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+ Epspdf and epspdftk User Guide
+
+ A multiplatform GUI- and command-line converter for [e]ps and pdf.
+
+ Siep Kroonenberg,
+ siepo at cybercomm dot nl
+
+Overview
+
+ Epspdftk converts files between eps, pdf and general PostScript. The main
+ screen lets you open a file, select some options and convert the file.
+
+ When opening a file, epspdf tries to find out file type and, in the case
+ of a pdf file, the number of pages. This information is displayed in the
+ box in the upper half of the screen.
+
+Viewing
+
+ The View button at the bottom of the screen calls an appropriate external
+ viewer. For Windows this is determined by the default Open command, for OS
+ X it is always Preview, and under Linux it is configurable; see below
+ under [1]The Configuration screen.
+
+ The View button is grayed if epspdf thinks that there is no previewer for
+ the current file.
+
+Conversion options
+
+ Grayscaling: Simple color figures can be converted to grayscale.
+ Grayscaling will fail for bitmapped data and for advanced color models.
+ 'Try harder to grayscale' will handle a few more cases, but may take
+ longer and still won't handle bitmaps.
+
+ Call for assistance: If a PostScript color expert is reading this: please
+ have a look at makegray.pro and see whether you can come up with something
+ that handles more color models.
+
+ Compute tight boundingbox: This option is only available if a single page
+ is converted.
+
+ Page selection: The only possibilities are selecting a single page or
+ selecting all pages. When converting to eps you are restricted to a single
+ page.
+
+ For general PostScript files, there is no quick way to determine the
+ number of pages, so the program won't check beforehand whether you picked
+ an existing page. If you picked a non-existent page, the program will
+ abort. If you don't like that, convert the entire document to pdf first -
+ which will be done behind the scenes anyhow.
+
+ Specifying options such as grayscaling or page selection may require
+ several roundtrips between PostScript or eps and pdf. If epspdf cannot use
+ pdftops then some combinations of options will not be available.
+
+Converting
+
+ The Convert and save... button calls up a file save dialog, with
+ appropriate default extension. After a successful conversion, the result
+ becomes the new current file, so you can judge the result by pressing the
+ View button again.
+
+The configuration screen
+
+ Epspdftk also has a configuration screen. The settings here are preserved
+ between sessions. Pay particular attention to 'Intended use' under PDF
+ CONVERSION. Choose 'prepress' for pdfs which are intended for commercial
+ printing. This option will try to embed all fonts, among other things.
+ More and more often, printshops insist on this. With luck, Ghostscript
+ fonts and system fonts will be used for fonts which were not originally
+ embedded.
+
+ Under Windows, this screen also lets you tell the program where to find
+ pdftops.exe. Under Linux, it lets you pick PostScript- and pdf previewers.
+
+Adding standard fonts to an existing pdf
+
+ You can add standard fonts such as Times and Helvetica to an existing pdf:
+ first, convert to ps, with 'Convert all pages' selected. Then, make sure
+ that in the configuration screen 'Intended use' is set to prepress, then
+ convert back to pdf.
+
+ If this option is set to screen, then standard fonts will be removed
+ instead of added. This option may also affect the resolution of bitmaps.
+
+Eps preview headers
+
+ Preview headers are quietly stripped from eps files. These preview headers
+ are used by e.g. desktop-publishing software to represent eps files on
+ screen without having to interpret the PostScript code itself. Epspdf
+ currently has no option to preserve or add them.
+
+Exporting PostScript from Windows programs
+
+ Often, the only way to get EPS or PostScript from a Windows program is by
+ 'printing' to a PostScript file. From some programs, you can print a
+ selection. A suitable driver which comes with Windows is Generic / MS
+ Publisher Imagesetter. Pay attention to the printer properties: avoid the
+ 'Optimize for speed' setting and choose Outline for font downloading.
+ These options can be found under the Advanced button.
+
+ Other possibilities are the TpX and wmf2eps programs, which both have
+ options to write clipboard contents to an emf file. Wmf2eps uses a printer
+ driver in the background. For faithful conversion, pick wmf2eps; for
+ subsequent editing, choose TpX. Both programs are availbable from [2]CTAN.
+
+Command-line use
+
+ Epspdf.rb, the library for epspdftk.rb, does double duty as command-line
+ version of epspdftk.rb. Type epspdf.rb -h for help. It shares
+ configuration settings with epspdftk.
+
+Troubleshooting
+
+ Grayscaling fails
+
+ See above, under [3]Grayscaling. Epspdf is limited by what can be done by
+ the backend tools, i.e. Ghostscript and pdftops.
+
+ Part of the graphic gets cut off
+
+ I have seen this happen with eps files generated by printing landscape
+ PowerPoint slides to PostScript with the Encapsulated PostScript output
+ option. Using the Archive output option instead solved the problem. In
+ general, experiment a bit in generating your PostScript.
+
+ Resources for troubleshooting
+
+ Logfile. Epspdf and epspdftk maintain a log file epspdf.log in your home
+ directory or, in case of Windows, your profile directory. This profile
+ directory may be c:\Documents and Settings\<your user name>. Otherwise,
+ open a DOS box and type 'echo %USERPROFILE%', which will produce this
+ information.
+
+ This logfile lists all Ghostscript- and pdftops program calls plus error
+ information. 'EPCallError' is probably a program error. 'EPSystemError' is
+ more likely caused by a faulty file, but may be a program error as well.
+
+ Temporary files. The temporary files may give clues as well. They will be
+ deleted at the end of the session (for the command-line version, give a -d
+ parameter to keep the temporary files). Check the logfile which temporary
+ files have been created.
+
+ [4]Main page...
+
+ --------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+ Last revised: Noverber 20, 2006
+
+References
+
+ Visible links
+ 1. http://tex.aanhet.net/epspdf/epspdf_UG.html#configure
+ 2. http://www.tug.org/ctan.html
+ 3. http://tex.aanhet.net/epspdf/epspdf_UG.html#gray
+ 4. http://tex.aanhet.net/epspdf/index.html