Subject: Re: On the Road to version 1.0
From: Bryce Nesbitt (bryce@obviously.com)
Date: Thu Dec 20 2001 - 19:20:36 CST
Dom Lachowicz wrote:
>
> > > > Change menu "show paragrahps" to read "show markers". "show paragraphs" does not
> > > > communicate that it will also show bookmarks.
> > >
> > > The phrase is used by many other WPs to describe this functionality,
> > > including "that" other WP. I'm loathe to change it.
> >
> > Microsoft Word does not define correctness. Strive for better.
>
> I'm not sure that "Show Markers" fits the bill either, though. Maybe
> "Show Formatting Marks" might be a better choice (so long as people
> don't confuse it with "show codes" from WordPerfect). MSWord does not
> define correctness, but it is where a lot of our user-base is coming
> from, what they have been trained on, and what they are familiar with.
> I'd like to keep the transition as smooth as possible, and this may or
> may not fall into that category. This doesn't mean that we can't do
> things differently or better - it just means that if we're going to do
> something differently, I'd like a fairly strong substantiated basis for
> why we should make the change.
"Show Paragraphs" is very specific.
It's like a sign that reads "Parking OK Sat & Sun". The
sign implies everything not in the allowed set is forbidden.
"Show Paragraphs" implies that it shows just paragraphs. A person
looking for other markers would not select it, except by reference
to Word.
"[x] Nonprinting characters" is used by StarOffice.
"[x] Show codes" is technically incorrect, but harmlessly so. WordPerfect's show codes meant something different, but has the same basic purpose.
> > > > Add .eps import.
> > >
> > > Done vi ImageMagick plugin. EPS really isn't that common anyway...
> > > Consider done.
> >
> > .eps is the only vector image format Abi will support, that makes it special. Bitmap images
> > don't look professional on paper.
>
> Actually, ImageMagick supports the SVG, PDF, EPDF, EPI, EPS, EPS2, EPSF,
> EPT, MVG, PS, PS2, PS3, and WMF vector formats. I'm probably leaving out
> a few too. See http://www.imagemagick.org/www/formats.html for more
> information. Since these formats all get flattened and converted into a
> PNG bitmap by Abi's importer structure (PNG supports 2.85 trillion RGB
> colors, but not CMYK) printing on paper will always be sub-optimal since
> RGB values tend to look sub-optimal (less-than-professional) on paper.
> Couple this with the fact that our printer drivers don't handle CMYK or
> ICC color spaces yet.
>
> But then again, what looks good on paper isn't just about vector vs.
> raster formats, it's mostly about colorspaces (CMYK vs. ICC vs. RGBA vs.
> ...). Vector vs. Raster is mostly an issue of "what looks good when
> resized/scaled" and "how do we store the image data internally". For
> instance, SVG is RGBA only and will look just as piss-poor on paper as a
> PNG will. TIFF and PSD are raster formats and can use CMYK values. These
> print out rather nicely on paper. For the record, EPS can use CMYK color
> values.
>
> In practice, SVG, WMF, and PSD tend to be much more popular than EPS in
> the "real world" (read "most of our existing and potential user base")
> and EPS is quite popular with LaTeX and other Unixey people, who we
> don't want to exclude either. But then again, I haven't gotten any
> MSWord documents with EPSes in them lately, but lots with WMFs...
>
> Dom
WMF may be more popular than EPS, that I grant.
But in the business world vector
drawings are definitely preferred to raster images, especially for
printing. There is no way you'll get me to put a raster version of
the logo for any of the companies I work for on paper. No way I'll
rasterize a vector based map, a barcode or any such vecor drawing.
And CMYK vs. ICC cs. RGBA is meaningless on a monochrome laser. Resolution
is where it's at.
.EPS has the rather strong advantage of translating in vector format
all the way to the printer. It's also just about the simplest possible
import format to deal with. The WP must select the frame size and
position, that's it. The postscript just gets translated and shipped
on out. No scaling, no preview, no nothin' needed. It's all the printer's
problem.
-Bryce
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