Graph 97: Pattern Fills Do Not Print Well

ID: Q190334

The information in this article applies to:

SYMPTOMS

When you print a Graph 97 chart object with pattern fills, the patterns may not print correctly, or they may not print at all.


CAUSE

Microsoft Graph 97 uses the Windows Graphics Device Interface (GDI) to render its pattern fills at the resolution of the output device, whether it is a printer or a display device (monitor). The patterns are defined by Windows GDI resources, in particular a pattern "brush" that is 8 x 8 pixels in size. On a display that has a dpi of 96, Windows will render its patterns at 96dpi and repeat the pattern 12 times per inch. If it is printed from a printer capable of printing at 600dpi, the pattern is repeated 75 times per inch. Because of this, the pattern is so small you can barely see it.


RESOLUTION

Method 1: Use Texture Fills instead of Patterns

This method makes use of the fact that patterns are really just small, 8 x 8 pixel bitmaps and that Graph 97 can use texture fills for the bars, columns, pie wedges, and other shapes. These bitmaps can be created in any paint or bitmap program that can save the images in a format that the texture fill can read. Once these bitmaps have been created, they can be easily added to your graph. To do this, follow these steps:
  1. Double-click the Graph 97 object in your document, so that it can be edited.


  2. Select the data series that you want to edit


  3. On the Format menu, click Selected Data Series.


  4. Click Fill Effects in the Area group of the Patterns tab.


  5. Click the Texture tab of the Fill Effects dialog box.


  6. Click Other Texture.


  7. Select one of your "custom" pattern bitmaps from the Select Texture dialog box and click Insert.


  8. Click the OK button in the Fill Effects dialog box.


  9. Click OK in the Format Data Series dialog box.


  10. Exit Graph and print the document containing the Graph.


You are not limited to a simple 8 x 8 pixel image, Texture fills can be of any size, 32 x 16 pixels for instance. Feel free to experiment and see what works best for you.

Method 2: Paste the Graph into PowerPoint as a Bitmap

  1. After you create your graph, return to PowerPoint 97, and click the graph.


  2. On the Edit menu, click Copy.


  3. On the Windows Start menu, point to Programs, point to Accessories, and then click Microsoft Paint. In Microsoft Paint, follow these steps:

    1. On the Image menu, click Attributes.


    2. Set the Width to 1 and the Height to 1, and then click OK.


    3. On the Edit menu, click Paste.

      A message appears asking if the image in the clipboard is larger than the bitmap. Click Yes.


    4. On the Edit menu, click Copy.




  4. Switch to your program.


  5. On the Common Tasks toolbar, click New Slide, and then click a blank slide from the New Slide dialog box.


  6. On the View menu, click Zoom, click 100%, and then click OK.


  7. On the Edit menu, click Paste.
    This pastes a bitmap picture of your graph onto your slide.


  8. On the Format menu, click Format Picture. On the Size tab, make sure the Relative to original picture size check box is selected and set the Height and Width percentages to 100%.

    Now you can print this slide and the patterns are visible (the way they appear on the screen). You can click Hide on the Slide Show menu to hide this slide during your slide show presentation, but when you print your slides, you should print this slide instead of the one containing the original graph.


Method 3: Set the Printer Resolution to 75 Dots Per Inch

Set the printer resolution on your printer driver to 75 dots per inch (DPI). If you are printing with a Hewlett-Packard (HP) LaserJet 4, you must use an HP III printer driver to achieve this effect.

Method 4: Use a Different Type of Fill

Use a different type of fill other than pattern fill. Texture and gradient fill in metafiles prints better and helps give each bar a distinct look.


WORKAROUND

If your Graph object is in PowerPoint 97, you can achieve better results by ungrouping the Graph chart object. This converts it into Office Drawing objects and the patterns will print better.


STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed that this behavior is not caused by a problem in Windows 98, but may be caused by design changes in Windows 98. For more information about resolving this issue, contact the program's manufacturer.

Additional query words: 8.00 black gray patterned hp 4 3 okidata pcl graph ppt97 


Keywords          : 
Version           : WINDOWS:97
Platform          : WINDOWS 
Issue type        : kbprb

Last Reviewed: April 26, 1999