Fortunately, i got an idea for my next blog entry this weekend. I had to convert a few VISIO images to EPS (Encapsulated Post Script) to attach them to report, to be prepared in latex.
For those of you who don't know about EPS format, EPS is a scalable vector format. Basically, you can scale the image and make it smaller/larger without losing its quality. EPS images are frequently used in preparing latex documents.
According to me, the best way to convert a VISIO file to an EPS file is as follows.
Pre-requisite: Install open-office
Step 1: Save the VISIO file in .wmf (Windows Meta File) format.
Step 2: Open this file using Openoffice Draw (Equivalent to VISIO, but open source).
Step 3: Right Click on the image and say "Save as Picture...".
Step 4: Change the type to EPS.
Since Openoffice is available on the 3 platforms I use, it makes my job a lot more simpler. I tried converting the ".wmf" file in both ubuntu and windows using draw and it worked like a charm. There was absolutely no difference in the quality of the output images.
Here are a couple of screenshots.
I also came across a wmf2eps converter. It's available here
The pleasure you obtain when you do something all by yourself is immense and I would like to stick to my methodology. During this exercise of getting my VISIO images converted to EPS, I came across various printer drivers that allow one to print the image as a PS(post-script) or EPS. A major glitch in this process is that the quality of the final image is not guaranteed to be as good as the original one. I also understand that VISIO2002 allowed one to save images in EPS format.
I guess this would be really helpful for those looking to convert their VISIO images to .eps. Be on the lookout for such tips and tricks.
CYA
Hi Naren
ReplyDeleteI have been looking for such solution (visio to eps) since a while, also for my PhD.
I came across your suggestion, and hoped it worked.
Unfortunately I am not very happy with the result.
Installed Open Office 3.2.1 (UK). exported the drawing from visio into wmf(tried also emf). To start with the results is not satisfactory in such conversion as some clips ( not the drawings) are not properly converted.
Open the file in OO draw and " export" into eps and pdf.
the pdf was as good as the wmf (so contained the orginal problem with the clips/drawing )
the eps was not good as some of the text within blocks was not showing up in the eps file.
I use gostview32 v 4.6.
I tried then visio -> jpg (with high resolution) -> Open Office and then eps.
This is better and the eps files are better.
Any hint for the vectorial conversion?
The only problem we may have (so the jpg way may not be sufficient) is that IEEE is rather rigorous on the resolution and quality of thier drawings.
Enrico
Hi Enrico,
ReplyDeleteThanks for posting a comment. I've never had the need to convert clips to eps format. Even I noticed that the quality of the image is poor. As you mentioned, the quality is good if it is converted to eps after saving it in jpeg format. I'm working on this. Will let you know if I make progress.
ok Enrico,
ReplyDeleteI learnt something today because of your question. The reason you are facing this issue is because you are saving a wmf image in 'wmf' format using VISIO. What I noticed is that most of the images available on clipart are in 'wmf' format. What I did was to locate the clipart image in the Program Files/Microsoft Office folder and directly convert it using Open Office. You can get the location of the image by viewing its properties after a right-click on the image. I tried with a few images and it worked fine for me.
Another solution that I tried was saving the VISIO image ( after importing the clip to VISIO) with a .svg extension ( which happens to be another vector image format). I faced some issues with that. I hope the first solution works out for you.