guarna@uicsrd.csrd.uiuc.edu (02/19/89)
Does anyone know of a "Draw" program for the IBM PC similar to MacDraw? I am interested in a tool that draws texts, circles, arrows, etc., *but* is aware of the objects that you draw so that you can enlarge/shrink them or move or delete them on an object basis, not on a pixel block basis. All of the "paint" programs I have seen simply dump the object into the paint buffer and forget about them (with the exception of 1 undo step). Any time you want to move something, you must move a solid area of pixels. If you want to delete something, you have to rub it out pixel by pixel by repainting in background color. Any ideas? Vince Guarna University of Illinois (217) 244-0071
dpointer@uicsrd.csrd.uiuc.edu (02/21/89)
I have used a program named IN*A*VISION from Micrographix that appears to
me to be an excellent drawing package. Draws various geometrical figures
from circles to polygons, many fill patterns, many text fonts, and
drawing modes from snap-to-grid to freehand. Also, figures and/or
text can be resized or moved pretty much at will.
I used this package on an HP Vectra running MSDOS 3.10 using a
Microsoft serial mouse.
Hope this helps.
DISCLAIMER: I speak for myself, and have no connections with
Micrographix. Also, the various trademarks and copyrighted names
above are trademarks and copyrights of the various companies that
trademarked and copyrighted them.
------------------------------------------------------------------
David Pointer CSRD
dpointer@uicsrd.csrd.uiuc.edu 305 Talbot Lab
(217) 244-6392 104 S. Wright St.
Urbana, IL 61801
------------------------------------------------------------------todd@stiatl.UUCP (Todd Merriman) (02/21/89)
In article <42900033@uicsrd.csrd.uiuc.edu> guarna@uicsrd.csrd.uiuc.edu writes: > >Does anyone know of a "Draw" program for the IBM PC similar to MacDraw? >I am interested in a tool that draws texts, circles, arrows, etc., *but* >......... I think you would be surprised at the power of the "PAINT" program that comes with Microsoft windows (at no extra charge). It is integrated with the (primitive) word processor that also comes with MS-Windows. If you consider the price of MS-Windows and all of the utilities that come with it, there is no better bargain in the software market place. ...!gatech!stiatl!todd Todd Merriman 404-377-8638 Atlanta, GA
boyer@iuvax.cs.indiana.edu (02/21/89)
>/* Written 9:33 am Feb 19, 1989 by guarna@uicsrd.csrd.uiuc.edu in iuvax:comp.sys.ibm.pc */ >/* ---------- "Draw Program" ---------- */ > >Does anyone know of a "Draw" program for the IBM PC similar to MacDraw? >I am interested in a tool that draws texts, circles, arrows, etc., *but* >is aware of the objects that you draw so that you can enlarge/shrink them >or move or delete them on an object basis, not on a pixel block basis. >All of the "paint" programs I have seen simply dump the object into the paint >buffer and forget about them (with the exception of 1 undo step). Any >time you want to move something, you must move a solid area of pixels. >If you want to delete something, you have to rub it out pixel by pixel >by repainting in background color. > >Any ideas? > > Vince Guarna > University of Illinois > (217) 244-0071 >/* End of text from iuvax:comp.sys.ibm.pc */ GEM Draw from Digital Research is very similar to the MAC Draw program. I have used both and prefer GEM Draw to Mac Draw. The only DRAWback :-) to the GEM package is that it does not support encapsulated postscript for importing files to Word Processing or DTP programs. Other than that it is a very solid program (and maybe if enough people complain they will support EPS). Dave Boyer
alexande@drivax.DRI (Mark Alexander) (02/23/89)
In article <36300034@iuvax> boyer@iuvax.cs.indiana.edu writes: >GEM Draw from Digital Research is very similar to the MAC Draw program... >The only DRAWback :-) to the GEM package is that it does not support >encapsulated postscript for importing files to Word Processing or DTP >programs. Draw pictures (.GEM files) can be incorporated into Ventura Publisher and GEM Desktop Publisher documents directly, without using EPS. You have more of problem with programs that don't read .GEM files. It's true that Draw doesn't produces EPS (actually GEM's PostScript driver is at fault here). However, you can edit the files "pst.pre" and "pst.cnf" that come with GEM to make some word processors happy. I've done this with Borland Sprint and GEM 3.1. Here is the modified PST.CNF file that I use with Sprint: eoftype(MAC) imgtype(FAST) margins(18 18 18 18) resfont(LW+) The change is the "eoftype" line. It tells GEM not to put a Control-D at the end of the PostScript file. Here are the differences between the standard PST.PRE and the version I modified for Sprint (called PST.SPR for comparison purposes). *** pst.pre --- pst.spr ************** *** 1,4 % Copyright (C) Digital Research, Inc. 1986, 1987. All rights reserved. systemdict /setpacking known {/svp currentpacking def true setpacking}if /gemdict 250 dict def gemdict begin --- 1,7 ----- % Copyright (C) Digital Research, Inc. 1986, 1987. All rights reserved. + % Modified by Mark Alexander + % matinit has been changed to not center the image on the page. + % This makes it easier to import graphics into Borland SPRINT. systemdict /setpacking known {/svp currentpacking def true setpacking}if /gemdict 250 dict def gemdict begin ************** *** 18,27 /geminit{np 1 setlinejoin /mpf true def /encstr 80 string def gs}bd /matinit{/landscape ed /p3 ed /p2 ed /p1 ed ! gr 72 300 div exch div dup scale clippath pathbbox exch /prx ed ! exch dup /ply ed sub 1 add p3 sub 2 div ply add /ty ed ! dup prx exch sub 1 add p2 sub 2 div add ! landscape{p1 add}if ty translate landscape{90 rotate p2 /p1 ed p3 /p2 ed p1 /p3 ed}if gs}bd /gr /grestore load def --- 21,27 ----- /geminit{np 1 setlinejoin /mpf true def /encstr 80 string def gs}bd /matinit{/landscape ed /p3 ed /p2 ed /p1 ed ! gr 72 300 div exch div dup scale landscape{90 rotate p2 /p1 ed p3 /p2 ed p1 /p3 ed}if gs}bd /gr /grestore load def In addition, if your Draw picture is smaller than full page, you will have to manually edit the BoundingBox comment in the PostScript file to reflect the actual picture size. GEM always assumes it's 8x10.5; it doesn't know how big the pictures really is. The line normally looks like this: %%BoundingBox: 0 0 575 755 This gives the x and y coordinates of the lower left and upper right corners of a rectangle that surrounds the entire picture. The units are in points (1/72 inch). -- Mark Alexander (amdahl!drivax!alexande)
thaler@shorty.CS.WISC.EDU (Maurice Thaler) (02/23/89)
There are several object or VECTOR oriented "draw" programs for the PC.
