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From: ruud@tnoibbc.UUCP (Ruud)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.misc,comp.sys.mac.programmer,comp.lang.postscript,comp.graphics
Subject: Interpreting Postscript on Mac || Tools to generate MacDraw file ??
Keywords: MsWord MacDraw Postscript Macrolanguage
Message-ID: <2170@tnoibbc.UUCP>
Date: 23 Oct 90 09:23:55 GMT
Lines: 70


I'm looking for a tool for the Mac which enables me to read 
a Postscript file (describing a picture) and interpret it 
in such a way that the initial picture results. 

In know that this is partially possible in MS Word 4.0: MS Word
has the possibility to assign the style Postscript to a text 
containing Postscript instructions. If that particular file 
is then sent to a laserprinter, the Postscript text is 
interpreted and a picture is the result (on paper). 
However, this method has the major disadvantage that I can 
only see the result once it is printed on paper. 

I heard from a possible other solution with Adobe 
Illustrator. Since, we haven't got Adobe Illustrator at our 
department I couldn't try this option (could anyone verify 
this possibility for me). However, knowing a little of the 
functionality of Adobe Illustrator, I assume that importing 
a Postscript picture in Adobe Illustrator has the following 
disadvantage:

If I use Postscript to describe two circles connected by a 
line I'd like to transport my picture in such a way that 
the receiving application (e.g. Adobe Illustrator) still 
sees my picture as two circles and one connecting line (and 
not just one big picture). 

Why do I want this so badly ? My eventual goal is to import 
my picture(s) in MacDrawII. Within MacDrawII I want to be able 
to manipulate the individual objects before I transport the 
picture to, for instance, MS Word. 

A picture in MacDrawII is always treated as a set of user-
defined objects. Therefore, I think that MacDrawII supports 
some kind of macro language to describe the objects of a 
picture (just as PostScript does). I also think that the same 
macro language is used to store the picture in a file. In 
other words, if a MacDraw file is opened, this results 
probably in the interpretation of some kind of program 
written in some kind of language (I think). 

To conclude, I have the following questions for all Mac 
experts:

1. Does anyone know of a tool to interpret Postscript 
   pictures in such a way that I can still manipulate the 
   picture as a set of objects (circles, lines, etc.) ?

2. Does anyone know the technical specifications of a 
   MacDraw file ? Is a macro language used to describe the 
   different objects of a MacDraw picture and, if so, how does 
   this macro language look like ?

3. Are there any tools available (public or commercial) to 
   interpret or generate a MacDraw file (except for MacDraw 
   itself, ofcourse) ? I'm thinking of a programming language 
   or whatsoever. 

If you have any idea, additional questions or remarks 
concerning the questions above, please respond by e-mail.

Thanks in advance, Ruud.


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