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Add pdfmark -- A request to graph plotting application developers

  • To: mathgroup at smc.vnet.net
  • Subject: [mg3185] Add pdfmark -- A request to graph plotting application developers
  • From: izumi at pinoko.berkeley.edu (Izumi Ohzawa)
  • Date: Tue, 13 Feb 1996 02:30:29 -0500
  • Organization: University of California, Berkeley
  • Sender: owner-wri-mathgroup at wolfram.com

I have a simple request to developers of graph/chart generating apps,
especially if it allows saving graphs/plots as EPS.

If you (a user) produce lots of graphs and plots in EPS form, have
you had situations where you lost track of how exactly you generated
a graph that was used in a report?  For example, do you have all
the record of the original raw data filenames, analysis parameters
and plot parameters?

I think this data source tracking problem can be solved if
graph plotting applications can insert a pdfmark with annotations
into EPS files they generate.  These EPS files can then be imported into
a DTP app and final PS file is produced.  Months or years later, if
you ever need to know the source of data for a given graph, it can be
found via the pdfmark annotation that is embedded in the document.
Once the PS file is distilled with Acrobat Distiller, you will see
an icon for the annotation without any further effort.

I tried this by manually inserting a pdfmark into EPS, which then
is incorporated into a word processor, printed to a PS file, and
then distilled with Acrobat Distiller.  It seems to work great.

Of course, for on-line publications, you may want to sanitize some of
these notes for general viewing.  But this should not be a problem as
it is easy to remove notes via Exchange.

What do you think?

--
Izumi Ohzawa    <izumi at pinoko.berkeley.edu>     [ $ at Bg_78^=;(J ]  
USMail: Univ. of California, 360 Minor Hall, Berkeley, CA 94720-2020
Tel: 510-642-6440, Fax: -3323, Web: http://totoro.berkeley.edu/~izumi/

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