Other FAQs describe the theory and the EPS specification as laid out by Adobe (who invented the whole thing).

Some apps go beyond the bare minimum laid down by the spec, some don't implement the spec correctly in all respects, and some do whatever they feel like with utter disregard for the way things are supposed to be done.

The Good Guys
PageMaker does pretty much everything Adobe calls for, even to the extent of handling EPS with WMF previews perfectly (one of the very few apps that does, in fact). Then it adds a bit more. If your EPS doesn't have a preview image, or has one that's too low rez for your needs, PageMaker will create a new preview image for you when you place the EPS. Color depth/resolution -- your choice.

Trying, But Not There Yet
Corel Draw since version 6 has allowed you to export EPS with WMF previews but for some odd reason, it won't import them properly. If you place one of these, Draw rasterizes the WMF preview to a low resolution bitmap, which pretty much defeats the purpose of using the WMF preview in the first place.

Ventura Publisher used to import EPS/WMF previews properly but since around version 4.2, no longer does. Tsk.

Wall of shame
Adobe (the company that invented PS and EPS, remember?) Illustrator is clueless when it comes to EPS/WMF previews. It won't export them, it won't import them. The explanation is usually "But EPS/WMF aren't cross-platform compatible." So when will Illustrator stop accepting and producing EPS with PICT previews on the Mac? C'mon, Adobe. Get with the ... your ... program.

Microsoft. Sigh. I've fought with EPS in PowerPoint and occasionally Word through seven or so generations of MS Office. Every version has handled EPS differently; most have been wrong; each has had its own crop of peculiarities, and to make matters worse, the behaviors seem to change with each service pack and sometimes as the result of installing other MS software on the same system because of shared graphics filters.

Life's too short to try and keep up with this. Look at it this way: if your version of MSWhatever properly imports EPS, treasure it. Don't let it leave your sight, and above all, don't install anything else on that computer. Otherwise, use some other graphics format.

Last updated 3/11/2005 3:31:41 PM

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