Exporting CSS, WMF, Targa and text from Vectornation
File > Export in Vectornation by Zaweba also writes WMF, CSS, Targa and plain text, for web pages, older Windows programs, video tools and copy checks.
Beyond the familiar PDF, SVG and PNG, the File > Export menu in Vectornation by Zaweba has four smaller options that each solve a particular hand-over: WMF, CSS, Targa and Text. None of them is something you will use every day. Each is the right answer when someone asks for it.
WMF for older Windows software
WMF is the older of the two Windows metafile formats. It holds vector artwork that many long established Windows programs, office suites and specialist tools understand. If a colleague's software accepts only WMF, or you are supplying clip art to a system built around it, export WMF and the artwork arrives as vectors that stay sharp when resized.
WMF is an old format with limits, so keep the artwork simple: solid fills and plain strokes come across best. Gradients, transparency and fancy type may be simplified or lost. If the other side can take EMF, which Vectornation also exports, that is usually the better choice.
CSS for web work
The CSS export is aimed at people who build web pages. Designers often pass colours and styles from a drawing to a developer, and retyping colour values from a design is slow and easy to get wrong. Exporting CSS gives the developer text they can work with in a stylesheet, rather than values retyped by hand.
It pairs well with the CSS swatch files that the Swatches panel can import and export. Between them, a web palette can move from the drawing to the site and back without anyone copying numbers by hand.
Targa for video and older graphics tools
Targa, also known by its TGA extension, is an image format that video editing, animation and some older graphics and games tools still prefer. It can carry transparency, which is why it is popular for titles and overlays laid over footage.
When an editor asks for a TGA of a lower third or a logo bug, export Targa from the artboard. Check the size in pixels the editor wants first, so the artwork does not need scaling in the video tool, which would soften it.
Text for checking and reuse
Text export writes the words in your drawing to a plain .txt file. It sounds small, but it is handy. Send the copy from a poster or a leaflet to a client or a proofreader as plain text, and they can check every word without opening a design file. Paste the text into a website or an email without retyping it.
For a drawing with a lot of type, it is also a quick way to see all the words in one place, where a typo is easier to spot than on a busy layout. Vectornation's spell checker is the first line of defence, but a second pair of eyes on plain text catches things a dictionary will not, such as the wrong date.
Text can also come in from .txt, .rtf and Word .docx files through Place and Open, so copy can travel both ways.
Choosing the format
The rule is simple: use the format the person or program at the other end asks for. If they have no preference, the main formats are usually better. PDF for print, SVG for the web, PNG for pictures. These four are for the cases where a specific tool needs a specific file.
Checks before you send
Open the exported file in the program that will use it, or ask the recipient to. Old formats in particular can surprise you, and a quick check costs less than a second round of emails.
Name the file clearly, with what it is and which version, so it does not get mixed up with earlier exports.
