Patent ID: 7181687

Claim:
A computer program product tangibly embodied in a machine-readable storage device for execution by a programmable processor to: receive a user input specifying requested preview information in reference to a flattening process that would convert, in accordance with flattening settings, a first document that contains transparency to a visually equivalent second document that contains no transparency, the first document having first vector objects including one or more objects with transparency, the second document having second vector objects with no transparency; and present a display to a user before performing the flattening process to convert the first document to the second document, the display including a preview of characteristics of the flattening process as it would be performed in accordance with the settings, the preview including the requested preview information including an express indication of one or more of the following: which objects in the document would have their overprint preserved, flattened or ignored by the flattening process, which spot objects in the document would be converted to process object by the flattening process, which objects in the document would generate on more process plates than their actual color, a time that would be required by the flattening process to flatten the document, a memory that would be required by the flattening process to flatten the document, a spool size that would be required by the flattening process to flatten the document, which areas in the document would be rasterized by the flattening process, which objects in the document would be sources of transparency in the flattening process, which objects in the document would be involved in transparency in the flattening process, which linked EPS (Encapsulated PostScript) files in the document would be affected by transparency in the flattening process, which patterns in the document would be expanded by the flattening process because they are involved in transparency, which strokes in the document would be outlined by the flattening process because they are involved in transparency, in which areas in the document would text be convened to outlines by the flattening process, or where would rasterization happen during performance of the flattening process.