Encapsulated PostScript .EPS File Description

Surfer exports Encapsulated PostScript files .EPS files.

EPS File Format

At a minimum, an EPS file contains a BoundingBox DSC comment, describing the rectangle containing the image described by the EPS file.

Identifying EPS files

Because of the different ways in which EPS previews are handled, there is no one way to identify an EPS file.

  • A Windows-format EPS file containing a TIFF or WMF preview must start with the four bytes containing, in hexadecimal, C5 D0 D3 C6. Bear in mind these files are widespread on all platforms.

  • In all other cases an EPS file must start with a line %!PS-Adobe-a.b EPSF-c.d where a, b, c and d are all single digit numbers.

  • A Mac-format EPS file is accompanied by a resource fork. The preview is a PICT resource with ID 256. An EPS file on the Mac is expected to have a file type code of "EPSF", whether or not it has a preview.

  • An EPSI file will contain a line starting %%BeginPreview: in the DSC prolog.

  • In many cases no preview is present at all.

See Also

Creating .EPS files

Encapsulated PostScript .EPS Export Automation Options

Encapsulated PostScript .EPS Export Options Dialog

Export Options - Size and Color

Export Options - Spatial References

File Format Chart