vsd flow charts

[Combs, Richard]

Zeller, Barbara asked: 
 
> What is the best way to import flow charts from Visio (.vsd) into
> FrameMaker?
> I'm getting some pretty fuzzy results. I am working in Frame 7.2.
Would
> appreciate any tips.

If the results are fuzzy, I'm guessing you're exporting to JPEG,
probably the worst choice (it's for photos, not drawings). But any
raster (bitmap) image format is a bad idea. And Visio's export filters
(including those suitable for vector graphics -- EPS and WMF/EMF) have a
poor reputation. 

IMHO, PDF is by far the best option. If you have a recent full version
of Acrobat, and it was installed after Office/Visio, it should have
installed the PDFMaker plug-in, adding PDF buttons and menu to your
Office apps, including Visio. That makes it dead simple; once you set
PDF options once, it will take just a button click to create a new PDF
when you change the drawing. 

If that's not your situation, but you have Distiller, you can print your
Visio drawings to the Adobe PDF printer. 

In either case, if your Visio files contain multiple drawings, the PDF
will contain multiple pages. In FM, when you select a multi-page PDF to
import, a dialog appears in which you choose the page you want (there's
a preview if you've forgotten the page number). 

Helpful hint: When you create Visio drawings for import into FM, figure
out what size you want them to be on the FM page, and make the drawing
page that size (e.g., if you want them to span a 6" text column, then in
Visio, use a custom page 6" wide). It will simplify your life if your
drawings don't need to be scaled on import. 

HTH!

Richard G. Combs
Senior Technical Writer
Polycom, Inc.
richardDOTcombs AT polycomDOTcom
303-223-5111
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rgcombs AT gmailDOTcom
303-777-0436
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