All of the file formats mentioned here are supported by the
Dynamic Fretboard Mapper.
Postscript (File Size ~6K)
PostScript is the ubiquitous document language from
Adobe.
This is the language used to create the fretboard figures
and therefore it is always created by the Dynamic Fretboard
Mapper. The format is not directly displayable by your
browser. However, it can be displayed on your monitor
using a program called
ghostview
(unix) or
gsview
(windows). Obviously, any PostScript printer can be used
to print this format. Most
non-PostScript printers can be used to print PostScript
with a program called
ghostscript
(possibly other ways as well...).
PDF (File Size ~5K)
The Portable Document Format is also from
Adobe.
Typically PDF documents are viewed with a utility called
acrobat
which is freely distributed by Adobe. Also, Adobe provides a
plug-in for netscape that allows the browser to display PDF
documents in an integrated fashion.
PNG (File Size ~8K)
Pronounced "ping", PNG stands for Portable Network Graphics.
PNG is a flexible graphics format that is defined by a
completely open specification, unencombered by the weight
of patent problems (unlike gif).
I've successfully viewed PNG fretboard figures using
version 4.04 of
netscape.
See the
PNG home page
for more details.
PNG Gray (File Size ~7k)
A gray-scale version of PNG.
GIF (File Size ~11K)
The Graphics Interchange Format has a large amount of
momentum with respect to the internet. To the best of my
knowledge, all graphics-capable browsers can display GIF
images. The downside of this format is that there are
patent and roaylty issues surrounding GIF.
JPEG (File Size ~46K)
JPEG stands for Joint Photographic Experts Group.
This is a lossy graphics format that is designed for, and
consequently best suited for, still-image photographs. As you
can see from the file size JPEG doesn't do a particularly good
job with the fretboard figures. On the upside, JPEG is natively
displayable by most graphics-capable browsers.
JPEG Gray (File Size ~40K)
This is a gray-scale implementation of JPEG. The file size is
a little smaller but still far from comparable to other formats.
Encapsulated PS (File Size ~49K)
This format is created by running the smap ps through ghostscript
with the epswrite device driver. The file size is large.
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