Microsoft PhotoDraw
Encyclopedia
Microsoft PhotoDraw 2000 is a vector graphics
and raster imaging software package developed by Microsoft
. PhotoDraw fills a hole in the Office productivity suite, which includes software programs for word processing, spreadsheet, presentation and alike, but lacks a capable image creation and editing program. Office typically includes Microsoft Photo Editor
, a lightweight bitmap
editor.
2000 Premium and Developer, but came separately on 2 CDs. It developed from the Picture It! 2.0 engine's .MIX format and expanded further into vector imaging technology. It required a separate installation from the main installer for the core Office suite, and was also released as a stand-alone product as part of Microsoft's Graphics Studio line of products (Greetings, etc.).
on December 31, 1999.
PhotoDraw 2000 Version 2 shipped via these release vehicles
) at the time.
As positioned mainly as an MS Office family companion and a business graphical solution suite, it was not useful enough for home users, who are more interested in manipulating digital pictures - which are bitmaps - than creating vector graphics. Microsoft has responded by bundling Windows Picture and Fax Viewer
with Windows XP
, developing Microsoft Picture It!
, as well as creating Microsoft Office Picture Manager
for Microsoft Office 2003 to expand on Microsoft Photo Editor. Furthermore, PhotoDraw was also not good enough to challenge Illustrator, the de facto standard for graphics professionals.
Photodraw can open files in these file formats:
Photodraw can save files in these file formats:
The MIME media-type for the MIX format is "image/vnd.mix" (IANA assignment for the MIX format)
The early beta (and Beta2 Tech Refresh) versions of the Microsoft Office 2007
suite compromised the file handling and bitmap import/export filters of PhotoDraw, rendering it incapable of properly opening or saving files in any format other than its native .mix and the standard .bmp types. Saving in other formats resulted in distorted aspect ratio
or errors. It also became impossible to copy and paste images between PowerPoint and PhotoDraw. Users reported these problems to Microsoft.
As of February 2007, the RTM version of Office 2007 seems to solve these problems.
PhotoDraw once again works seamlessly with this build of Office, without the issues described above, apart from that objects copied from PowerPoint must be pasted as special EMF
(enhanced metafile) in PhotoDraw, otherwise the latter won't recognize the content of the Clipboard. This fuels a new hope that PhotoDraw can be used with the final release of Office 2007.
Vector graphics
Vector graphics is the use of geometrical primitives such as points, lines, curves, and shapes or polygon, which are all based on mathematical expressions, to represent images in computer graphics...
and raster imaging software package developed by Microsoft
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
. PhotoDraw fills a hole in the Office productivity suite, which includes software programs for word processing, spreadsheet, presentation and alike, but lacks a capable image creation and editing program. Office typically includes Microsoft Photo Editor
Microsoft Photo Editor
Microsoft Photo Editor is an image-editing application found in Microsoft Office 97–XP versions for Windows, classified as one of Microsoft Office Tools...
, a lightweight bitmap
Bitmap
In computer graphics, a bitmap or pixmap is a type of memory organization or image file format used to store digital images. The term bitmap comes from the computer programming terminology, meaning just a map of bits, a spatially mapped array of bits. Now, along with pixmap, it commonly refers to...
editor.
Microsoft PhotoDraw 2000
Microsoft PhotoDraw 2000 was released in 1999 along with Microsoft OfficeMicrosoft Office
Microsoft Office is a non-free commercial office suite of inter-related desktop applications, servers and services for the Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X operating systems, introduced by Microsoft in August 1, 1989. Initially a marketing term for a bundled set of applications, the first version of...
2000 Premium and Developer, but came separately on 2 CDs. It developed from the Picture It! 2.0 engine's .MIX format and expanded further into vector imaging technology. It required a separate installation from the main installer for the core Office suite, and was also released as a stand-alone product as part of Microsoft's Graphics Studio line of products (Greetings, etc.).
