EPS

When it comes to exporting graphics to traditional media, the discussion is very brief: if you are outputting to a PostScript device, create EPS files. For all of the same reasons that we liked the EPS import, this is one of your safest and cleanest avenues out. This goes double in today’s environment, where the integration of bitmap images into drawings is commonplace, because EPS is one of a few formats that can reliably handle both types of graphics at once. It is also one of the few reliable cross-platform transport formats. Figure 30.3 shows how EPS aced our test.

FIGURE 30.3  When you absolutely gotta get it right, choose EPS as the export format.

The contents of EPS files cannot be edited by the recipients (unless their software has a PostScript interpreter, like DRAW does). Most likely, they will simply drop your EPS file into their layout, using the preview header as a placement guide. When the entire layout is printed to a PostScript device, the PostScript information contained in your EPS file is included in the stream of PostScript instructions for the output device.

Exporting to EPS will invoke a separate export dialog (shown below), which shares many options with the Print dialog, and we refer you to Chapter 26 for those details.

Options that are unique to EPS export include:

Include Header A choice between TIFF and WMF. Choose TIFF when delivering files cross-platform, and keep the header resolution to a minimum to avoid bloated file sizes (although this bloat will not affect print integrity or print times—only the display of the graphic).

Bounding Box Here you choose whether the bounding box seen by the receiving application will represent the entire page size or only the objects in the file. The latter is the default and the one you’ll use most often, but if you need to show an entire page, margins and all, you’ll want to choose Page. This option is on the new Advanced page of the dialog.

If you need a bit more help, right-click on a dialog item and choose What’s This from the pop-up menu or click the Help button.

Test Results The EPS file we created printed perfectly to an Epson 1520 Level 2 printer, to a Linotronic imagesetter for film output, and it displayed perfectly in Acrobat Reader, versions 3 and 4.

Recommended For Preserving file integrity across PostScript output devices and the software used to create it; when creating files for inclusion in other documents; when creating files for cross-platform delivery.

Avoid When The contents will have to be edited as individual objects and graphics, as chances are the receiving application will not have the means to interpret the PostScript information correctly.

	NOTE Although we stand by our previous advice, we’ve relaxed a little bit and include PDF alongside of EPS, provided, however, that you use DRAW 9’s new Publish to PDF feature. Read Chapter 28 for the scoop on Publish to PDF details, especially if you are providing files cross-platform.

WMF

The obvious exception to the EPS rule is if you must create graphics that will ultimately be printed on a non-PostScript printer. We suggest you try two formats: Windows Metafile, covered here, and TIFF, discussed later. The WMF file will not handle bitmaps or powerclips reliably, and will break down fountain fills into tiny bands of shades. Yet of all of the common vector formats, it is the closest pursuer to EPS, provided the receiving application’s own import filter is up to speed.

Test Results Our results were varied, owing to the differences in receiving WMF filters themselves. Freehand and (surprisingly) WordPerfect 7 and 8 imports were close to unusable. Illustrator 8, Xara 2, and Microsoft Office 97 products opened the WMF test file with very little discrepancies, telling us that DRAW’s WMF export does indeed work. Figure 30.4 shows the WMF file DRAW created, imported, and displayed in Word 97. Those good results proved to be a pleasant surprise for us, revealing that DRAW’s WMF export capabilities are improved over previous versions. The powerclip stayed inside of its boundaries (previous versions would simply ignore the clipping path entirely), and while complex patterns and other fills were rendered as bitmaps, they looked perfect. Text remained editable and showed up in Word 97, Illustrator 8, and Xara 2 with all of the correct typefaces. Fountain fills had the least favorable results, and we would recommend converting any such filled objects to bitmaps in DRAW before a WMF export.

Recommended For General compatibility between most Windows applications; non-PostScript output.

Avoid When EPS, PDF, or native formats are options; if your file contains complex fills that cannot be simplified.

FIGURE 30.4  The test file produced reasonable results when exported as a WMF file for use in Word 97.

	NOTE A general comment about exporting transparent bitmap effects: transparencies are rendered in RGB. For exports for print output, we recommend separating any bitmap effect from the control object and either converting it to CMYK or “flattening” the effect with any underlying object layer by selecting both and converting to one bitmap.

Illustrator (AI)

One of the first things many users try when testing the integrity of their Illustrator exports is to immediately reimport the AI file back into DRAW. Big mistake. DRAW’s Illustrator import and export filters are two separate beasts. The only true test of DRAW’s AI exports is to open the resulting file in Illustrator itself, which we did. DRAW’s AI export filter has been written from the ground up by Corel, and we are happy to report perfect results with Illustrator 7 and 8, as shown in Figure 30.5. With DRAW 9’s improved AI import filter, moving your work between these top illustration applications has never been easier. Choosing the AI format will open an intermediary dialog, presenting numerous options to create the most compatible export.

Test Results Perfect, with one limitation: because nonlinear fountain fills will be converted to objects, we recommend converting nonlinear to linear, when possible, and re-creating the fill in Illustrator. Also note that mesh and other bitmap fills will be converted to bitmaps. Pattern fills were retained.

Recommended For Working between DRAW and Illustrator, and other later Adobe products.

Avoid When Never—when transferring files to Illustrator or output devices that require AI format as input, it is the best way to go.

FIGURE 30.5  Illustrator 8 rendered all objects faithfully, if a bit inefficiently at times.