[OS X TeX] psfrag troubles/PostScript in 10.4.4

[Thomas Schröder]

Am 12.01.2006 um 15:57 schrieb Bruno Voisin:

> Le 12 janv. 06 à 14:50, Thomas Schröder a écrit :
>
>> Unfortunately, KaleidaGraph can't export directly to EPS or PS and  
>> since I sold the G4 and only kept its hard drive that is now  
>> running as an external FireWire drive that I can boot from this is  
>> a real pain. So, if anybody knows how I can get back nice and  
>> clean PostScript output that works with psfrag, I'd really  
>> appreciate it! Thanks in advance.
>
> I once or twice used psfrag before giving up completely, for a  
> similar reason: depending on how PS files are structured, the chain  
> of characters that psfrag is looking for in a PS file appears  
> either as a single string, or as several strings separated by PS  
> instructions; in the former case psfrag works, while in the latter  
> it doesn't.
>
> Suppose, for example, the figure contains a tag "delta" to be  
> replaced by $\delta$ by psfrag. Depending on what type of PS code  
> the figure is made of, it can either contain the single string  
> "delta", or the several strings "d", "e", "l", "t" and "a"  
> separated by PS instructions placing each string on the page.  
> psfrag can only deal with the first case.

Up to the switch to a new computer it worked really nicely for me.  
But I've occasionally experienced the same troubles as you described,  
albeit not with KaleidaGraph.

> Thus it seems using single-letter strings is the only way to use  
> psfrag reliably, which limits its usability severely. For this  
> reason I've given up on it. Have you tried WARMreader?

I don't have Illustrator, so. PLus, I had psfrag working on the other  
computer.

> And yes, the absence of EPS export in KaleidaGraph is really  
> annoying, especially after all its years of existence and its  
> successive updates.

To say the least.

> A possible workaround: save the graph to PICT format, and check  
> PostScript PICT in the PICT Graphic Size window (together, as a  
> safety measure, with High Resolution which implies 600 dpi). This  
> will create a PICT file with embedded PostScript code (PS code in a  
> PICT comment field if I understood correctly). Previously I was  
> then able to open the PICT file in Illustrator, where the two  
> components appeared separately (the PICT graphic and the EPS  
> graphic), superposed on each other but with different sizes, and I  
> just had to erase the PICT graphic. This doesn't seem to work  
> anymore. What I've just tried:
>
> - Open the PICT file in Preview, and save to PDF format. The  
> resulting PDF file seems resolution-independent.

But there's no pdffrag to enhance PDF files.

> - Open the PICT file in Graphic Converter, and save to EPS format.  
> The resulting EPS file seems again resolution-independent.

But it isn't suitable for psfrag, either.

> By contrast, printing to a PS or PDF file from KaleidaGraph creates  
> a PS or PDF graphic with the bounding box of a full A4 or Letter  
> page (depending on your setup), and is then inadequate for a figure  
> to be included in a LaTeX document.

Oh, I set up a new paper size with which I create my graphs, so no  
problem there. It's basically A6 landscape but the height is smaller  
by 2cm or, so I can fit two graphs on one page. They look really  
nice, actually :-)

Bye, Thomas------------------------- Info --------------------------
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