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Making Illustrations with Mathematica

This page describes the nuts and bolts of using Mathematica graphics in other settings. To learn more about using Mathematica itself, consult the references on the computer algebra page.

Illustrations for Papers

The basic strategy for using Mathematica output in papers (or posters, transparencies, etc.) is to save the image as a PostScript file. There are a number of ways to do this.

The command PSPrint[%n] will print the output of command n on the default printer. The output will in general be scaled to fill the page.
To save output of command n to a PostScript file, use the command
Display["filename.ps", %n]
This file lacks standard header information, which is convenient if you are a PostScript guru, and want to include it in other PostScript documents for example. However, to turn the file into printable, encapsulated PostScript, use the command
psfix filename.ps > newfile.ps
On a NeXT, there is yet a third option. After selecting the the desired cell, choosing "Print Selection" from the print menu brings up a dialog box that allows one to save the selection directly as PostScript. Although convenient, this method has the disadvantage that Mathematica prepends a notebook header line.

Illustrations for Electronic Media

Once you have a PostScript file, you have lots of options. For one thing, this is an area of considerable expertise at the Geometry Center, so start by consulting with the staff. However, to get some idea of the basics, consult the pages on Working with Images or the Graphics Resources section of the Center software overview.

Importing Images into Geomview

A good thing to keep in mind is that Mathematica 3D graphics output can be displayed with Geomview. This allows the user to use Geomview to position and render the object with Geomview, which in general gives higher quality results.

To use Geomview with Mathematica, begin by issuing the command

<<Geomview.m

in Mathematica. This tells Mathematica to send its graphics output to Geomview. Then use Mathematica as usual to generate your image. It will automatically start Geomview, and display the image there.

The is a great deal of additional information about Geomview and Making Illustrations with Geomview online.

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Comments to: webmaster@geom.umn.edu
Created: Fri Sep 8 11:39:00 1995 --- Last modified: Jun 18 1996