Using Powerpoint or Visio Figures in Latex ------------------------------------------ Producing EPS Figures: - If you are using Adobe Illustrator or Corel Draw, the EPS export function is the best way to get EPS files. Adobe Illustrator is the de facto since PS, EPS, and PDF are all Adobe standards. - MS Visio has an EPS export facility, but it is severely broken in many ways (at least in version 2002). MS Powerpoint has no EPS export facility at all. The only option to convert Powerpoint or Visio figures to EPS is to print them to a suitable postscript printer driver. - Typical Postscript printer drivers (like HP laserjet drivers) will not work. Instead, use the Adobe Universal PostScript Windows Driver. Download it from Adobe's website (http://www.adobe.com/support/downloads/main.html). - Configure it to produce EPS files: Under "Advanced" -> "Postscript Options" -> "Postscript Output Option", select "Encapsulated Postscript (EPS)", and choose the "FILE:" port for printing to a file. - To print fonts flawlessly, select "Download as Softfont" under "Advanced" -> "Graphic" -> "True Type Fonts". - your Powerpoint or Visio figure should be in portrait mode. After drawing, click "Print"; in the Print popup window, select "Current Page". - Because Powerpoint and Visio and always print the whole page, the document typically has lots of white space. Therefore, you still need to change the document's bounding box. - You can change the bounding box manually. You will find it easier if you put your figure in the bottom left corner of the page, about a centimeter from the edges. Then just edit the EPS file; about the fifth line should read something like %%BoundingBox: 17 22 578 820. Adapt this to the size of your figure. Leave the first two numbers alone. - Alternatively, GSView for Windows has the facility for automatically calculating a tight bounding box. Open the printed file using GSView. Go to "File" –> "PS to EPS", check "Automatic calculation of bounding box", and click the Yes button. Save this file as *.EPS (do not forget to put the extension). Inserting EPS figures into Latex: - In your Latex source code, include the "graphics" package (\usepackage{graphics}) for simple commands or the "graphicx" package for more complicated commands (\usepackage{graphicx}). - Due to the bounding box adjust, you need the clip option when inserting the figure, for example: \includegraphics[clip=true,scale=0.8]{foo.eps}. Using Latex Formulas or Symbols in Figures: - Texpoint (http://raw.cs.berkeley.edu/texpoint/) is a freely available Powerpoint add-in that enables you to use Latex symbols and formulas in your figures. - Texpoint has two main modes of operation: "inline" and "display". The "inline" mode is limited to simple sequences of mathematical symbols only. The "display" mode provides the full power of Latex; it allows you to write arbitrary Latex source, which is automatically processed and converted to a bitmap and then inserted on the slide. The bitmap remembers its Latex source, so you can modify it later. - The default document class is \documentclass{slides}. The mathematical fonts will differ from the mathematical fonts in your document unless you change it to \documentclass{article}. - TexPoint version 2.0 and later can create displays that are not bitmaps, but scalable graphics (like PDF or Postscript). The graphics format is called EMF (Extended Metafile); it is more concise than bitmaps and does not suffer from pixelation problems. To export figures using EMFs to EPS, you must have the proper Latex fonts installed on your system (for details see http://raw.cs.berkeley.edu/texpoint/). You must also select additional options in the Postscript printer driver: under "Advanced" -> "Postscript Options" -> "True Type Font Download Option", select "Outline". However, I found the results using EMF less satisfactory than the results using bitmaps (the EMF formulas differed from the actual Latex typesetting). - If bitmaps are used in EPS figures, I found that Adobe Reader will sometimes display them with a faint box around them. Apparently, this is only a bug in Adobe Reader's display; the boxes goes away if you zoom into the figure, and the document prints out correctly. - Texpoint only works in Powerpoint. You can paste TexPoint displays into Visio (works also on any other Office application that supports ActiveX); however, in this case you will not be able to view or edit the source anymore. Sources: - MiKTeX FGA (Frequently Given Answers), Ki-Joo Kim, Version 0.3, November 24, 2003 - http://www.itee.uq.edu.au/~emmerik/visioeps.html - http://raw.cs.berkeley.edu/texpoint/