How do I insert a .plt file as a picture in word 2007?

O

Ol Phart

in 2003 i used the hpgl download from microsoft and was able to insert a .plt
file. How do I do this in word 2007?
 
B

Bob Buckland ?:-\)

The HP Graphics Language (HPGL)/Plotter (PLT) filter has been unsupported for Office since Office 95. It's still available for
download on the same basis for use in Office 2007.
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/196506/en-us?FR=1

===============
in 2003 i used the hpgl download from microsoft and was able to insert a .plt file. How do I do this in word 2007? >>
--

Bob Buckland ?:)
MS Office System Products MVP

*Courtesy is not expensive and can pay big dividends*
 
M

Mike McNeill

Bob -
This solution has been tried by other users here as well as me, with no
success.
I've checked the registry and the file type is registered OK. The extension
is included in the All Pictures type list in the Insert dialogue box.
A preview used to apear in Word 97-2003 but with 2007 it is "not available".

There must be something else wrong.
Have you tried it with your Word 2007? I can send you a sample file if you
need one to try.
Does 2007 keep its graphics filters in a different folder to previous?

It's become really frustrating!!

I've posted a question to 2 newsgroups but no answer so far after a week!!
Any help, please....
Mike
 
B

Bob Buckland ?:-\)

Hi Mike,

Support for the HPGL conversion basically ended a decade ago, with Office 95. The filter has been on 'as is' basis since then, and
actually took a bit of persuasion to have it made available as a download <g>. It wasn't carried forward, in part, stemming from an
HP decision, at the time, that HP was not going forward with further development of either PCL or HP Graphics Language (HPGL/HPGL-2)
for future printers.

The Microsoft Filter/interpreter wasn't officially tested with Office 2007. Most of the older filters, often created by 3rd parties
under contract, have been discontinued for possible security issues or lack of a way to maintain the code base from the original
source.


With Office 2007, if you get to the point of being able to include an HPGL file in Word and then try to add another you'll get,
rather than a picture, what's known as a 'Red X' message, basically an indication that the content is considered 'corrupted' by Word
(originally the Red-x was an error, not a protection <g>).

It's not clear if the new, OfficeArt engine (aka Escher 2) used in Office 2007 still includes the code to process that particular
filter. I've only been able to 'trick it' a couple of times into working :) It may be something I'm overlooking, but so far,
little luck.

If you are able to get an HPGL graphic into a Word file it may not be stable or reliable for sharing files with others, especially
with folks on different versions of Office.

If you are going to need this for business use on an ongoing basis you may want to consider using one of the 3rd party converters
that can convert HPGL graphics to other formats. http://Irfanview.com can handle some of them, but there are some targeted ones
that are relatively inexpensive ($20 and up) and can convert to either EMF or to a bitmap graphic format, and the predictability of
the results could be better suited to your needs.

=============
Bob -
This solution has been tried by other users here as well as me, with no
success.
I've checked the registry and the file type is registered OK. The extension
is included in the All Pictures type list in the Insert dialogue box.
A preview used to apear in Word 97-2003 but with 2007 it is "not available".

There must be something else wrong.
Have you tried it with your Word 2007? I can send you a sample file if you
need one to try.
Does 2007 keep its graphics filters in a different folder to previous?

It's become really frustrating!!

I've posted a question to 2 newsgroups but no answer so far after a week!!
Any help, please....
Mike >>
--

Bob Buckland ?:)
MS Office System Products MVP

*Courtesy is not expensive and can pay big dividends*
 

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