From: pg@sanitas.stortek.com (Paul Gilmartin)
Subject: Re: EPSF or MacIntosh Pict  ->  fig Converter
Followup-To: comp.graphics,comp.lang.postscript,alt.graphics.pixutils
Organization: Storage Technology Corp.
X-Newsreader: TIN [version 1.1 PL7]
Date: Thu, 24 Dec 1992 22:58:30 GMT

M16302@mwvm.mitre.org wrote:
: What does this all mean in terms of the desired conversion?

DM> From: dm@arbuckle.sns.neuphilologie.uni-tuebingen.de (Detmar Meurers)
DM> Subject: EPSF or MacIntosh Pict  ->  fig Converter
DM> Message-ID: <1992Dec18.193543.28241@softserv.zdv.uni-tuebingen.de>
DM> Date: Fri, 18 Dec 1992 19:35:43 GMT

DM> I would like to move some object-oriented graphcs from a MacIntosh to a Sun
DM> workstation. On the Mac I can save the files in Pict or EPSF. Are there any
DM> (public-domain)-programs around that can translate EPSF to fig-format so that I
DM> can then modify them unter UNIX using Xfig or the like? Another UNIX program,
DM> idraw, apparently uses something close to EPSF as internal file format, but it
DM> does not accept real EPSF. Any ideas?

Originally, DM describes problems dealing with EPSF files on the Sun.  This
is a common problem, and DM is close to understanding the cause when he
mentions a program that stores documents in "something close to EPSF".
Such programs abound; Corel Draw and Adobe Illustrator are two mentioned
in this forum recently.  The formats they use are more than "close to EPSF";
in fact they are subsets of EPSF.  There lies the problem: each such
program understands (at most) the subset of EPSF that is utters.  The Mac-
generated EPSF probably uses a larger vocabulary than Xfig understands.

PH> From: pharris@ucscm.ucsc.edu (Peter Harris)
PH> Message-ID: <1gtjqcINN2ab@darkstar.UCSC.EDU>
PH> Date: 18 Dec 92 22:36:59 GMT

PH> Well, since EPSF is (supposed to be) just a
PH> PostScript file with an accompanying PICT for
PH> viewing, it would seem that if you could find a
PH> way to strip the PICT data and turn the file
PH> into a straight PS file youd have something you
PH> could use.

PH> Am I right, and does anyone out there know how
PH> to do this?

Then PH suggested that:

1) Xfig might be better able to deal with PostScript than EPSF.

I don't believe this is productive because all EPSF files (including
the data forks of Macintosh EPSF files) are already PostScript files
(Although the converse is usually not true -- many PostScript files
are not EPSF.)

2) The way to get from EPSF to PostScript is to remove the PICT resource
   fork of the Macintosh file.
   
It's more correct to state that the way to get from Macintosh dual-fork
format to EPSF is to remove the resource fork.

RS> From: M16302@mwvm.mitre.org
RS> Message-ID: <168C6C6A3.M16302@mwvm.mitre.org>
RS> Date: Wed, 23 Dec 1992 19:07:20 GMT

RS> Did you get any verification of this or info on utilities to do it?

I should have supplied the constructive answer:  If the Macintosh file
has been uploaded to the Unix file system in a format which contains
both the resource and data forks, the format is most likely MacBinary.
The command to do this is "mcvert -Ud <pathspec>".  Mcvert is available
by ftp from /info-mac at sumex-aim.stanford.edu, or by Mail from 
LISTSERV@RICEVM1.rice.edu; shar format.  But let me stress that
I don't believe this is the root of DM's problem. 

PG> From: pg@sanitas.stortek.com (Paul Gilmartin)
PG> Message-ID: <1992Dec24.001739.15289@stortek.com>
PG> Date: Thu, 24 Dec 1992 00:17:39 GMT

PG> ***** Culture Gap Alert! *****
PG> See the Adobe PostScript Language Reference
PG> Manual (Red Book) (either edition) for the more widely accepted definition.

I guess that came across as an elaborate RTFM.

RS> From: M16302@mwvm.mitre.org
RS> Message-ID: <168C78EEE.M16302@mwvm.mitre.org>
RS> Date: Thu, 24 Dec 1992 15:09:41 GMT

RS> What does this all mean in terms of the desired conversion?

Sorry I was supercilious.  The best suggestion I have to offer is mcvert.
Newsgroups: comp.graphics