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Re: version 6 Plot3D exporting results in HUGE files

• To: mathgroup at smc.vnet.net
• Subject: [mg80666] Re: version 6 Plot3D exporting results in HUGE files
• From: J Davis <texasAUtiger at gmail.com>
• Date: Tue, 28 Aug 2007 02:16:44 -0400 (EDT)
• References: <fardul$b6r$1@smc.vnet.net><fatfd1$er$1@smc.vnet.net>

On Aug 26, 10:11 pm, ragfield <ragfi... at gmail.com> wrote:
> On Aug 26, 3:34 am, J Davis <texasAUti... at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> > I did the following in v6.0.1 (which I will refer to as v6 hereafter):
> > generated a surface using the Plot3D command, clicked on the resulting
> > surface graphic, then Save Selection As > EPS.
>
> > The resulting EPS file was over 4400 KB!
>
> The root of the problem is that most 3D plotting functions in
> Mathematica 6 produce graphics that contain features that are not
> (well) supported by EPS or PDF, most notably VertexColors.
> Mathematica therefore has a few different ways to deal with this
> problem, none of them ideal.  Click on the "Options..." button in the
> "Save Selection As..." dialog to see the following choices for
> graphics containing VertexColors and Opacity:
>
> * Use Bitmap Representation.  This matches what you see in Mathematica
> exactly, but produces large files that are resolution dependent
> (albeit at a fairly high resolution).  This is what you're probably
> seeing.
>
> * Use Highest Quality Vector Representation.  This should match what
> you see in Mathematica nearly exactly, but it will not be compatible
> with all viewer applications.  For PS/EPS this uses PS level 3
> features.  For PDF it uses features that are not supported by Apple's
> PDF engine prior to Mac OS X 10.5.
>
> * Use Most Compatible Vector Representation.  This will not exactly
> match what you see on screen in Mathematica, but it will produce a
> small file that works in all viewers.
>
> -Rob

Rob,

I tried the latter two options and the file sizes were still huge
(option 3 was almost 4mb and option 2 was a whopping 22 mb!).

This is a serious flaw for anyone who uses v6 to generate surfaces for
inclusion in LaTeX papers, etc.

I am rather surprised others haven't reported issues with this.

Any other insight you can add is appreciated.

JD