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NOTE: This Technical Q&A has been retired. Please see the Technical Q&As page for current documentation.

QD3D Macintosh High Quality Postscript Output

Q: Does QuickDraw 3D support high quality PostScript output (that is, conversion of objects to PostScript for high quality antialiased edges)?

A: QD3D doesn't directly support conversion of objects to PostScript. To convert a QD3D object to PostScript you would first draw your image into a QD3D pixmap draw context (see "3D Graphics Programming with QuickDraw 3D" by Addison Wesley, Chapter 12). Once you've drawn the image into the pixmap draw context you could then use a standard Mac OS printing loop (see the "Printing Loop That Cares" technical note on the Apple Developer World web site: developer.apple.com) to print the image either to a printer or PostScript file.

However, the Mac OS doesn't directly support (via Toolbox functions) anti-aliasing for text &and graphics, either. But there are certain tricks you can play with QuickDraw which will allow you to achieve anti-aliasing effects. The article "Realistic Color for Real-World Applications" in issue 1 of develop journal describes one simple method.

In addition, many other third-party products have implemented anti-aliasing for the Mac OS. A simple search on the InterNet or any Macintosh software guide/magazine will reveal such products.

[Jul 11 1997]

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