the evil anagraph

[laforestsigns]

hello everyone im looking for a little help. a few years ago we switched to flexi-pro but before that and since 1986 weve used anagraph. anagraph stores all its job files under jbs. and graphics as gra. my grandfather was real good with the tablet and hand drew some very difficult to replicate jobs and graphics does anyone know how to get these files into any other program?? ive tried corel,and ai,ps, no luck!! theres got to be a better way. ive been cloning hard drives to keep old ana alive running win 98 . but i feel time is running out and i don't want to lose almost 20 years of jobs and artwork. thanx for any advice you may have:

 

[Decal_Designs]

First, back up all those job files and graphics files to a CDR just in case.

 

[Fred Weiss]

What version of Anagraph software are you running? Classic? Design Art 2? Design Art 3? Later?

I just installed an old copy of Anagraph Design Art 3 and this is what I found:

1. Anagraph had the odd approach that with every new release of their software they would include file updaters. Most applications are forward compatible while not being backward compatible. So, for example, one can open an Illustrator 3 file in Illustrator CS but not open an Illustrator CS file in Illustrator 3. Anagraph didn't see it that way. The bottom line is that if you have Ana Classic JOB and GRA files, you will probably have to batch convert them to Design Art before they can be worked with.

2. In working in Design Art 3, I found that four export formats are offered. These are:

AI
EPS
DXF
WMF

AI and EPS were always problematic for Anagraph. I exported a GRA file in all four formats. This is what I found:

AI and EPS were rejected by Adobe Illustrator as having errors. Coreldraw 8 opened each but the result was gobblety-gook. DXF and WMF opened just fine in both Illustrator and Corel, but both of these formats use strictly linear data. So there are lots of nodes with just straight lines connecting them.

FlexiSign 7.5, on the other hand, wasn't so fussy and opened both the AI and EPS versions faithfully while preserving the Bezier curve data.

So assuming you have the Classic version of Anagraph, the path you need to follow is:

1. Either get a copy of Anagraph Design Art software or find someone willing to contract with you to convert your files.

2. Batch convert your files to the version of Anagraph Design Art.

3. Export each file as AI

4. Open each file in FlexiSign 7.5

5. Export as AI or EPS out of Flexi

6. Reopen each file in Adobe Illustrator and resave as version 3. This is necessary because Flexi AI or EPS export may not be readable in other applications. Illustrator definitely will be readable.

If you need assistance, contact me privately.

 

[laforestsigns]

thank you so much fred! i will give this a try in the morning ill let you know how i do .

 

[tomalbersfamily]

Is anybody using Anagraph DesignArt Pro v4.0 for vinyl/rubber cutting on a Graphtec
flat-bed plotter? What's the secret? The latest plotter drivers for WinXPpro from
Graphtec goes through a printer driver. To plot a pattern you go to print. It works,
but it's awkward. I ask any experts for an easier way to plot. Also... Is there anybody
out there that likes DesignArt software as much as us?... I know, it needs improvements.

 

[geb]

I have used anagraph 3.5 and designart 2000. I liked the 3.5 when we used it, it worked well and was consistant, not alot of problems. When we upgraded to windows 2000, we had to buy the upgrade to designart 2000, had a lot of problems, hardly ever use it anymore unless working on an old file saved in that program.

I wish I could help the thread starter in tranfering his data. I don't think my employer at the day job would look kindly on this. I have exported .ai files into corel with results similar to what Fred decribed, some simple ones work, others are terrible. I have tried removing all colors in anagraph before exporting, leaving just the outline, sometimes this works alittle better. Seems hit and miss over all.

George