Microsoft PhotoDraw 2000 Version 2
Microsoft released the subsequent version called Microsoft PhotoDraw 2000 Version 2 to General AvailabilityDevelopment stage
A software release life cycle refers to the phases of development and maturity for a piece of computer software—ranging from its initial development, to its eventual release, and updated versions of the released version to help improve software or fix bugs still present in the software.- Pre-alpha...
on December 31, 1999.
PhotoDraw Release Vehicles
PhotoDraw 2000 shipped via these release vehicles- A standalone packaged product composed of 3 CDs.
- As part of Office 2000 Premium (CD 3 and CD4)
- As part of Office 2000 Developer (CD 3 and CD4)
PhotoDraw 2000 Version 2 shipped via these release vehicles
- A standalone packaged product composed of 3 CDs.
- As part of Office 2000 Premium SR-1 (CD 3 and CD4)
- As part of Office 2000 Developer SR-1 (CD 3 and CD4)
Relationship to the Office Suite
Both versions of PhotoDraw were branded "Microsoft Office Application," and considered a "member of the family," as were other Microsoft applications (most notably PublisherMicrosoft Publisher
Microsoft Publisher is a desktop publishing application from Microsoft. It is an entry-level application, differing from Microsoft Word in that the emphasis is placed on page layout and design rather than text composition and proofing...
) at the time.
Discontinuation
After PhotoDraw 2000 Version 2 was released, Microsoft discontinued the program.Purpose and features
PhotoDraw is a full-featured dual-type (vector and bitmap) graphics software application like Adobe Fireworks, developed for semiprofessional business use. It includes a vast library of clip-art, and a good collection of additional fonts.As positioned mainly as an MS Office family companion and a business graphical solution suite, it was not useful enough for home users, who are more interested in manipulating digital pictures - which are bitmaps - than creating vector graphics. Microsoft has responded by bundling Windows Picture and Fax Viewer
Windows Picture and Fax Viewer
Windows Photo Viewer is an image viewer developed by Microsoft that is included with Windows 7. It was also included with Windows XP and Windows Server 2003 under the name of Windows Picture and Fax Viewer. It was temporarily replaced with Windows Photo Gallery in Windows Vista, but has been...
with Windows XP
Windows XP
Windows XP is an operating system produced by Microsoft for use on personal computers, including home and business desktops, laptops and media centers. First released to computer manufacturers on August 24, 2001, it is the second most popular version of Windows, based on installed user base...
, developing Microsoft Picture It!
Microsoft Picture It!
Microsoft Picture It! is a discontinued photo editing application created by Microsoft. Version 1.0 was released in September 1996. Borrowing from the wizard user interface concepts of Microsoft Publisher, Picture It! was geared to make digital imaging easy for consumers...
, as well as creating Microsoft Office Picture Manager
Microsoft Office Picture Manager
Microsoft Office Picture Manager is a software program included with Microsoft Office suite starting with version 2003. It is a basic image editing and image management program...
for Microsoft Office 2003 to expand on Microsoft Photo Editor. Furthermore, PhotoDraw was also not good enough to challenge Illustrator, the de facto standard for graphics professionals.
File Format Support
PhotoDraw's native file format is .MIX.Photodraw can open files in these file formats:
- PhotoDraw 2000 Version 2 Format (*.MIX)
- PhotoDraw 2000 Version 1 Format (*.MIX)
- AutoCadAutoCADAutoCAD is a software application for computer-aided design and drafting in both 2D and 3D. It is developed and sold by Autodesk, Inc. First released in December 1982, AutoCAD was one of the first CAD programs to run on personal computers, notably the IBM PC...
Format 2-D (*.dxf) - Computer Graphics MetafileComputer Graphics MetafileComputer Graphics Metafile is a free and open international standard file format for 2D vector graphics, raster graphics, and text, and is defined by ISO/IEC 8632.-Overview:...
