WMF export problems

[donvalley]

I have been providing a client with wmf files of the work I do for him to use in Excel and Amipro successfully for years when all of a sudden they appear to have a coarse bitmap fill instead of solid colour and the image edges are fuzzy when imported into MSWord 97. Exporting eps files works well but he won't use them. I am using Coreldraw 9 sp 2 and a Postscript printer, colour pallettes don't seem to matter. what can I do? Is this a Corel filter bug? Anyone else have this problem?

[donvalley]

I have been providing a client with wmf files of the work I do for him to use in Excel and Amipro successfully for years when all of a sudden they appear to have a coarse bitmap fill instead of solid colour and the image edges are fuzzy when imported into MSWord 97. Exporting eps files works well but he won't use them. I am using Coreldraw 9 sp 2 and a Postscript printer, colour pallettes don't seem to matter. what can I do? Is this a Corel filter bug? Anyone else have this problem?

[Peter Clifton]

Don

In the Draw 9 newsgroup there has been talk of sporadic problems exporting WMF files under Draw 9.

The posts mentioned the actual failure to create a WMF file, sometimes it would work and sometimes it would not.

But I do not recall seeing your particular problem being mentioned.

Sorry I can't be of more help

Peter

Write something memorable and live forever - anonymous

[Not Ziggy]

Yep, Corel's WMF export filter is rudely downsampling any bitmaps in the image to 122 dpi.

One solution is to use the equally-old format called "Computer Graphics Metafile" which, like EPS, does no downsampling, and which Excel reads.

Another is to enlarge the original in Corel, export, and then shrink it back in Excel. For instance, if the original is 300 dpi, then enlarge it in Corel by 300/122=246% and export. Then, after "inserting" into Excel, go to Format/ Picture/ Size/ Scale, and type in the inverse (122/300=41%). If this seems too confusing for the customer, you can provide them with an Excel file with the graphic already inserted and resized, from which they can cut and paste. The graphic pastes from one Excel document to the other at the desired 41%.

[donvalley]

Thanks Ziggy,
Did I leave the impression there was a bitmap in the WMF files? This is not the case, the files are strictly vector images, no text and no outlines.
Donvalley

[Not Ziggy]

I'm sorry it's taken me so long to get back to you, but I can't duplicate your problem. I find that Corel WMF's with only vector and text items print perfectly out of Word and Excel.

The only difference I can see is that my Word and Excel are from Office 2000. (Incidentally, in Office 2000 you can actually import CDR images into Word and Excel.)

[pkgibson]

Do the WMF's print properly? I have noticed that graphics don't embed in newer MS products, they will display a header and print the proper image. If the images needs to be viewed from the monitor, I believe there are setting to cause the images to embed, not connect. Just a thought.
Pat Gibson

PKGibson, Trainer
Certified CorelDRAW Instructor
www.nucentrix.net/~pkgibson