[pstricks] producing a sequence of Pstricks files

[Patrick Drechsler]

Dear Jürgen,

Juergen Gilg <gilg at acrotex.net> writes:

> PSTricks offers the _multido_ command to reproduce some different
> graphics with animation character.
>
> They are setup on multiple pages. If you scroll the pages you get the
> imitation of an animation.
>
> You can split the PDF pages and use them for other software to produce
> an animation. pdf2swf or stuff.

Thank you for the pointer to pdf2swf (part of swftools). This is
interesting.

> I do not really understand the aim you have.

Sorry for not being clear. I am new to the whole animation thing. By now
I would split my question into

1.) How do I create animations, so I can use them in presentations
produced by LaTeX (ie beamer, powerdot)?

2.) Which animation output format is the most portable?

3.) Can I also view these animations with viewers independent of Adobe
Acrobat Reader?

4.) Which toolchain (Operating system, Libraries, Viewer) is reasonable?

> What is the advantage to have ONE TeX file per frame?  Isn't it easier
> to have ONE TeX file for all the necessary frames and rework the
> produced PDF?

Yes, this was my goal. I must have missphrased my question.

> animate package delivers the necessary commands to make an
> animation. AcroTeX as well however distiller is needed to produce the
> necessary layers for an animation.

OK. 
>
> What format for the frames is the wanted for your purpose?

See questions above.

> Compile the following done with multido and then view the pages of the
> resulting PDF.

> \multido{\i=1+1}{37}{%
>  \begin{pspicture}(-2,-8)(2,8)
>   \voc
>  \end{pspicture}
>  \newpage
>  \FPadd{\ai}{\ai}{\myDeltaA}
>  \FPadd{\bi}{\bi}{\myDeltaB}
> }

Very nice, thank you! I can have a single tex file which has to be
compiled with an up-to-date ghostscript. But I can then include the
resulting pdf with the animate package on any system (independent of the
gs version). This is exactly what I was looking for!

Thanks,

Patrick
-- 
Mammon, n.: The god of the world's leading religion.
                                              -- Ambrose Bierce