(*.cgm) - Corel Draw (*.cdr)
- Encapsulated PostscriptEncapsulated PostScriptEncapsulated PostScript, or EPS, is a DSC-conforming PostScript document with additional restrictions which is intended to be usable as a graphics file format...
(*.eps) - FlashpixFlashPixFlashPix is a bitmapped computer graphics file format where the image is saved in more than one resolution. Though this makes it larger even than a TIFF file, when a request is sent for the file by a Web browser only the resolution required for the current screen resolution is sent to the browser;...
(*.fpx) - Graphics Interchange FormatGIFThe Graphics Interchange Format is a bitmap image format that was introduced by CompuServe in 1987 and has since come into widespread usage on the World Wide Web due to its wide support and portability....
(*.gif, *.gfa) - JPEG File Interchange FormatJPEGIn computing, JPEG . The degree of compression can be adjusted, allowing a selectable tradeoff between storage size and image quality. JPEG typically achieves 10:1 compression with little perceptible loss in image quality....
(*.jpg,*jpe,*.jpeg,*.jfif) - Kodak Photo CDPhoto CDPhoto CD is a system designed by Kodak for digitizing and saving photos in a CD. Launched in 1992, the discs were designed to hold nearly 100 high quality images, scanned prints and slides using special proprietary encoding. Photo CDs are defined in the Beige Book and conform to the CD-ROM XA and...
(*.pcd) - Macintosh PICTPICTPICT is a graphics file format introduced on the original Apple Macintosh computer as its standard metafile format. It allows the interchange of graphics , and some limited text support, between Mac applications, and was the native graphics format of QuickDraw.The original version, PICT 1, was...
(*.pct, *.pict) - MicroGrafxMicrografxMicrografx was a US-based software-house most notable for its graphics products. It was founded in 1982 by Paul and George Grayson and was the first company to release sophisticated graphics product for the Windows platform....
Designer/Draw (*.drw) - Microsoft Image Composer (*.mic)
- PC PaintbrushPC PaintbrushPC Paintbrush was graphics editing software created by the ZSoft Corporation in 1985 for computers running the MS-DOS operating system....
(*.pcx) - Photoshop Files (*.psd)
- Picture It! Format (*.MIX)
- Portable Network Graphics (*.png)
- Tagged Image File Format (*.tif,*.tiff)
- TargaTruevision TGATruevision TGA, often referred to as TARGA, is a raster graphics file format created by Truevision Inc. . It was the native format of TARGA and VISTA boards, which were the first graphic cards for IBM-compatible PCs to support Highcolor/truecolor display...
(*.tga) - Windows BitmapWindows bitmapThe BMP File Format, also known as Bitmap Image File or Device Independent Bitmap file format or simply a Bitmap, is a Raster graphics image file format used to store bitmap digital images, independently of the display device , especially on Microsoft Windows and OS/2 operating systems.The BMP...
(*.bmp,*.dib,*rle) - Windows MetafileWindows MetafileWindows Metafile is a graphics file format on Microsoft Windows systems, originally designed in the 1990s. Windows Metafiles are intended to be portable between applications and may contain both vector graphics and bitmap components....
(*.wmf) - Windows Enhanced MetafileWindows MetafileWindows Metafile is a graphics file format on Microsoft Windows systems, originally designed in the 1990s. Windows Metafiles are intended to be portable between applications and may contain both vector graphics and bitmap components....
(*.emf) - WordperfectWordPerfectWordPerfect is a word processing application, now owned by Corel.Bruce Bastian, a Brigham Young University graduate student, and BYU computer science professor Dr. Alan Ashton joined forces to design a word processing system for the city of Orem's Data General Corp. minicomputer system in 1979...
Graphics (*.wpg)
Photodraw can save files in these file formats:
- PhotoDraw 2000 Version 2 Format (*.MIX)
- PhotoDraw 2000 Version 1 Format (*.MIX)
- Graphics Interchange FormatGIFThe Graphics Interchange Format is a bitmap image format that was introduced by CompuServe in 1987 and has since come into widespread usage on the World Wide Web due to its wide support and portability....
