eps file visible in Word

B

bonnie

I am importing Adobe Illustrator files as "eps" files into Word, but the
graphics are not visible on the screen; however they do print properly to a
postscript printer. According to the help file, if a "tiff" file is created
with the eps file, it will be visible in Word, but it is not. I have checked,
and the required graphics filter is present on my computer system.
 
S

Suzanne S. Barnhill

Recent versions of Word/Windows have native support for EPS graphics, but
older versions cannot display them unless the graphic was created with a
placeable header, which is what is displayed in Word and also what is
printed on a non-PostScript printer.
 
B

bonnie

Upon further researching this problem on this web site, I found my answer
posted. Namely to select "Print" "Drawing Objects" in the Word Options dialog
box.
THanks,
Bonnie

NO further replies needed for this "SOLVED" problem.
 
G

garfield-n-odie

In Word, click on Tools | Options | View | check the "Drawings" box and
uncheck the "Picture placeholders" box | OK. If you still have problems, try
recreating the .eps file with a .wmf preview instead of a .tif preview.
 
B

bonnie

Well, I goofed. When I checked the file I was working on , I happened to look
at a page with imbedded tiff files, not eps files. SO, I still have the
problem. I am using MS Word 2003 and Adobe Illustrator 11 [CS].
 
J

Jeroen Dekker

Suzanne S. Barnhill said:
Recent versions of Word/Windows have native support for EPS graphics, but
older versions cannot display them unless the graphic was created with a
placeable header, which is what is displayed in Word and also what is
printed on a non-PostScript printer.

The EPS import filter you're referring to uses a PostScript
interpreter that doesn't offer full Level 3 support. So I'm not sure
what would happen with such files. Does it just choke, or revert to
the preview if any? Since bonnie's EPS files come from Illustrator,
chances are they're Level 3.

bonnie, keep in mind that even if you get the TIFF preview to display,
it will be a low-quality preview. You don't get the actual PostScript
vector artwork on screen, just basically a large thumbnail of it.

Can't you export a good EMF from Illustrator instead? That's a vector
format that Windows/Office supports natively, and it supports most of
the graphical features that EPS does. So you'll get vector quality on
screen as well as in print - PostScript or non.

If you have a lot of EPS files already: our ps2vector software batch
converts them to EMF. Commercial solution.

Jeroen Dekker
 
T

Theano

We use EPS graphics created in Illustrator with TIFF previews. We recently
upgraded to Illustrator CS (11), and that is when this problem appeared.

Our final print files are PDFs exported from InDesign CS. The EPS graphics
import, appear, and print fine in InDesign and the PDFs.

Prior to being imported into InDesign, our files are authored, edited, and
tech reviewed in Word 2003. Authors, editors, and reviewers need to be able
to view the graphics onscreen in the Word files. (Screen-rez preview is
fine.)

Illustrator CS EPS files imported into Word 2003 DO NOT APPEAR. Only a blank
bounding box with resize handles appears. (Picture placeholders is not
checked; print drawing objects is checked. In fact, the EPS graphics print
and PDF fine out of Word. They just don't appear on screen. As noted earlier,
a TIFF preview IS being created in IL. However, according to MS KB, the Word
EPS import filter doesn't use this preview anyway, but creates its own from
the PS header info.)

Our designer has discovered that Exporting the graphics from IL CS as
"Legacy EPS" with Illustrator 8.0 compatibility allows them to appear in
Word. However, we need to use the latest versions of all programs including
Illustrator. We need to use the EPS format for our print release process, and
it is time and resource-prohibitive to create second versions of these
graphics simply for Word display purposes.

My current workaround is to create a PDF from the Word docs, copy the
graphics from the PDF, and paste the PDF copies back into the Word docs. Of
course, they are screen resolution, but but that's not a problem. When I
create the InDesign files, I import the actual EPSs. However, this takes
considerable extra time and introduces the possibility of increased
variability and error.

THIS IS NOT ACCEPTABLE. Neither Adobe or Microsoft will admit to or take any
responsibility for this problem. WHAT TO DO.

Thanks for any help,
Theano
 
B

Bob Buckland ?:-\)

Hi Theano,

Unfortunately, whether 'acceptable' or not the MS EPS
import filter built into Word, rather than a separate
one, is working as designed. The 2002/2003 EPS filters
were created to a large part to enable printing of
a 'reasonable quality/looking' EPS graphic when users
did not have a Postscript printer installed (i.e. the
previews were not always of suitable appearance)

EPS format graphics have never been viewed as a primary
graphic format by MS for use in Word. It's not
from lack of requests :) (Here's Powerpoint MVP
Steve Rindsberg's summary
http://www.rdpslides.com/psfaq/FAQ00028.htm )

As Jeroen mentioned Word the filter doesn't provide full Level 3
interpretation/support and you may need to use
Save As/Export from the graphic app you're using
to a different format or within the limitations
of the filter.

MS is not alone in the Illustrator v downstep.
If you search you'll find a number of sites that provide
logos and graphics often make them available in, for
example, Illustrator v8, v9 and v10 files, for compatability
reasons.

========
We use EPS graphics created in Illustrator with TIFF previews. We recently
upgraded to Illustrator CS (11), and that is when this problem appeared.

Our final print files are PDFs exported from InDesign CS. The EPS graphics
import, appear, and print fine in InDesign and the PDFs.

