Path: utzoo!yunexus!ists!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!rutgers!ucsd!usc!cs.utexas.edu!uunet!mcsun!ukc!slxsys!qtlon!skyer
From: skyer@quantime.co.uk (Susannah Skyer)
Newsgroups: comp.text
Subject: Re: Shaded Boxes in PIC
Message-ID: <117@qtlon.quantime.co.uk>
Date: 15 Nov 89 10:46:57 GMT
Article-I.D.: qtlon.117
References: <546@dcdwest.UUCP> <127725@sun.Eng.Sun.COM> <309@opel.uu.net>
Reply-To: skyer@qtlon.UUCP (Susannah Skyer)
Organization: Quantime Ltd, London
Lines: 37

In article <309@opel.uu.net> johnk@opel.UUCP (John Kennedy) writes:

>1)  Pic generates input to troff, according to troff's input language.
>
>2)  Troff generates a device-independent output.

>Therefore,
>
>    It is possible for pic drawings to appear on a PostScript printer.
>
>However,
>
>    Features of PostScript, such as shading are not in the repertoire
>    of what troff handles, and thus, no output of pic can instruct
>    troff to generate the appropriate output.

.
.
.
It's true that pic does not write PostScript, but this is not to say
that you can't get shaded shapes in your troff'ed document.

There should be a way in your pic/troff doc to pass instructions directly
through to the printer (i.e., the PostScript, imPress, or whatever interpreter)
I've used SoftQuad's sqtroff and they have macros that allow you to insert
and position EPS (Encapsulated PostScript) files within your troff file.

What this means is you can draw whatever you want in a PostScript program,
and then insert it into your troff. I know you can do the same thing with 
imPress (I've seen this in the Imagen manuals), but I haven't tried it.

Hope this helps.

Susannah Skyer
Technical Author
Quantime UK
skyer@qtlon.UUCP