[OS X] matlab figures

[Andy Jacobson]

On 27 Mar 2006, at 11:34 , Val Schmidt wrote:

> Can someone recommend a good format and method to export figures  
> from matlab (v7) and to load them into Word (v2004) to produce a  
> crisp clear image. I've tried jpeg and tiff images, but I  get  
> fuzzy results. And while it seems windows versions of word can  
> import matlab .fig files natively, my Mac version cannot.

Hi Val,

	I don't have a complete answer here, because I don't use word any  
more.  I rejected it in part because word handles vector graphics  
(e.g. postscript, as opposed to jpeg, png, or tiff bitmaps) so  
poorly.  However, I have been told that for Powerpoint, an eps file  
with an embedded tiff preview can be imported, so maybe you can also  
import an eps graphic like that into word.

		I make all my graphics in postscript (ps or eps), then if I need a  
bitmap, as for a powerpoint presentation, I use imagemagick to  
convert them to a png bitmap.  The nice thing about imagemagick is  
that you can specify an arbitrarily high resolution, which counters  
the fuzziness.  If you select 300 or 600 dots per inch, then you  
should be good to go.  For example:

	convert -density 300x300 matlab_figure.eps matlab_figure.png

	This will of course make a large png file on disk.  I believe that  
imagemagick can also embed a tiff preview into an eps file, but I've  
never really bothered to do this.  "man convert" for more details.

	Best,

		Andy

--
Andy Jacobson
andy.jacobson at noaa.gov

NOAA Earth System Research Lab
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