OFF97: Shipped Graphics Filters and Their Limitations

• Microsoft Office 97 for Windows
• Microsoft Word 97 for Windows
• Microsoft PowerPoint 97 for Windows
• Microsoft Excel 97 for Windows
• Microsoft Access 97 for Windows

SUMMARY

This article describes the limitations of graphics import filters provided with Office 97. This information is also available in Help in each program. (On the Help menu, click Contents And Index. Click the Index tab, type "graphics filters" (without the quotation marks), and then click Display.)

MORE INFORMATION

You can import clip art, pictures, movies, or almost any computer image into the Microsoft programs listed at the beginning of this article. This feature allows you to take advantage of the libraries of artwork already available without having to draw new artwork yourself. Microsoft programs import an image from another application by using graphics filters. Graphics filters are installed when you run Setup for that program.

NOTE: Some graphics filters have been discontinued in Word 97. See the "Discontinued Graphics filters" section in this article for a list of the filters.

Limitations on Importing Graphics in Windows

If you have trouble importing a graphic, the problem may occur because of differences between the original graphic format and the way Windows handles graphics. Limitations in graphic primitives in Windows pictures prevent display and printing of:

• Mirrored or backward text
• Rotated or vertical text (unless scaleable or vector fonts are used)
• Double underline and outline

If the image is an object- or vector-oriented picture, text can only be scaled by its point size. Stretching a character to make it disproportionately tall or wide may result in poor text layout.

AutoCAD Format 2-D (.dxf) Filter

The AutoCAD Format 2-D graphics filter (Dxfimp32.flt) supports all AutoCAD versions through Release 12, including AutoCAD for Windows.

The filter has the following limitations:

• Extrusions that are part of 3-D drawings are not supported.
• Control codes and special characters embedded in text shapes that require special characters are not supported.
• The .dxf files that require separate shape definition files are not supported.
• For multiple viewport .dxf files, the file is imported using the current viewport.

Computer Graphics Metafile Graphics Filter

The Computer Graphics Metafile graphics filter (Cgmimp32.flt) supports Version 1 of CGM:1992. The filter handles all three encodings and interprets and supports all elements. The filter will correctly handle all valid .cgm graphics files.

The major industry profiles of ATA (Air Transport Association) and CALS (Continuous Acquisition and Life Cycle Support) are fully supported by the Computer Graphics Metafile filter. The filter has been certified as ATA compliant and CALS-compliant by testing administered by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).

If you install the filter during Setup, the following files are installed: Cgmimp32.flt, Cgmimp32.fnt, Cgmimp32.cfg, and Cgmimp32.hlp.

The computer Graphics Metafile filter has the following limitation:

• CGM 1992 Versions 2, 3, and 4 are not supported.

If Convert8.wiz is not installed, run the Setup program again and install it. Convert8.wiz is located in the Word Wizards and Templates folder; click to select the Macro Templates check box.

The CorelDRAW (.cdr) Filter

The CorelDRAW filter (Cdrimp32.flt) supports .cdr, .cmt, .cmx, and .pat files from CorelDRAW 3.0, 4.0, 5.0, and 6.0 and has the following limitations:

• CorelDRAW Preferences, such as page size/orientation, units, grid, and guidelines, are not supported.
• Lenses and powerclips are not supported.
• Pages, layers, and groups are not supported.
• OLE objects are not supported.
• Rotated bitmaps are not supported.
• Object and PostScript texture fills are replaced with solid gray fills.
• Gradient fills are split into monocolored stripes.
• Vector fills are not supported.
• Multiarea paragraph text is not supported.

Encapsulated PostScript (.eps) Filter

The Encapsulated PostScript graphics filter (Epsimp32.flt) supports the Adobe Systems Encapsulated PostScript Specification versions 3.0 and earlier. The filter supports .eps images from tagged image file format (TIFF) and Windows Metafile (.wmf) embedded previews.

If an Encapsulated PostScript graphics file contains an embedded TIFF or Windows Metafile preview, a representation of the image appears on the screen. The quality of the preview depends on the resolution of the TIFF or Windows Metafile image embedded in the Encapsulated PostScript file when it is created. Low, medium, and high resolutions are generally available for creating an EPS file. The higher the resolution of the preview image, the larger the EPS file size will be. Because such previews are intended primarily to be used to position images on the page, resolution is often low. A high-resolution preview is not necessary because it is discarded when the EPS file is printed to a PostScript printer.

If an embedded TIFF or Windows Metafile preview is not included in the Encapsulated PostScript graphic you import, the graphic displays a message instead of a preview of the graphic in your document. However, the graphic prints correctly to a PostScript printer. If you print an EPS graphic to a non-PostScript printer, the preview is printed as it appears on the screen. Encapsulated PostScript graphics are designed for printing to a PostScript printer.

NOTE: There are two lines that must be present in the EPS header (the first part of the .eps file). In the first line, you can substitute 1.0 or 2.0 for 3.0 if you are working with an earlier version.

   %!PS-Adobe-3.0 EPSF-3.0
   %%BoundingBox: LLx LLy URx Ury

Enhanced Metafile

The Enhanced Metafile graphics filter (Emfimp32.flt) converts Enhanced Metafiles (.emf) to Windows Metafiles (.wmf). You must have the Enhanced Metafile filter installed to insert an .emf file into a Word document as a Microsoft Clip Gallery object or a Photo Editor object. However, to insert an .emf file directly into a Word document, you don't need the Enhanced Metafile filter. The Enhanced Metafile filter is also used by the Word 97 import text converter to open Word 97 documents in Word 6.x and Word 95.

