Generate smooth line annotation drawings

[rjethwa]

Hi

I need to generate publishing quality images of annotations I have defined.  The way I have done this so far is to File > Print > Clipboard and then pasted this into Word docs.  This quality has been sufficient till now, but when I do this with pics and increase size, the curves are pixelated and don't look very professional

How do I export images so they are high-def smooth lines?  I ideally need to export in jpg.

I have tried File > Print, and then 'Print to File' but the generated file doesn't have an extension and if I change to '.jpg' it's still not recognised

Thanks

Rajesh

This thread is inactive and closed by the PTC Community Management Team. If you would like to provide a reply and re-open this thread, please notify the moderator and reference the thread. You may also use "Start a topic" button to ask a new question. Please be sure to include what version of the PTC product you are using so another community member knowledgeable about your version may be able to assist.

[MartinHanak]

Hi,

use Snipping Tool to get copy of your screen. In Word place the picture with scale 100%.

If you need larger picture, zoom in in Creo and use Snipping Tool, again.

If you need smaller picture, zoom out in Creo and use Snipping Tool, again.

MH

[rjethwa]

Thanks Martin

Have tried that but the onscreen image on Annotation doesn't have the resolution in the first place - i.e. line just off vertical are pixelated and shown as a series of short vertical lines (even if I magnify).  I have a Dell U2413 1920 resolution screen, so it can't be the quality of my screen

I can't believe there isn't a way to print out to a jpg file - anyone else know?

The best I can get so far is to print out the image onto paper and then rescan the image with my scanner... but that's ludicrous, no?

Thanks

[MartinHanak]

Hi,

if you want to get smooth lines, then you have to use vector format. Unfortunately Word is not able to import pictures saved from Creo into HPGL-2 or Postscript format. Some time ago I tested exporting file in CGM format from Creo Drawing mode and importing this file into Word. Again unfortunately CGM format is obsolete and its import into Word is blocked by default. You have to apply some tricks .

See Message: "Failed to import ..." or "An error occurred while importing ..." while importing CGM or other graphics

See VBS script on Use DOS from CMD prompt to show file version on WinXP PC

See https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/2479871

That's all for now.

MH

[mender]

You can export to a raster image with File > Save As...  I believe TIFF is supported for 2D, TIFF and JPG for 3D.

As others have noted, exporting to raster and then scaling it up is going to pixelate in any case.  You may want to consider exporting at the final scale, or using a vector format which can scale better.

Consider the formats mentioned above, also high-resolution PDF.

[psobejko]

Have you tried maxing up the graphics quality options?  Anti-aliasing and smoothing can make a big difference in the display quality.

(just for your screenshot needs - I would caution about using them everyday because it might bring performance down and file sizes up)

some config.pro options:

enable_fsaa 16

smooth_lines yes

edge_display_quality very_high

shade_quality 15

[dschenken]

I used GSVIEW to open the original .pdf, then used GSVIEW EDIT->Convert to vector format ... to create a .wmf format file.

I inserted the picture from the Picture menu in Word.

At first it looks invisible. I think it is because Word expects a bitmap preview. Just double click on the picture and select Edit Picture and Word will ask to convert it to a Microsoft Office drawing object. Select YES and then it shows as in the attached file.

Once it it a drawing object you can set whatever lineweight, color, and font you like. In older versions of Word one was able to ungroup and either delete or edit individual portions. That's a 'Word' problem, so it's a separate question to answer.

[rjethwa]

Ok - thanks guys - really helpful that people have responded.. really appreciate

I should've said at the outset that I am using Creo Elements Direct ME, so not sure if some of those feature spoken about are not available....

I tried Save As and then an image but couldn't get it to work.

But I found a solution (yay!)... I can Print > PDF and it comes out perfectly.  What stumped me previously was that I couldn't specify a name of the file.  Instead I copied a random PDF to the folder I wanted to save in, and then selected that, selected Yes to 'Overwrite?', and works fine.

I can open in Photoshop now and edit.. it even omits the background so no need for me to painstakingly select just the lines

Thanks again guys..