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Metafile content on diagrams
You can place enhanced metafiles (EMF and EMF+) on System Architect diagrams and use them in depictions, but there is restricted functionality in that content not supported by EMF will not copy to the clipboard and none of the enhanced content will be generated to SVG. Such metafiles will print and save to JPG or PNG on publication when using those file formats as the target image format.
If any metafiles do not look right within a diagram, press Ctrl+Shift+F2 after opening a diagram and you will see Enhanced metafile depiction method appear on the Status Bar and some metafiles can look better in this mode. Pressing the combination again will cycle to Windows calculated metafile depiction method, and then to SA calculated metafile depiction method (the default mode). The key combination sets the mode for the remainder of the System Architect session.
Notes
1 When used as depictions for symbols through the DEPICTIONS keyword, if the RETAIN STYLE keyword is not specified, or is ignored by using the setting in the Format > Symbol Format > Depiction Style dialog, the metafile will be converted to a standard (non-enhanced) metafile to allow the overriding of colors.
2 When copying a symbol that has a shadow, the results might not be as desired when pasted into another application. You can turn off node-shadowing through Format > Diagram Format > Display Options. Alternatively, you can use Edit > Clipboard Format to turn off copying of a Metafile – the image will be then be transferred as a bitmap. In both cases, the size of the copied image is based on the true size rather than the rendered size of the symbol.
3 Text might not appear as intended in the target application. First check that the application is showing the new content without magnifying or reducing it by checking view settings. Then, if you cannot obtain the desired result by stretching the image, use the Edit > Clipboard Format option within System Architect, untick the Metafile option, tick the Bitmap option, and then recopy the image.
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