EPS, for example). We have found the MacLinkPlus translators are good for this kind of work. Good luck, Leah Simkin simkin@bagel.epi.mcgill.ca From: IN%"jverreau@sol.UVic.CA" 12-JUN-1992 11:22:58.90 To: IN%"ERICCA@RCNVMS.RCN.MASS.EDU" "ELLEN RICCA AT MCC" CC: Subj: >>John Verreau says... ** Stuff deleted ** if you have programs on both platforms (IBM and Mac) that are produced by the same company (e.g. Aldus, Adobe, Microsoft, etc.) the likelyhood is that they will have built in save options for the other platform. However, if you want to stick with incompatible software the next best thing to do is either save in EPS format and have programs on either side that can read it (TIFF and GIFF other possibles); or purchase Software Bridge for one or the other platform and convert the files as they stand to the other format. Hope this is of some help. Cheers. !-) From: IN%"WRR3118@tamvm1.tamu.edu" "Rick R." 12-JUN-1992 11:28:26.42 To: IN%"ericca@RCNVMS.RCN.MASS.EDU" CC: Subj: Graphics between platforms Rick R says... I read your question on the Info-Mac digest and I thought you might like some ideas. Basically, there are two kinds of graphics: BITMAP and OBJECT-ORIENTED. ** Stuff deleted *** Typical bitmap data formats are TIFF (.TIF on the PC), MacPaint (.PNT on the PC), GIF, and a few others. For bitmap data, I think TIFF format is best. I've translated many graphics from the Mac to the PC (and vice versa) using TIFF format. Since you don't know the resolution of the destination printer, I'd avoid bitmap graphics if I were you. They're bulky (i.e. they use lots of memory and disk space) and they're somewhat harder to create than object-oriented graphics. Which brings me to... OBJECT-ORIENTED graphics. Programs like MacDraw, the Superpaint draw layer, Adobe Illustrator, Aldus Freehand, and several PC programs (CorelDraw, MicroGraphix Designer) produce object-oriented graphics. ** Stuff deleted** PostScript is by far the most universal. With a properly configured printer and software, object-oriented graphics *always* print at the full resolution of the destination printer. But there is a problem. In order to use object-oriented graphics, you must have programs on both the Mac and PC capable of understanding (and printing!) the graphics. If you've got the same programs on both the Mac and PC side, that's a good start. Illustrator and Freehand are perfectly capable and effective programs for this sort of work. There are two more considerations. First is the destination printer. I don't know how a vinyl sheet printer works, but it's my bet that it doesn't use PostScript or any other well-known object-oriented imaging software. Before you invest money in Illustrator, Freehand, or any other software, it would be a good idea to call the printer company and ask them if your programs of choice will print, *at full resolution*, to the printer. They should know, and if they claim not to, then your programs probably won't work with their printer. The second consideration is ease of use. Illustrator, Freehand, CorelDraw, MicroGraphix Designer, etc. are *very professional* graphics design systems, and they have a fairly steep learning curve. Perhaps you should invite some of the Facilities people to come up to the Publication dept and watch a demo of Illustrator and/or Freehand. If they look bewildered and confused, then you might want to look for another solution. Other solutions might involve stepping down to a bitmap-type graphic, or finding some simpler drawing programs. Bitmaps work great when the resolution is not very high (300dpi or less), and it's a bit harder to screw up when using bitmap graphics. From: IN%"SYSTEM%3915C.decnet@scfb.nwc.navy.mil" "3915C::SYSTEM" 12-JUN-1992 11:39:38.54 To: IN%"ERICCA@RCNVMS.RCN.MASS.EDU" "ERICCA" CC: Subj: PC/MAC related question >> Steven Howe says... ** Stuff deleted ** 
