Converting Vector Graphics To Rip Graphics Introduction: About a year ago I came across a small utility known as wmf2rip. It was supposed to be able to convert a windows metafile(*.wmf) graphic to a rip graphic. Initially when I first tried it my success was very limited. But over time I have managed to perfect some rather interesting results. For example I was no longer limited to the fonts that came with the rip paint programs. I could now use most any truetype font, I could set the text to path, skew it, rotate it. One could say, that my only limits were that of my imagination. I have been on RIPnet! for almost a year now, and still find very few people using this technique. Why, you might ask? One reason for sure, is there is no flood fills in this type of rip. I also find those rip paint programs too limiting and for me drawing with a mouse has its limitations as well. This is not to say that I haven't seen some excellent screens produced by others though. My hat goes off to them. Tools Required: 1. The ability to play :) 2. A copy of the wmf2rip.exe conversion utility. 3. Coreldraw I have used both version 2 and 3 with excellent results. 4. Hijack Pro (for graphic conversions). *.cgm to *.wmf 5. A rip paint program. 6. A rip viewer called freeview.exe. 7. A text editor 8. A reusable template you create Creating The Template I work mostly with the *.cgm graphic format both for importing and exporting with Coreldraw. My reason for this is if I export the graphic out as a *.wmf I am unable to control the graphic's x and y coordinates. I am sure that many of you who are working with Coreldraw would know how to control the header info of the graphic. I only started to use this program when I realized I could use it to create my rip screens, so my appologies, for not knowing how to set the header info for a *.wmf. My first problem was not being able to control the size of my graphic. In other words some graphics were too large when finished and when converted to a rip only the top portion of the graphic displayed. To get around this problem, I created a template in Coreldraw. This template was merely a dot in the top left hand corner of the page, and a rectangle just slightly to the right and below the dot. Next I exported this screen out of Corel as a *.cgm. and also saved it as a *.cdr.I then converted the *.cgm to a *.wmf using Hijackpro. My next step was to convert the *.wmf using the wmf2rip utility to a rip. I usually use the /w switch when converting as it always gives me a background I can edit in my rip paint program. I kept doing this until I was able to achieve the maximum sized rectangle(that would display fully on the screen). If you get an out of range error with the wmf2rip utility you know you will have to reduce the rectangle size in Corel. The wmf2rip utility will report if it is an x or y out of range error and you can adjust your rectangle accordingly. Please keep in mind this is only a one shot deal, once you get this template set up, you can use it over and over again for each rip screen. By the way just for interest sake my template when completed was about 80% of the maximum x and y coordinates in a rip screen. I have also customized this template to use, when I wanted to create wallpaper and my own icon buttons from vector graphics. Creating A Rip Screen From A Vector Graphic Your template should be saved in Corel as a *.cdr. So once you have gotten your template made you can try a couple of screens. First thing I do after Corel loads is open my template.cdr. Next I import the graphic I want to work on *.cgm. Then it's up to you, size it, locate it, whatever, just remember to keep it within the limits of your template. When you are finished editing your graphic in Corel you will export it as a *.cgm. I then go into Hijackpro and do my conversion of the *.cgm to a *.wmf. Now using the wmf2rip utility you can convert it to a rip.(wmf2rip *.wmf /w) Here's a little sample to try. Load your template, draw a circle, put some text on the screen, and set the text to path. Export the screen out of Corel as a *.cgm. Convert it with Hijackpro to a *.wmf. Then convert it to a rip with the wmf2rip utility. You should end up with the text following the curve of the circle, depending on what orientation you selected. When you are all done, try and emulate that effect in a rip paint program :) . Suggestions: When using a graphic to convert to a rip, the size of the file (in Bytes)is always on my mind. I really do not like to use any screens on line that are bigger than 15 or 20k. I prefer them to be around the 4k mark(I still have a few 2400 baud callers). Anyway with this thought in mind I try to reduce my graphics initially in Corel. A great deal of clipart is layered and I have found that a great deal of this information can be deleted from a graphic with no effect to the final result. It is a lot easier to edit the graphic in Corel than it is with a rip paint program or a text editor. For example I have been able to use clipart images as large as 100k and by removing some of the layering, have ended up with a rip screen of only 8k. If you prefer to edit your converted rip screen outside of Corel the freeview.exe program, with the trace mode on is good for locating parts of a rip which are uneccessary. At this stage I would use my rip paint program or the dos editor to remove the unwanted info. Also don't forget to optimize your rip screen by saving it in your rip paint program. This is actually one of my final phases when doing a rip. When using the wmf2rip program here are a couple of things to note. Avoid at all costs the large polygon errors. If you get one use the switches and do the conversion again /m150 /x10 /y7 /w. I prefer not having to use these as some distortion of the graphic takes place. So quite often I will disgard these graphics or find the offending portion and delete or alter it. You can ignore any "unrecognized functions" reported when converting, this will not affect your final output. Well I hope you can excuse my rather simplified explanation of how I do my rips. I apologize for not being more technical with my descriptions but I can't offer something that's not there :) Andy Forget Good Times Unlimited BBS (905)825-0564 Fidonet : 1:259/324 ZyXELnet: 12:259/324 CNnet : 169:905/4 Ripnet! : 154:815/200 Sfnet : A0416002 All Shareware programs listed above can be file requested from my system. For a complete listing of available rip related files including my gturips, make a file request for "FILES",from any of my addresses listed above.