How to export to PDF without separating stroke and fill into two objects?

Answers

• PhiLho

  March 2014

  Indeed, I can reproduce your problem with a simple adaptation of the OneFrame example:

  import processing.pdf.*;
  
  size(600, 600);
  
  beginRecord(PDF "H:/Temp/output.pdf"); 
  
  background(255);
  stroke(0, 20);
  strokeWeight(20.0);
  fill(#456789);
  rect(200, 200, 300, 300);
  
  endRecord();
  

  and by opening the result with Inkscape. It shows two objects, one for the interior of the rectangle, another for the stroke itself;

  I tried with my library, P8gGraphicsSVG:

  import org.philhosoft.p8g.svg.P8gGraphicsSVG;
  
  size(600, 600);
  
  beginRecord(P8gGraphicsSVG.SVG, "H:/Temp/output.svg"); 
  
  background(255);
  stroke(0, 20);
  strokeWeight(20.0);
  fill(#456789);
  rect(200, 200, 300, 300);
  
  endRecord();
  

  and I end with a similar result.

  Conclusion: since both libraries use a similar process, leveraging the underlying Java library (iText, Batik) to be called each time a Java2D graphics method is called, I think that's the Processing way to handle such drawing. So, it cannot be avoided at generation time.

  Not sure if there is an easy way to transform such generated file: a script must detect the two shapes are actually the same and must be merged. Doable, not simple.
• diogoqueiros

  March 2014 edited March 2014

  If you open the document in Illustrator, the layers are arranged by drawing order: the first thing to be drawn in Processing, gets to the bottom of the layers. So for an object #1, you get it's fill and stroke, then for object #2 it's fill and stroke and so on. For example, with this:

  import processing.pdf.*;
  
  size(300, 300);
  
  beginRecord(PDF, "example.pdf");
  
  strokeWeight(5);
  
  stroke(#30CCAA);
  fill(#202020);
  rect(50, 50, 75, 75);
  
  stroke(#FF50BB);
  fill(#202020);
  rect(50, 150, 75, 75);
  
  stroke(#202020);
  fill(#FF50BB);
  rect(150, 50, 75, 75);
  
  stroke(#202020);
  fill(#30CCAA);
  rect(150, 150, 75, 75);
  
  endRecord();
  

  
  You get this:

  

  
  Since the Clipping Path is always removed you get a sequence of shapes that you can either group, or even better, combine.
  
  Illustrator supports JavaScript... But I'm barely new to programming languages, so I can't offer a better answer right now. I've seen some scripts which ungroup/group layers inside Illustrator, and it didn't seem that hard... If I come up with something, I'll share it with everybody.
• diogoqueiros

  January 2015

  Hi there!

  The other day I was working with openFrameworks and the same issue appeared. To solve this, I did a really simple and specific Illustrator sketch to combine the two paths. You can get it here.

  Like I said before, it's just something I did to solve my specific problem. In openFrameworks, you don't get a Clipping Path and Clip Group, so this sketch won't work with a PDF exported from Processing, out-of-the-box. But it's enough to get you started, or to, at least, realize that you going to face this issue some day.