Prior to being imported into InDesign, our files are authored, edited, and
tech reviewed in Word 2003. Authors, editors, and reviewers need to be able
to view the graphics onscreen in the Word files. (Screen-rez preview is
fine.)

Illustrator CS EPS files imported into Word 2003 DO NOT APPEAR. Only a blank
bounding box with resize handles appears. (Picture placeholders is not
checked; print drawing objects is checked. In fact, the EPS graphics print
and PDF fine out of Word. They just don't appear on screen. As noted earlier,
a TIFF preview IS being created in IL. However, according to MS KB, the Word
EPS import filter doesn't use this preview anyway, but creates its own from
the PS header info.)

Our designer has discovered that Exporting the graphics from IL CS as
"Legacy EPS" with Illustrator 8.0 compatibility allows them to appear in
Word. However, we need to use the latest versions of all programs including
Illustrator. We need to use the EPS format for our print release process, and
it is time and resource-prohibitive to create second versions of these
graphics simply for Word display purposes.

My current workaround is to create a PDF from the Word docs, copy the
graphics from the PDF, and paste the PDF copies back into the Word docs. Of
course, they are screen resolution, but but that's not a problem. When I
create the InDesign files, I import the actual EPSs. However, this takes
considerable extra time and introduces the possibility of increased
variability and error.

THIS IS NOT ACCEPTABLE. Neither Adobe or Microsoft will admit to or take any
responsibility for this problem. WHAT TO DO.

Thanks for any help,
Theano >>
--
Let us know if this helped you,

Bob Buckland ?:)
MS Office System Products MVP

*Courtesy is not expensive and can pay big dividends*

Office 2003 Editions explained
http://www.microsoft.com/uk/office/editions.mspx
 
T

Theano

Hi,

Thank you for this information; I'm getting the idea. It reminds me of the
problems we had when we really WERE using Word for our Print Production app.
(Yes, it can be done, but not very easily.) We were using Word 2000 to try to
avoid the style corruption problems with (at the time) Word XP, but the EPS
import filter wouldn't work and we had to roll back to an old one, then
graphics wouldn't appear onscreen and we had to create special versions, etc.
etc.

What a relief it was to switch to InDesign, a real print app. Unfortunately
we're still stuck with Word for the preliminaries, since so many different
people must review the files. (I hear that Adobe Reader 7.0 is going to have
reviewing capabilities, though, and boy am I looking forward to that day -
then for sure we will drop Word like a lead balloon.)

Now the dilemma is whether to create disabled (old version) graphics for the
sake of Word, do some cheesy workaround in Word (as I am now) so we can have
up-to-date graphics in our final files, or have to create and manage two
versions of all our graphics. Whichever, the end result is I end up looking
incompetent.

By the way it is MICROSOFT Print Labs that requires the use of EPS graphics
in Print files. They require handoffs in PDF and recommend Adobe native apps,
discourage the use of Word as a final Print app, and don't accept Publisher
at all. Sometimes in this company the right hand does not appear to know what
the left hand is doing... heck, the pinkie doesn't seem to know what the ring
finger is doing.

Thanks, anyway.
Theano
 
T

Theano

Sorry for the delay in reply, but I had not visited in awhile.

I was intrigued by your solution, but it seems to be a nonstandard file and
process and possibly risky (editing the Registry and so on). Also, it looks
like I would need to pay $40 for the key, or the EPSs would be disabled in
some way. At least currently, we get proper printed/PDFed EPSs. And many
people need to look at the Word docs, meaning they'd all have to install this
and... it just isn't practical.

However, this led me back to the time when we had to drop back to using Word
2000 due to style corruption in Word XP. We located the Word2K EPS import
filter (2K/XP/2003 are all named EPSIMP32.FLT, but the 2K filter is only 76K
vs several 100K for the others and is dated 9/23/1998) and swapped it into
the folder at Program Files\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\Grphflt. Well, I
tried this again today, and wala, with the 2K EPS import filter the
Illustrator CS EPSs now display in Word 11! The display is very low rez but
we don't care. They also print/PDF fine.

Still a problem for tech reviewers, but regardless of how we resolve this,
it will be easier to replace one file in the folder above than to go through
a whole install, registry update etc.

Long live Word 2K! It really works.

Thanks,
Theano
 
W

Wolfgang Glunz

Theano said:
Sorry for the delay in reply, but I had not visited in awhile.

I was intrigued by your solution, but it seems to be a nonstandard file
and
process and possibly risky (editing the Registry and so on).

importps relies on the standard ALDUS import interface. There is nothing
"nonstandard" about it. The registry entries can also be done automatically
if you use the pstoedit installer
(http://www.pstoedit.com/pstoedit/pstoeditsetup.exe). Anyway - they are not
harmfull.

Also, it looks
like I would need to pay $40 for the key, or the EPSs would be disabled in
some way. At least currently, we get proper printed/PDFed EPSs. And many
people need to look at the Word docs, meaning they'd all have to install
this
and... it just isn't practical.
No - that isn't correct. Only the one who inserts the EPS file needs to have
this license and installation. Once it is inserted it is a EMF object and
can be read and even edited by everyone.

A further point which makes a difference is what happens if you print the
document containing the EPS on a non-postscript printer. As far as I know,
the old EPSIMP32 uses the raster image preview to print the image on
non-postscript printers.
With importps (and the XP version of EPSIMP32) - however the image is
converted to an EMF object and hence prints nicely on any printer.

Wolfgang
 

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