PostScript Line Effects

Here are a few examples of how to use the PostScript Line effects in FreeHand. I'm not a PostScript expert, and these examples are ones that I wrote down many years ago for use in FreeHand 3. I can't remember their origin or the authors, so if someone knows, send me a line so I can credit them appropriately. To find more information about programming in PostScript, check out those Real World FreeHand books from Olav Martin Kvern and the PostScript Language Reference Manual from Adobe.

I won't go into total detail of how these work and what some of the elements in the code do, as you can find more about this in the above books. There will be a couple with adjustable variables that I'll walk you through in order to get the effect you want.

Version: 3 and above

Ever wonder how to use the PostScript option in the Line Inspector? What the heck do you type in there anyway? Well I'm going to give you a few great examples of how to create custom PostScript lines. Although the scripts themselves may look greek to you and me, they tell FreeHand™ how to draw different types of lines. These can be simple dash type effects or they can make your lines scatter all over the place. Below are three examples of how powerful PostScript line effects can be.

WARNING

When entering the following PostScript codes into the Inspector, do NOT press the Return key to drop to the next line. Just let the code wrap naturally in the code area. After entering the code just press the Enter key to apply the code to your line. You can however, use spaces between each element of the code. To get these codes easily without retyping them, you can copy and paste the text from this page to FreeHand™. Also, you will not see the effect applied to the line in FreeHand™ itself (which is too bad, considering we're at version 8 now). You can test your effects by printing to a PostScript compatible printer. If you don't have a PostScript printer, you can also export your art as an EPS file and open it in PhotoShop to view the final results (That is what I've done to show you the examples below). If you do not see any effects with the line using the above methods, or if you get PostScript errors when printing or opening in PhotoShop, then there is something wrong with how you entered the code. Make sure you enter it exactly as below.

Chain Link
Enter this code: 1 setlinecap 1 setlinejoin [currentlinewidth dup] 0 setdash gsave S grestore currentlinewidth 3 div setlinewidth 1 setgray stroke
As you can see in the examples above, this script creates a chain link type of effect to your line. Once applied to a line, you can create a style in the Style palette, so you don't lose the code in case you delete the line later. Once you apply this effect to a line, you are free to change it's weight and color. The parts in the code "[currentlinewidth dup]" and "currentlinewidth 3 div" make sure that the link holes are the right size and that the links are joined at the ends. The links in the chain are actually created by a thick black dashed line with a smaller white dashed line overlaying it. The number before "1 setlinecap" is how you control the line caps: 0 = butt cap, 1 = round cap, 2 = projecting square cap. The number before "1 setlinejoin" is how you control the line join: 0 = miter join, 1 = round join, 2 = bevel join. You can play with these settings for various effects.

Railroad Tracks
Enter this code: gsave S grestore [currentlinewidth dup 5 mul] 0 setdash currentlinewidth 10 mul setlinewidth S
As you can see in the examples above, this script creates a railroad track effect often seen in maps. Once applied to a line, you can create a style in the Style palette, so you don't lose the code in case you delete the line later. Once you apply this effect to a line, you are free to change it's weight and color. The number in the element "[currentlinewidth dup 5 mul]" controls the space between the ties of the track based on the weight of the line. The number after "currentlinewidth 10" is used to control the length of ties (measured perpendicular to the center line) based on the weight of the line. Since both of these elements are based on the weight of the line, the track will automatically scale itself proportionally.

Earthquake
Enter this code: 1 srand flattenpath {newpath moveto} {2 copy 2 {3 dup 2 mul rand exch mod sub add exch} repeat lineto S moveto} {} {closepath} pathforall
As you can see in the examples above, this script scatters your lines all over the place. Once applied to a line, you can create a style in the Style palette, so you don't lose the code in case you delete the line later. Once you apply this effect to a line, you are free to change it's weight and color. You can even fill the shapes to give it a "retro" type of look. The element "1 srand" makes sure that when you print this effect, it's the same every time. You can change the number to any number above zero to change the randomness of the effect. You can also remove this element all together, which will cause it to change every time you print (not a good idea if you plan to make color separations). The first number in the element "{3 dup 2 mul rand exch mod sub add exch}" is the virtual Richter scale. It controls the random amount of space in points that each line shifts. As you can see in the above examples, the higher the number, the more it shakes around.

Ink Splotches — submitted by Joy from Russia
Enter this code: 1 1 J j /it 9 def /cw {currentlinewidth} def /ra {rand 2e9 div cw mul} def /li {cw 1 it div mul} def cw li neg cw li it 1 sub mul sub{[5{ra ra cw 3 mul mul}repeat]0 d S w}for
This is a very complex code that creates the appearance of ink splotches instead of lines. The way it works, is creates multiple random dashed lines that vary in thickness and dash spacing. WARNING This code is built to be random every time it is output to a PostScript Printer, even as an EPS file. I would not recommend this effect if you should have to make film separations. Once applied to a line, you can create a style in the Style palette, so you don't lose the code in case you delete the line later. Once you apply this effect to a line, you are free to change it's weight and color. You can even fill the shapes. The element "9 def" is how many lines are applied to the path. This can be changed to whatever you prefer. The number in the element "{ra ra cw 3 mul mul}" is how much random space is generated between the dashes. Smaller numbers are good for thicker lines and larger numbers are good for smaller lines. Look at the example above to see the different values for the line weights that I used.

PostScript editing is not for the faint of heart and one typo in the code above won't harm your art, it just won't work. These are just a few examples of how it can really make your life easier if your looking for quick effects. If anyone has any others they'd like to add, please feel free to send them to me via the Feedback page under the Misc. Tab.