The best are
ARTS & LETTERS
GEM ARTLINE
DESIGNER
ILLUSTRATOR (I am not sure if this is released yet)
CORAL DRAW
They all do what you want. They are all quite pricey too, about $500
Maurice Thaler SYSOP Audio Projects BBS (608) 836-9473
SYSOP Power Board BBS (608) 222-8842 cad@msn005.misemi (_syscad_) (02/24/89)
Subject: Re: Draw Program Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc Summary: Draw plus by Micrografyx is one of the best References: <42900033@uicsrd.csrd.uiuc.edu> In article <42900033@uicsrd.csrd.uiuc.edu>, guarna@uicsrd.csrd.uiuc.edu writes: > > Does anyone know of a "Draw" program for the IBM PC similar to MacDraw? > I am interested in a tool that draws texts, circles, arrows, etc., *but* > is aware of the objects that you draw so that you can enlarge/shrink them > or move or delete them on an object basis, not on a pixel block basis. The program we use for doing most drawing applications is Draw Plus by Micrografx. Besides the standard arcs, rectangles etc. it has additional features such as arrows, measurements, fills and more. It is 'object oriented' so that all components can be treated individually or combined to form library symbols. I've tried GEM Draw+, Generic CADD, Turbo CAD and still find Draw Plus to be the best for presentation style drawings. Alan Nakamoto Mitel Corporation
victoro@crash.cts.com (Victor O'Rear) (02/27/89)
I would like to find a drawing program (not objects) that produces pixel level output (300dpi) for our postscript printer. -- =============================================================================== | Victor O'Rear {hplabs!hp-sdd, cbosgd, ucsd, nosc.mil}!crash!victoro | | USnail: P.O. Box 3972, La Mesa, California 92044, United States of America| | mil : crash!victoro@nosc.ARPA and work: (619) 571-1222 | | | | "Fools, Idiots! Don't they realize that they are dealing with forces | | beyond comprehension!" - "Doctor Science" | ===============================================================================
byronl@copper.MDP.TEK.COM (Byron Lunz) (02/28/89)
In article <42900033@uicsrd.csrd.uiuc.edu>, guarna@uicsrd.csrd.uiuc.edu writes: > > Does anyone know of a "Draw" program for the IBM PC similar to MacDraw? > I am interested in a tool that draws texts, circles, arrows, etc., *but* > is aware of the objects that you draw so that you can enlarge/shrink them You should check out VP-Graphics by Paperback Software. It is completely object-oriented, allowing you to size all the objects drawn as you described. It allows you to "group" multiple objects into a single object and then deal with it/them as a single object. It allows you to "ungroup" such objects later, should you wish so go back to using a single one. It accepts Lotus PIC files directly, allowing for quick enhancements. It's biggest limitation, in my opinion, is the limited set of fonts available. But for the price (usually <$60) it's a real value. Byron Lunz Tektronix, Beaverton, OR
gary@dvnspc1.Dev.Unisys.COM (Gary Barrett) (03/04/89)
In article <2895@copper.MDP.TEK.COM>, byronl@copper.MDP.TEK.COM (Byron Lunz) writes: > In article <42900033@uicsrd.csrd.uiuc.edu>, guarna@uicsrd.csrd.uiuc.edu writes: > > > > Does anyone know of a "Draw" program for the IBM PC similar to MacDraw? > > I am interested in a tool that draws texts, circles, arrows, etc., *but* > > is aware of the objects that you draw so that you can enlarge/shrink them > > You should check out VP-Graphics by Paperback Software. It is completely > object-oriented, allowing you to size all the objects drawn as you described. > It allows you to "group" multiple objects into a single object and then I heartily agree. I use my own copy of VP-Graphics at work. Its one limitation is the small number of printer types it supports. But even so, the clincher for me is that it allows me to "print" postscript files to disk so that I can download them to my printer server! Not bad for a 50 dollar draw package! I use a mouse. That combined with the pgm's ability to create objects from groups of other objects speeds my job right along. Add that to its presentation graphics capabilities and the price cannot be beat! I retired the Windows Paint (MS Windows) my boss gave me. It's one more terrific bargain from Paperback Software, a company who deserves as much recognition in its own way as Borland.