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Re: Importing PostScript files

  • To: mathgroup at smc.vnet.net
  • Subject: [mg16642] Re: Importing PostScript files
  • From: "P.J. Hinton" <paulh>
  • Date: Fri, 19 Mar 1999 12:53:58 -0500
  • Organization: "Wolfram Research, Inc."
  • References: <7cof18$1q0@smc.vnet.net>
  • Sender: owner-wri-mathgroup at wolfram.com

On 17 Mar 1999, Daniel AMIGUET wrote:

> How to import in Mathematica an external PostScript file, produced by
> Adobe Illustrator 8 for example, and use it as an usual graphics in a
> notebook?

Chances are you won't be able to do this.  The front end's PostScript
interpreter only understands a subset PostScript page description
language.  Many of the operators it understands are acutally higher order
macros that are mapped to lower level PostScript operatiors.  

To get the front end to render your PostScript successfully, you would
need to write a text processing application which would translate your
PostScript file into this subset language.  This is a non-trivial problem,
but if you're curious or industrious, you can take a look at the psfix
shell script that appears on the Mathematica CD under

	SystemFiles|Graphics|SystemResources

That script contains numerous comments that explain what the different
operators mean.  You can think of it as a Rosetta Stone between
abbreviated Mathematica PostScript and real PostScript.

There is one exception to all of the comments that I listed above.  The
NeXT front end used NeXT's DisplayPostScript feature to render PostScript,
so in that case, you should be able to import EPS and view it
successfully.

--
P.J. Hinton
Mathematica Programming Group           paulh at wolfram.com
Wolfram Research, Inc.                  http://www.wolfram.com/~paulh/
Disclaimer: Opinions expressed herein are those of the author alone.



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