#11 import/open color raster PS from ivtools

[Scott Johnston]

brought up by jsd@monmouth.com:

when you print or export in PostScript format with
idraw format not selected (a checkbox on the print
dialog box, a set of radio buttons on the export dialog
box), you get PostScript that will work on a color
printer, but can't be imported or re-opened by any
ivtools drawing editor. If you select idraw format you
get a file that can be printed on a B&W printer, and
can be opened/imported by all the ivtools drawing
editors.

The reason is the extensions to idraw format that were
made available when idraw format was deselected on the
export or print dialog box. Normal idraw format stores
the color data in a PostScript comment, and has a copy
of a monochrome version of the image available for
printing. The altered format stores the specific kind
of raster data, color or gray-level, directly in
executable PostScript, so you can print on both color
and B&W printers.

The solution is to move on to idraw format #14, which
would add support for ColorRast and GrayRast
idraw-format graphical objects to all the ivtools
drawing editors.

[Scott Johnston]

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Not selecting "idraw format" on the export or print dialog
boxes gives you a color-printer ready EPS (this wasn't
working until ivtools-0.9.4 or 5/22/01 in cvs). Selecting
"idraw format" generates b&w-printer ready EPS with color
data embedded in comments.

So you can get color imagery out of and back into an ivtools
drawing editor using idraw EPS. You just can't do it with
the less restricted EPS format which is the default on the
export and dialog boxes.