Uwe Stöhr wrote: > Am 28.11.2015 um 11:15 schrieb Georg Baum: > >> If there are problems with the installation then please ask on the list >> for help and opinions. > > I am the only Win developer here. My spare time is limited and the > installer consumes a lot of time. > The installer is there to provide a fully functional LyX, no matter if > installed with admin privileges or not. Metafile2eps was not available > without admin privileges.
I understand that you do not want to invest time into such installation issues. However, I still think that it is better to discuss such changes on the list first. Nobody knows everything, and even if you do not see any other solution than dropping something from the installer, it is possible that there are others who have a much better idea. For example, I have windows development experience myself. > Besides this, why should I invest my time to get this program working > while it is not part of LyX and not under development for 7 years now? > If emf conversion is important why is metafile2eps not developed > anymore. I already answered that question in the text cited below. > If the creator doesn't have time, he could contribute his code > to e.g. ImageMagick that this program is able to convert keeping the > vector information. No, for two reasons: 1) ImageMagick has a raster image kernel, it would be a huge effort to add vector graphics capabilities, and I doubt that this is even a goal of the ImageMagick authors 2) metafile2eps does not contain the conversion code. The conversion code is in windows itself, which makes it unsuitable for ImageMagick (it is cross platform). To understand why that is the case one needs to know a bit of the wmf/emf file formats. They are not like most file formats, where the contents is stored as individual objects (e.g. a green rectangle of a certain size). Instead, the contents is stored as a transcript of windows API calls to create the desired objects. This makes id dead easy for developers to support wmf/emf export and display on windows: For export you call the same routine that draws your vector graphic on screen, but with a different so called "device context" that is associated with a EMF file. To display a EMF file you call a windows API function to "replay" it. However, if you want to convert the contents into your own data structures, you basically have to replicate a lot of drawing logic from windows. The same is true if you want to export to an EMF file without calling windows API functions. > But to keeping the vector information is easy: Inkscape > Attached is a patch This is indeed great news! Some years ago this was not possible. I just tried, it works even on linux, although some more adavanced EMF features are only available in the very latest inkscape version (which I do not have yet). The patch looks good to me. If this is in I am have no objections to remove metafile2eps from the installer anymore. >> To my knowledge, there was no development needed, and it simply works >> also for newer windows versions, but Enrico can certainly tell more. > > It never "simply" worked. It was not available for those who install LyX > without admin permissions and made troubles when LyX was uninstalled. I meant the converter itself, not the installation. > Interestingly I could not find a single emf file on my PC. I also never > stumbled over this image format at work. > I downloaded now one and it appears that no browser can display this > file format. So I am wondering what program created emf natively. All windows programs that deal with vector graphics I have seen so far can create it, including exotic ones like DynaGeo, where it is the only possibility to export vector graphics. BTW, as fas as LyX is concerned, the differences between emf and wmf do not matter. Georg
