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From: mir@opera.chorus.fr (Adam Mirowski)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.misc
Subject: Re: GEM Desktop
Message-ID: <8079@chorus.fr>
Date: 4 Mar 91 15:43:13 GMT
References: <1991Mar01.074112.7556@pmafire.inel.gov> <1991Mar3.215413.16325@wam.umd.edu>
Sender: mir@chorus.fr
Reply-To: mir@opera.chorus.fr (Adam Mirowski)
Organization: Chorus systemes, Saint Quentin en Yvelines, France
Lines: 32

In article <1991Mar3.215413.16325@wam.umd.edu>, chien@wam.umd.edu
(Minze V. Chien) writes:
%% In article <1991Mar01.074112.7556@pmafire.inel.gov> bruceh@servprod.inel.gov 
%% (Bruce Hiltbrand) writes:
%% >Does anyone know where on can get desk accessory type programs for
%% >GEM Desktop? 
%%
%% I would like to know this info too.  (I have version 3 GEM)
%% 
%% BTW, is it possible to convert .GEM files to .PCX or .TIF (or other
%% graphic format ) files?  I have IMG2PCX.EXE came with the package, but
%% it doesn't recognize .GEM files.  If possible, I'd like to convert
%% GEM Draw Plus files to any popular format to be included in Lotus
%% Menuscript.  Thanks for any help.

.GEM files are vector format files, not raster/bitmap ones like .PCX
or .TIF.  So you cannot "convert" them without losing on the resolution.

.GEM files are probably GEM system metafiles, i.e. are direct GEM
graphic commands encoded in a binary form. To convert them to another
"vector" format is pretty complicated. To convert them to a bitmap, you
would need to reimplement the whole GEM graphics. To avoid this one
could write a GEM application that draws the metafile on the screen,
then takes a bitmap (.IMG) snapshot.

It is possible that the utilities provided with Ventura could do the job.
Ventura by itself converts to .GEM or to .IMG all the formats it accepts,
according to their type. As .GEM is a metafile, it is then pretty staight-
forward to display them on screen... :-)
-- 
Adam Mirowski,  mir@chorus.fr (FRANCE),  tel. +33 (1) 30-64-82-00 or 74
Chorus systemes, 6, av.Gustave Eiffel, 78182 Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines CEDEX