File: //usr/share/doc/python-docs-2.4.3/html/doc/graphics.html
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN">
<html>
<head>
<link rel="STYLESHEET" href="doc.css" type='text/css' />
<link rel="SHORTCUT ICON" href="../icons/pyfav.png" type="image/png" />
<link rel='start' href='../index.html' title='Python Documentation Index' />
<link rel="first" href="doc.html" title='Documenting Python' />
<link rel='contents' href='contents.html' title="Contents" />
<link rel='last' href='about.html' title='About this document...' />
<link rel='help' href='about.html' title='About this document...' />
<link rel="next" href="futures.html" />
<link rel="prev" href="tools.html" />
<link rel="parent" href="doc.html" />
<link rel="next" href="futures.html" />
<meta name='aesop' content='information' />
<title>8 Including Graphics </title>
</head>
<body>
<DIV CLASS="navigation">
<div id='top-navigation-panel' xml:id='top-navigation-panel'>
<table align="center" width="100%" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="2">
<tr>
<td class='online-navigation'><a rel="prev" title="7.3 Working on Cygwin"
href="cygwin.html"><img src='../icons/previous.png'
border='0' height='32' alt='Previous Page' width='32' /></A></td>
<td class='online-navigation'><a rel="parent" title="Documenting Python"
href="doc.html"><img src='../icons/up.png'
border='0' height='32' alt='Up One Level' width='32' /></A></td>
<td class='online-navigation'><a rel="next" title="9 Future Directions"
href="futures.html"><img src='../icons/next.png'
border='0' height='32' alt='Next Page' width='32' /></A></td>
<td align="center" width="100%">Documenting Python</td>
<td class='online-navigation'><a rel="contents" title="Table of Contents"
href="contents.html"><img src='../icons/contents.png'
border='0' height='32' alt='Contents' width='32' /></A></td>
<td class='online-navigation'><img src='../icons/blank.png'
border='0' height='32' alt='' width='32' /></td>
<td class='online-navigation'><img src='../icons/blank.png'
border='0' height='32' alt='' width='32' /></td>
</tr></table>
<div class='online-navigation'>
<b class="navlabel">Previous:</b>
<a class="sectref" rel="prev" href="cygwin.html">7.3 Working on Cygwin</A>
<b class="navlabel">Up:</b>
<a class="sectref" rel="parent" href="doc.html">Documenting Python</A>
<b class="navlabel">Next:</b>
<a class="sectref" rel="next" href="futures.html">9 Future Directions</A>
</div>
<hr /></div>
</DIV>
<!--End of Navigation Panel-->
<H1><A NAME="SECTION000900000000000000000"></A><A NAME="graphics"></A>
<BR>
8 Including Graphics
</H1>
<P>
The standard documentation included with Python makes no use of
diagrams or images; this is intentional. The outside tools used to
format the documentation have not always been suited to working with
graphics. As the tools have evolved and been improved by their
maintainers, support for graphics has improved.
<P>
The internal tools, starting with the <b class="program">mkhowto</b> script, do
not provide any direct support for graphics. However,
<b class="program">mkhowto</b> will not interfere with graphics support in the
external tools.
<P>
Experience using graphics together with these tools and the
<code>howto</code> and <code>manual</code> document classes is not extensive,
but has been known to work. The basic approach is this:
<P>
<OL>
<LI>Create the image or graphic using your favorite
application.
<P>
</LI>
<LI>Convert the image to a format supported by the conversion to
your desired output format. If you want to generate HTML or
PostScript, you can convert the image or graphic to
encapsulated PostScript (a <span class="file">.eps</span> file); <span class="LaTeX">LaTeX</span>2HTML
can convert that to a <span class="file">.gif</span> file; it may be possible
to provide a <span class="file">.gif</span> file directly. If you want to
generate PDF, you need to provide an ``encapsulated'' PDF
file. This can be generated from encapsulated PostScript
using the <b class="program">epstopdf</b> tool provided with the te<span class="TeX">TeX</span>
distribution on Linux and <span class="Unix">Unix</span>.