Graphics Interchange Format (GIF) Filter

The Graphics Interchange Format filter (Gifimp32.flt) supports file format versions GIF87a (including interlacing) and GIF89a (including interlacing and transparency). The GIF filter works with the Portable Network Graphics filter (Png32.flt) to import GIF files into Word. The GIF filter is also used by the HTML converter to export pictures in a Word document to .gif images linked to an HTML page.

The GIF filter has the following limitation: Only the first image of a multiimage GIF is imported.

JPEG File Interchange Format File

The JPEG graphics filter (Jpegim32.flt) supports Version 6.0 of the JPEG File Interchange Format (JFIF). You must have the JPEG filter installed to insert a .jpg file into a Word document as a Microsoft Clip Gallery object or a Photo Editor object. However, to insert a .jpg file directly into a Word document, you don't need the JPEG filter.

The JPEG filter has the following limitations:

• The filter does not support JPEG Tagged Interchange Format (JTIF) files.
• The filter does not support cyan-magenta-yellow-black (CYMK) JPEG files.

Kodak Photo CD (.pcd) Filter

The Photo CD graphics filter supports Kodak Photo CD version 3.0. The Photo CD graphics file format stores multiple images with different resolution and color depth, and the filter must choose one of the images when you import a Kodak Photo CD file. When you import a Kodak Photo CD file, an Options dialog box appears so you can choose the resolution, orientation, and color depth of the image before importing. By default, the filter imports an image with 768 x 512 pixels and 24-bit color depth.

Macintosh PICT Graphics Filter

The Macintosh PICT graphics filter (Pictim32.flt) is used to import Macintosh PICT graphics and to see graphics in a Word for the Macintosh document that you open in Word for Windows. Rename your Macintosh PICT files with the .pct extension when you copy them to a computer that uses Windows so that Word for Windows can recognize the files as PICT graphics. For example, if you have a graphics file named Bear on the Macintosh, you should rename the file Bear.pct before you insert the file into a Word for Windows document.

Micrografx Designer/Draw Graphics Filter

The Micrografx Designer/Draw graphics filter (Drwimp32.flt) supports Micrografx Designer 3.x, Charisma 2.1, and Draw files. The filter imports the entire first page of the file as it would appear in Micrografx Designer because these files don't contain information about the size of the image. After the image is imported, you can crop the bounding box to make it fit the size of the image.

The Micrografx Designer/Draw filter has the following limitations:

• Text arrays are not supported.
• Some Micrografx Designer 3.x fonts are not supported.
• Clip paths and tiled paths aren't supported.
• Gradient fills aren't supported.

PC Paintbrush Graphics Filter

The PC Paintbrush graphics filter (Pcximp32.flt) supports all versions of the .pcx file format through ZSoft version 3.0, with support for 256-color images. This is the common interchange format used by Microsoft Windows Paintbrush.

Portable Network Graphics (PNG) Filter

The Portable Network Graphics filter (Png32.flt) supports files conforming to the Portable Network Graphics Tenth Specification (Version 1.0). You must have the filter installed to insert a .png file into a Word document as a Microsoft Clip Gallery object or a Photo Editor object. However, to insert a .png file directly into a Word document, you don't need the Portable Network Graphics filter. You must have the filter installed to import GIF files into Word.

Tagged Image File Format (TIFF) Graphics Filter

The Tagged Image File Format graphics filter (Tiffim32.flt) supports all image types and compressions that conform to TIFF Specification Revision 5.0 and 6.0, Part 1: Baseline TIFF. These types include monochrome, grayscale, palette color, and RGB Full Color images. The filter correctly handles a single 8-bit alpha channel stored with an RGB Full Color image. The TIFF filter also supports the TIFF Extension for CYMK images.

The TIFF filter has the following limitations:

• Only the first image of a TIFF with multiple images (subfiles) is imported.
• The filter does not support multiple alpha channels (stored as subfiles) or alpha channels that don't have 8 bits per pixel.
• The filter does not support alpha channels that are not "pre- multiplied". When you create your TIFF file, make sure you enable the "write pre-multiplied alpha" option, if one is available. Otherwise, your TIFF file will appear opaque when imported.

Targa Graphics Filter

The Targa graphics filter (Tgaimp32.flt) supports Truevision Targa images with up to 32 bits per pixel.

Windows Bitmap Files

The Windows Bitmap graphics filter (Bmpimp32.flt) supports Windows and OS/2 bitmaps, Run Length Encoded (RLE) bitmaps, and device-independent bitmaps (DIB). You must have the Windows Bitmap filter installed to insert a bitmap file into a Word document as a Microsoft Clip Gallery object or a Photo Editor object. However, to insert a bitmap file directly into a Word document, you don't need the Windows Bitmap filter.

Windows Metafile

The Windows Metafile graphics filter (Wmfimp32.flt) supports the Windows Metafile format. You must have the Windows Metafile filter installed to insert a Windows Metafile into a Word document as a Microsoft Clip Gallery object. However, to insert a Windows Metafile directly into a Word document, you don't need the Windows Metafile filter.

The WordPerfect Graphics (.wpg) Filter

The WordPerfect Graphics import filter (Wpgimp32.flt) support WordPerfect Graphics versions 1.0, 1.0e, and 2.0, which correspond to WordPerfect version 6.x and earlier. For graphics stored in WordPerfect documents, the filter uses the size of the picture frame stored in the document to determine the size of the picture to import. For .wpg images created in DrawPerfect, the frame size is the size of the screen.

The WordPerfect Graphics import filter has the following limitations:

• PostScript information is lost in Encapsulated PostScript images embedded in WordPerfect Graphics files.
• WordPerfect Graphics files with large embedded bitmaps may not appear properly on computers that use the Mach series video drivers from ATI. If you think you have this problem, try running Windows Setup and changing your video driver to the 8514/a drivers supplied with Windows.

Discontinued Graphics Filters

• HP Graphics Language (HPGL) / HP Plotter Print