(*.gif) - JPEG File Interchange FormatJPEGIn computing, JPEG . The degree of compression can be adjusted, allowing a selectable tradeoff between storage size and image quality. JPEG typically achieves 10:1 compression with little perceptible loss in image quality....
(*.jpg) - PC PaintbrushPC PaintbrushPC Paintbrush was graphics editing software created by the ZSoft Corporation in 1985 for computers running the MS-DOS operating system....
(*.pcx) - Picture It! 4.0 (*.MIX)
- Picture It! 3.0 (*.MIX)
- Picture It! 2.0 (*.MIX)
- Portable Network Graphics (*.png)
- Tagged Image File Format (*.tif)
- TargaTruevision TGATruevision TGA, often referred to as TARGA, is a raster graphics file format created by Truevision Inc. . It was the native format of TARGA and VISTA boards, which were the first graphic cards for IBM-compatible PCs to support Highcolor/truecolor display...
(*.tga) - Windows BitmapWindows bitmapThe BMP File Format, also known as Bitmap Image File or Device Independent Bitmap file format or simply a Bitmap, is a Raster graphics image file format used to store bitmap digital images, independently of the display device , especially on Microsoft Windows and OS/2 operating systems.The BMP...
(*.bmp)
Changes in PhotoDraw 2000 Version 2
- Improved performance and stability
- New Batch Save Wizard
- Setup based on the Windows InstallerWindows InstallerThe Windows Installer is a software component used for the installation, maintenance, and removal of software on modern Microsoft Windows systems...
engine - Web effects
- Improved integration with Office applications
- Windows XP Compatibility
- Larger collection of clip-art and fonts
Use of the .MIX file format
PhotoDraw's native file format is ".mix", a proprietary format developed by Microsoft. Only PhotoDraw can save and load its MIX files and retain the full ability to modify those files.The MIME media-type for the MIX format is "image/vnd.mix" (IANA assignment for the MIX format)
Product Lifecycle for PhotoDraw 2000 V2
- General Availability Date: 12/31/1999
- Mainstream Support Retired: 6/30/2004
- Extended Support Retired: 7/14/2009
Compatibility with newer versions of Microsoft Office
In addition to Office 2000, PhotoDraw works with later versions of Microsoft Office, up to at least version 2003.The early beta (and Beta2 Tech Refresh) versions of the Microsoft Office 2007
Microsoft Office 2007
Microsoft Office 2007 is a Windows version of the Microsoft Office System, Microsoft's productivity suite. Formerly known as Office 12 in the initial stages of its beta cycle, it was released to volume license customers on November 30, 2006 and made available to retail customers on January 30, 2007...
suite compromised the file handling and bitmap import/export filters of PhotoDraw, rendering it incapable of properly opening or saving files in any format other than its native .mix and the standard .bmp types. Saving in other formats resulted in distorted aspect ratio
Aspect ratio
The aspect ratio of a shape is the ratio of its longer dimension to its shorter dimension. It may be applied to two characteristic dimensions of a three-dimensional shape, such as the ratio of the longest and shortest axis, or for symmetrical objects that are described by just two measurements,...
or errors. It also became impossible to copy and paste images between PowerPoint and PhotoDraw. Users reported these problems to Microsoft.
As of February 2007, the RTM version of Office 2007 seems to solve these problems.
PhotoDraw once again works seamlessly with this build of Office, without the issues described above, apart from that objects copied from PowerPoint must be pasted as special EMF
Windows Metafile
Windows Metafile is a graphics file format on Microsoft Windows systems, originally designed in the 1990s. Windows Metafiles are intended to be portable between applications and may contain both vector graphics and bitmap components....
(enhanced metafile) in PhotoDraw, otherwise the latter won't recognize the content of the Clipboard. This fuels a new hope that PhotoDraw can be used with the final release of Office 2007.