<P>
</LI>
<LI>In your document, add this line to ``import'' the general
graphics support package <code>graphicx</code>:
<P>
<div class="verbatim"><pre>
\usepackage{graphicx}
</pre></div>
<P>
</LI>
<LI>Where you want to include your graphic or image, include
markup similar to this:
<P>
<div class="verbatim"><pre>
\begin{figure}
\centering
\includegraphics[width=5in]{myimage}
\caption{Description of my image}
\end{figure}
</pre></div>
<P>
In particular, note for the <tt class='macro'>\includegraphics</tt> macro
that no file extension is provided. If you're only
interested in one target format, you can include the
extension of the appropriate input file, but to allow
support for multiple formats, omitting the extension makes
life easier.
<P>
</LI>
<LI>Run <b class="program">mkhowto</b> normally.
</LI>
</OL>
<P>
If you're working on systems which support some sort of
<b class="program">make</b> facility, you can use that to ensure the intermediate
graphic formats are kept up to date. This example shows a
<span class="file">Makefile</span> used to format a document containing a diagram
created using the <b class="program">dia</b> application:
<P>
<div class="verbatim"><pre>
default: pdf
all: html pdf ps
html: mydoc/mydoc.html
pdf: mydoc.pdf
ps: mydoc.ps
mydoc/mydoc.html: mydoc.tex mygraphic.eps
mkhowto --html $<
mydoc.pdf: mydoc.tex mygraphic.pdf
mkhowto --pdf $<
mydoc.ps: mydoc.tex mygraphic.eps
mkhowto --postscript $<
.SUFFIXES: .dia .eps .pdf
.dia.eps:
dia --nosplash --export $@ $<
.eps.pdf:
epstopdf $<
</pre></div>
<P>
<DIV CLASS="navigation">
<div class='online-navigation'>
<p></p><hr />
<table align="center" width="100%" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="2">
<tr>
<td class='online-navigation'><a rel="prev" title="7.3 Working on Cygwin"
href="cygwin.html"><img src='../icons/previous.png'
border='0' height='32' alt='Previous Page' width='32' /></A></td>
<td class='online-navigation'><a rel="parent" title="Documenting Python"
href="doc.html"><img src='../icons/up.png'
border='0' height='32' alt='Up One Level' width='32' /></A></td>
<td class='online-navigation'><a rel="next" title="9 Future Directions"
href="futures.html"><img src='../icons/next.png'
border='0' height='32' alt='Next Page' width='32' /></A></td>
<td align="center" width="100%">Documenting Python</td>
<td class='online-navigation'><a rel="contents" title="Table of Contents"
href="contents.html"><img src='../icons/contents.png'
border='0' height='32' alt='Contents' width='32' /></A></td>
<td class='online-navigation'><img src='../icons/blank.png'
border='0' height='32' alt='' width='32' /></td>
<td class='online-navigation'><img src='../icons/blank.png'
border='0' height='32' alt='' width='32' /></td>
</tr></table>
<div class='online-navigation'>
<b class="navlabel">Previous:</b>
<a class="sectref" rel="prev" href="cygwin.html">7.3 Working on Cygwin</A>
<b class="navlabel">Up:</b>
<a class="sectref" rel="parent" href="doc.html">Documenting Python</A>
<b class="navlabel">Next:</b>
<a class="sectref" rel="next" href="futures.html">9 Future Directions</A>
</div>
</div>
<hr />
<span class="release-info">Release 2.4.3, documentation updated on 29 March 2006.</span>
</DIV>
<!--End of Navigation Panel-->
<ADDRESS>
See <i><a href="about.html">About this document...</a></i> for information on suggesting changes.
</ADDRESS>
</BODY>
</HTML>